Posted on 10/26/2004 8:24:46 AM PDT by quidnunc
Aside from the small matter of the war for civilization, I don't have much time for Tony Blair. But, among many marvellous passages in his speech to the Labour Party Conference the other day, he had one especially striking moment: "When I hear people say: 'I want the old Tony Blair back, the one who cares,' I tell you something. I don't think as a human being, as a family man, I've changed at all. But I have changed as a leader. I have come to realize that caring in politics isn't really about 'caring.' It's about doing what you think is right and sticking to it."
Anyone can "care," for what it's worth. Anyone can say, as Tony Blair's fellow Third Wayer did, "I feel your pain." But he doesn't really feel it, does he? He doesn't have to live with it, day in, day out. Under the debased rules of politics, self-proclaimed empathy is all that's required. The question is, when you stop talking, what do you do?
A decade ago, Canadians and their government were "shocked" by TV images of the Innu community of Davis Inlet in Labrador, a shantytown whose inhabitants were snorting drugs, glue, gas and pretty much anything else that came their way. Having claimed to be "shocked," our rulers then claimed to "care."
So they decided to build the Innu a new town a few miles inland, with new homes with new heating systems and a new schoolhouse with all the newest accessories. The new town-Natuashish-cost taxpayers $152 million.
Two years after the resettlement of the Mushuau, let us turn to our good friends at the CBC for a progress report:
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at westernstandard.ca ...
Then they are hopeless and will soon disappear. But it's hard to believe that none among them is intelligent enough to see what's happening and determined enough to take advantage of opportunity.
Opportunity to do what? They're already being paid a fortune to do nothing. What is their motivation supposed to be?
Bingo.
I don't know but in my backyard the Piutes were in much the same situation. Somehow they got a very successful casino (communally owned by the tribe) going...and are using the money for health care and education. Doing a good job from what I hear.
I don't know what the differences are but they should be explored. One would have thought that the Canadians would have learned something from our disasterous experiences with public housing.
There's something fundamentally wrong with your analysis.
Lots of people - hundreds of thousands, maybe even a million or two - in this country have 20 grand a year without working and a nice car and house. Our current Presidential contenders almost certainly fall in that class. They don't all become bums and drunks (Actually few do).
They seem to find plenty to do. Why is that?
Because they aren't isolated in a destroyed culture?
The Canadians ought to be exploring successful rehabs of such people - like what I think is happening to California tribes - instead of just mindlessly throwing money at the problem
Thank you. This wonderful essay now has its life on FR.
This occurred about ten years ago. It was shocking to read of such a self-destructive culture.
So this is the rest of the story....
The Wonderful World of the Nanny State.
That's exactly the point. They don't have to. Opportunity has not only knocked, it's moved in with all of its luggage.
I thought you could only be an Innu, or an Outu...?
That last paragraph is killer.
Thanks for bring the whole story over.
And the problem is excessive ennui.
More than humor you, I thank you for providing this information. I was unaware they were two separate ethnic groups.
This is a sad, sad story. I've read about the relocation before and it was sad before and sad now. It appears the old culture can't be preserved, isn't being preserved. This government attempt perpetuates a bad situation. And at an incredible cost to taxpayers.
Earlier this year, someone burned down the new school.
You have a connection. What should be done? Should the people be separated and moved to a variety of Canadian cities and towns so that the race is diluted and the people integrated into Canadian society? I never read the arguments of people who opposed the expensive relocation. Were there any good arguments?
heh! thanx for the bugmenot password
In Western NC, where the Cherokee have had gambling casinos for a while now.
The locals know to stay off the roads when the tribal members get their quarterly paycheck of their 'profits'. Drunken driving is rampant and the ERs are full of abused spouses.
A lot of that out here too. None-the-less gambling monies seem to have helped the Piutes. I hope someone is trying to observe this stuff carefully and make some sense of it.
My uncle and aunt are Penacostal ministers. They're presently trying to help the youths of an Innu community in Yellow Knife, Saskatatuan. Sad sad stories all around
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