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POLL: Help choose design of Left Wing Pinko button

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As many of you have already read, yesterday Don Cherry graced Toronto’s city council chambers and proceeded to bash those who do not share his particular world view.

To commemorate Mr. Cherry’s wordsmithery, Spacing has decided to make a 1.5-inch button and fridge magnet. We’re asking our faithful readers to pick the design. The most popular design, as of 3pm on Wednesday, will be sent to our button/magnet maker. We’ll then begin to take online orders ($3 for button, $5 for magnet, shipping included) and hopefully have them in a few retail stores within a day.

You can also download any of these options and use one for your Facebook or Twitter profile pic. Here is Option 1, Option 2, and Option 3.

UPDATE: Here is a listing of stores that are now carrying the buttons.


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103 comments

  1. Great job, Matt…Being one of those “pinkos out there that ride bicycles and everything,” could Option 1 come with a bike instead of a hockey stick?

  3. I trust the proceeds of you parasitically exploiting the “Don Cherry” fiasco will go toward a reputable charity – and not your own coffers. Seeing as you’re so politically correct and all, that would seem to be the “right left wing pinko” thing to do. Especially during the Holiday Season. Or do “pinkos” still not believe in the Holiday Spirit?

  4. I voted for #1 but I don’t really like the reversed ‘N’ on any of these (presumably you’re trying for some sort of Cyrillic effect).

  5. Seems like there should be a bicycle-related option.

  6. Can we have a “Left-wing Bike-riding Pinko” badge? (Or replace the hockey stick with a bike?

  10. Love the hockey stick in it 🙂 Why bike? I am assuming that it stands to be a reference to Mr. Cherry. No? Great idea 🙂

  11. Dont like any of them. Somewhat re-enforces stereotypes as many centrist voters were offended too. Cherry is offensive to all people.

  12. “Left wing” should be hyphenated, being a compound adjective and all. It’s something us left-wing pinko sorts pay attention to these days.

    Jussayin.

  13. Ah, just read the whole transcript, got the bike reference. How about “Left wing Kook”?

  15. Trin: Adding a hyphen loses the hockey double-entendre (which is also why I kinda prefer the one with the stick).

  16. I like the comments about adding a bike. If the hockey stick motif stays, maybe the blade could be formed by the word ‘pinko’…Great job!

  17. I like Option 1, but agree that it should have a bike instead of a hockey stick.

  18. Definitely needs a bike.  Like options 1 or 2.  Can I order them in BULK!?!?

  19. I like #1 best, but PINKO should be in white, as it is the most important element, with LEFT-WING in black. White stands out more than black against the coloured background. And I agree that it should be hyphenated. Just saying.

    I like the texture that the hockey stick adds. You could even create different backgrounds for cyclists, artists, etc.

  20. I love the hockey stick.  Left winger?  lol  Plus the irony is awesome.  

  21. I believe the bicycle option can be adressed by wearing two buttons side by side.

  22. @Thierry

    Are right wingers the only ones allowed to make money now? Last time I checked Spacing’s a small, independent publication with a hell of a lot more editorial content than advertisement. Kudos to them for finding creative ways to “fill their coffers” instead of a rich financier who tries to exerts their influence through their new acquisition.

    Can’t the non-“T.O. Tea Party-ers” have their own rallying symbol?

  26. I think Spacing should thank Grapes because they will make a killing on these buttons. It will certainly make it easier for me to identify who’s a pinko and who’s not 🙂 I vote for option 1…love the hockey stick in the background. You can also offer various buttons with different graphics in the background like a bicycle or an LRT, etc. so people can choose which one they want or identify with the most.

  28. Don’t choose #1 – hockey has nothing to do with this – I like the idea of having a bike image – and would love to see Michael Barker’s design.

  29. For what it’s worth, I’d suggest not doing anything like this. Cherry’s trademark style wasn’t a surprise and I don’t think people should be putting that much stock in what he says. In the NHL, lots of players and coaches are boo’ed and the subject of ridicule by fans and other players – but they have to just shrug it off and not let it get to them. I think that’s what we need to do. The more pink shirts or jackets worn, the more Facebook groups, the more pink buttons made, the more Cherry’s idiocy is given credibility. 

  30. That’s a valid thought, Mark. My feeling is that when confronted with idiocy, have fun with it, rather than be overly serious in response. Match bullshit with….well, fun.

  32. I hope this is a runoff vote! haha.

    hockey stick is leading.. but only with 47%, which means most people don’t necessarily want it. (ironically, that’s exactly what Ford got. lol)

    PS: I’m just joking. We need fair elections for Council. But efficiency trumps fairness for button elections. ; )

  33. Yes, scrap the hockey stick, and replace with bicycle. I like the reversed N’s, whether they are poking fun on illiteracy or going for the Cyrillic/Communist effect.

  34. Thierry Nihil – what have you got against capitalism? Surely profiting from the follies of others is just the sort of tribute to the free-market that will strengthen it against the inevitable onslaught of the very “Left wing pinkos” you seek to decry. In the future please make every effort to focus your outrage more effectively.

  35. I agree with everyone who is in favour of adding a bike. Glad people are doing this. Totally agree with Shawn’s comments above. Harkens back to when Mike Harris was in power (shudder), one could buy a variety of buttons – I still have my “Gardeners against Mike Harris”. I am sure we’ll be finding many more ideas for future buttons. The mayor has only been in office 1 week, lol.

  37. I agree that the hockey stick should be a bike – seems more appropriate to take the high road instead of the high stick.  Just saying.

  41. Thanks, Shawn. I’m wondering now if a playful response depends on who or what is being responded to… I mean, if it was Ford the mayor (or another elected official) who said this, then a response, playful or otherwise, would be necessary. But responding to Cherry is akin to responding to some lunatic warning of the apocalypse at Yonge and Dundas. In fact, all of Cherry’s career is based on riling people up. If people didn’t really care what this guy thought or said about them, he’d be out of a job.

  42. I agree re bicycle – there should be a version with a bike or bike wheel as the watermark image behind the text
    m 2 cents as a cyclist & graphic designer

  43. Option one is a no-go as it assumes I am pro-hockey.

  44. A fire’s no fun without fuel. Any chance of getting some brown t-shirts with a “ford for mayor” printed on them?

    R.

  45. This neeeeeeeeeeds to be a HUGE sticker that I can slap on my left-wing pinko bike for all to see!

  46. YOUR DEMANDS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED: a bike icon will go on sale too. But we’ll keep the hockey stick since that is winning and we’ve received lots of positive feedback on it.

    Bike Riding Pinko

    Meslin is absolutely right: these options are mirroring the election night results!

  47. Hi, 
    I’d like Option 2…but how about adding “Kook” with Kook being slightly less large in size than Pinko.(love the backward-Cyrillic-looking-N)

    p.s. I felt almost empathy with Rob  Ford, when he stood at the lectern with his eyebrows emoting after Don Cherry’s rant. Almost…but then I lay down, had a rest, and felt better.

  49. Mark> There is certainly no-true-winning. Don’t say anything, the bullshit hangs. Have fun with it, you acknowledge it. More fun to have fun. Also, there he was at the centre of City Council chambers, our most holy democratic place. He wasn’t being a wing-nut from the sidelines, he was coming from the centre of power.

  50. Any chance that these will be available in Montreal? We have plenty of bike-riding left-wing pinkos here too!

    Maybe you can sell them at Spacing fund-raising events.

  51. @ZVI

    They will be on our online store once the polls are closed and we can certainly ship them to Montreal

  52. Love the bike version, but any chance it can get the hyphen it needs? As in, “bike-riding pinko”?
    Us bike-riding pinkos sometimes have grammar-dork tendencies.

  53. Someone should really make arrangements to personally hand one to Mayor Ford. Also, if you call and complain about Cherry, he’ll probably call you back.

  54. One more vote in favour of the hyphen and against the reversed N (which represents ‘i’ in Cyrillic), because it’s tired and wrong.

  55. I want to order tons of these buttons and give to everyone in their Christmas cards. Good for you for getting these organized so quickly.

    C.

  56. You need to put the word TORONTO on the pin somwhere – e.g. Toronto left-wing pinko

  57. Left wing as in the hockey position? That’s genius, but I didn’t get it until I read the comments below (and I love puns!)

    So maybe if you mention that in the writeup above, people would appreciate the joke and vote for #1.

  58. For authenticity is really should be to be “Lefty Pinko Kook”.

  59. Surprised nobody has requested a “thumbs-up” background a la Don Cherry’s trademark thumbs-up.

  60. To echo a couple of commentators, the backwards ‘N’ is a bit amateurish: that’s actually pronounced as an ‘E’ in Russian. Try using ‘H’ instead, which is pronounced as ‘N’ in Russian. It’s not mysterious or anything; I was able to check that in about 2min with Google. Oh, and have fun with the culture war; I’m glad to not be living in Toronto at the moment, for the rhetoric, and the crumbling transit city…

  63. how about the slogan “left-wing pinko” with a picture of a bike?

  64. I like the bike one the best, followed by the hockey stick. I really dislike И as N. I pretty much automatically see Piiko. It’s not consistent either, you don’t have the W as a Ш (sh) as it’s often done. More importantly: what’s the point?

  66. Hockey stick is great. Don Cherry and his ilk shouldn’t have a monopoly on the enjoyment of our national game.

  67. Can you guys make “Gravy Train” buttons too?

  68. HEY! Where’s the option with the thumbs up. 

    Rub the thumb’s up motif in his face. 

    How about a buddha in pink, Ch_ee_ry’s  face, rotating on a thumb? Sit on it ya dummy.

  70. @Stritch …I didn’t even notice the hockey pun. Assumed the stick was there ’cause of Cherry. M’bad.

  71. I like the bike option but I think it should also say “Left Wing” Pinko. Bike Riding pinko doesn’t have the same ring to it.

  73. Love the buttons, but what I really want is a bright pink t-shirt with the bike logo on it.

  74. It’s gotta have the hockey stick — just not really witty or funny without it.
    Thanks for doing this. 🙂

  76. On a similar theme, could you please make a shirt that says “Toronto Elitist”

    I’d buy a few.

  77. Funny idea, but the hockey stick part won’t be remembered.  Option 2 or 3 works better and is more timeless. 

  78. I “Imagine” that Don Cherry would prefer to associate himself with the ‘rock-em, sock-em’ kind of hockey player, you know, the right winger, with a grudge. Having the hockey stick on the button would probably piss him off more than anything.
    I’m a lefty, in hockey and in life.
    Would love to hear what John Lennon would have to say about this. 

  79. The only thing I have an issue with is the backwards N which is a ‘tip of the hat’ to the Soviet Union and those pesky Russians Mr. Hockey doesn’t like. The Soviets (and their return under the KGB-led Putin gov’t) were/are anti-intellectual (murders of journalists and murder/repression of intelligentsia/cultural activists and of open society in general). The current ‘anti-pinko’ tide is of the same ilk – though not to that extreme. Let’s not romanticize what the Don Cherry’s of the world demonise just becaus they demonise it!

  80. Why drop ‘commie’ but use a cliche ‘commie’ motif? Put commie back in there where it belongs please.

  81. Maybe you should get in the decal business!!

  82. Could you please find a retailer to sell your buttons that’s on the Yonge Line?

  83. You should design/offer one showing a hockey stick jammed into a bike’s spokes.

  85. What about something Canadian?  Like a maple leaf instead of the star in the P?

  86. Don Cherry who? Thanks for your entertaining comments. Time for the serious people to come back in the room. Lots to do, Rob Ford, LOTS TO BE DONE, so shut up, show this taxpayer some respect and get to it!

  87. Made me laugh even while facing a Transit disaster… thanks!

  88. Too funny, this is why I miss Toronto, something negative happens you guys turn it into a cool positive slogan. Bike riders get a raw deal like, everywhere, good look folks, made me smile! 🙂

  89. WOW! talk about oversensitive! most of you probably have not experienced Don Cherry before but to say that I saw this (his address) coming would be a gross understatement. Cherry may not have the best delivery but when he is attacked for something as innocent as being involved in this ceremony he usually lashes out! just a note, where was the “lef-wing” (yes, I said it) media when Justin Trudeau came down from his perch in Montreal to try and impact OUR municipal election (and don’t give me the self-absorbed garbage that every Canadian had a stake in the Toronto election) by holding a fund-raiser for George Smitherman. can you imagine a prominent federal politician from a Toronto riding trying to do the same in Montreal? most of you need to get over yourself and realize that “the times they are a changing” like it or not.

  90. Put the Bike in place of the hockey stick, like another commenter suggested.

    “Left Wing Pinkos” Should be the text, the bike should be the symbol. Otherwise, I could care less which of the three formats you pick.

  92. Might be too much work, but it would be lovely if the buttons had a patterned background that looked just like Mr. Cherry’s jacket worn for the auspicious event!

  94. Where can I get some of this stuff. I’m going to the Leafs vs Habs game tonight and I want to sport some left wing pinko gear!

  95. Where can we get these buttons when they are ready for sale? Also, any chance of one that reads “Lefty Pinko Cyclists” we are naming our cycling group that when we do a ride for charity during the summer.

    Thank you

    Anne

  96. So when’s the pinko bike-riding party? I want to see a sea of pink on the streets of Toronto. Y’know, just for fun. 😉

  97. Love the buttons, but I’m with Jarek & co: getting tired of the highly-popular misuse of Cyrillic letters. The backwards ‘N’ is actually a strong long-‘e’ sound, as in ‘Fred’.

  98. > ANDY (DECEMBER 9, 2010 | 3:23 PM): There was nothing “innocent” about Don Cherry’s performance in Council Chambers, or Rob Ford’s lame protestations of surprise at the result of his choice for “honoured” guest speaker. As a sports commentator and pop culture icon, I think he’s hilarious. He doesn’t belong in Council’s official business or ceremonies.

    What _the two_ of them said in chambers that day was highly divisive at a time when Toronto needs leaders to bring a fractured, highly polarized, dissatisfied citizenry together for the good of all. It was unprofessional, insulting and disgraceful. I’m ashamed of our new mayor & not very hopeful about the next four years’ prospects for _all_ Torontonians. I really hope I’m mistaken.

  99. You may want to reconsider the backward “N” ….. I’ve already asked one person touting this as their profile pic …. “Is the button indicative of all Pinkos…..they don’t know which N’d is up?”

  100. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Bunch of sissies. Are all your feelings hurt? Poor things! Whah Whah Whah.
    Wear your pink buttons, make yourselves targets. HA!

    Shawn, Mr. “our most holy democratic place”, since when is government holy? You people are pathetic, crying over words of a celebrity.

  101. Joke’s on you, Tom. This thread clearly shows that no one is hurt by being called names — people are rather proud of their political views. 

    And even better, they are making boatloads of money off of Ford’s hand-picked idiot. 

    And our city hall is a local “holy” institution. If treated with reverence it might help more people care about city hall politics. 

  102. Z00M3R: ‘The backwards ‘N’ is actually a strong long-‘e’ sound, as in ‘Fred’
    – It is indeed a long ‘e’, but as in ‘free’ or ‘equal’, not a short ‘e’ as in ‘Fred’ (which would be Э in Cyrillic).