{"id":47706,"date":"2014-02-10T08:30:27","date_gmt":"2014-02-10T13:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/?p=47706"},"modified":"2014-02-10T00:46:42","modified_gmt":"2014-02-10T05:46:42","slug":"lorinc-fords-flag-flap-flops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2014\/02\/10\/lorinc-fords-flag-flap-flops\/","title":{"rendered":"LORINC: Ford’s flag flap flops"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"feature-lorinc\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Monday morning pop quiz:<\/em> As of first thing last Friday morning, how many Torontonians \u2014 or Canadians, for that matter \u2014 knew that city councils across the country were planning to raise the rainbow flag during the Sochi opening ceremonies to protest Russia\u2019s, um, policies towards LGBT rights?<\/p>\n

Not too many of you, am I correct?<\/p>\n

Okay, and what about after Bonaparte of Etobicoke began hrumphing about that flag raising?<\/p>\n

Yes, now everyone knows, including the gazillions of people who saw the Associated Press wire story in local papers in places like Greenboro, North Carolina, and Beloit, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

The Globe and Mail\u2019s<\/em> Marcus Gee argued in his column on Saturday that Ford\u2019s \u201ctantrum\u201d further intensifies the city\u2019s global humiliation<\/a>. And The Grid<\/em>\u2019s Ed Keenan observed in his blog that the flag protest<\/a> \u2014 coupled with Doug Ford\u2019s gay-baiting comments about the Pride Parade and the mayor\u2019s statement, made during a Scarborough candidates\u2019 debate last week, that he\u2019d never attend the event \u2013 seem to be adding up to a calculated political strategy of sorts.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m inclined to look at this little episode in a less gloomy light. Ford \u2014 like countless censorious public figures before him \u2014 unwittingly provided far more visibility to the City\u2019s gesture of solidarity with critics of Vladimir Putin\u2019s harsh anti-gay crackdown than it would have otherwise received.<\/p>\n

Putin\u2019s decrees have done more to draw international media attention on LGBT rights globally than anything I\u2019ve seen in a while. And while I definitely wouldn\u2019t want to be gay and Russian, the unintended consequence of Putin\u2019s crackdown has been a truly remarkable \u2014 and certainly hopeful \u2014 consolidation of public and corporate opinion, something you don\u2019t often see in our polarized world.<\/p>\n

Ford\u2019s bleating seems to have had a similar impact, albeit on a more localized scale. Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly, who in the past has said Ford shouldn\u2019t be judged on his refusal to attend the Pride Parade, now situates himself on the pro-Pride side of the ledger, telling reporters he plans to attend this summer\u2019s parade.<\/p>\n

Mayoral hopeful David Soknacki, during last week\u2019s debate, also got a chance to further burnish his image with progressives by quipping that he\u2019ll be happy to attend “as long as I get a Super Soaker.\u201d Ford, of course, teed up that line by declaring he\u2019ll never go to the Pride Parade. While media commentators pointed out that his statement puts the lie to his earlier excuses \u2014 the inviolable tradition of the annual Ford family cottage retreat, etc., etc. \u2014 I can\u2019t say I ever believed that explanation, nor his tortured accounts about his own obviously bigoted attitudes.<\/p>\n

Soknacki, apparently, understands that Scarborough is not, in fact, home to roving bands of sullen and marginalized homophobes. So if there\u2019s a comms strategy behind Ford\u2019s pronouncements, I\u2019m not seeing the electoral windfall.<\/p>\n

Finally, Ford\u2019s flag flap was clearly not an official gesture \u2014 even the most truncated media reports made it perfectly clear he was freelancing this stunt, and was promptly thwarted. So while the world is reminded, yet again, that our mayor is a doofus, I find it difficult to conclude that his stunt tars us all with that gooey brush.<\/p>\n

Indeed, it\u2019s important to remember what\u2019s important.<\/p>\n

As the New Yorker\u2019s Richard Socarides points out, last June\u2019s U.S. Supreme Court ruling<\/a> legalizing gay marriage (it struck down the Defense of Marriage Act) has been taken up by a growing number of states, including Utah and Oklahoma, where federal judges have ordered state officials to re-write their laws.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Obama Administration continues to apply the ruling by updating federal rules to provide equal benefits to both LBGT and heterosexual couples, with the latest move leaked<\/a> to the New York Times<\/em> on the weekend. And lest anyone forget, that landmark decision began with an exchange of vows between Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer at\u2026Toronto City Hall, in 2007. (Had he been in the mayor\u2019s chair, Ford couldn\u2019t have blocked that ceremony, either.)<\/p>\n

What goes around, etc. Point is, Ford last week seemed to be doing little more than, well, acting up, and achieving even less.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Election Watch<\/h2>\n

For those keeping track of possible Municipal Election Act transgressions, check out this annotated email from the Mayor\u2019s Office (reproduced here verbatim).<\/p>\n

From: “Office of the Mayor” <officeofthemayor@toronto.ca><\/em>
\nSubject: Media Advisory- Mayor Ford and Councillor Ford launch Ford Nation YouTube Series<\/em>
\nDate: 6 February, 2014 3:00:10 PM EST<\/em><\/p>\n

For Immediate Release: Mayor Ford and Councillor Ford launch Ford Nation YouTube Series<\/em><\/p>\n

Mayor Ford and Councillor Ford are launching a YouTube series to connect with a broader audience. The first instalment [sic] of Ford Nation will premiere on Monday, February 10, 2014. To watch a promotional clip and subscribe to the channel click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Ford Nation Series, produced by volunteers, will cover a wide range of topics, from politics to sports and community.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Audience members are encouraged to email questions to: fordnation2014@gmail.com. Questions will be read and answered throughout the series. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Mayor Ford and Councillor Ford encourage everyone to subscribe to their new channel and hear from them, directly and unfiltered. <\/em><\/p>\n

-30-<\/em><\/p>\n

Media Contact:
\nAmin Massoudi
\nCommunications and Media Relations, Office of the Mayor
\namassou@toronto.ca<\/em><\/p>\n

On Friday, Spacing<\/em> asked Amin Massoudi \u2014 Communications and Media Relations for Mayor Ford \u2014 to comment on why he used City of Toronto resources for the following email. No response has been given.<\/p>\n

But, as a reminder to the mayor and his staff, here is the Code of Conduct for Members of Council, Section VII<\/a>: \u201cNo member shall use the facilities, equipment, supplies, services or other resources of the City (including Councillor newsletters and websites linked through the City\u2019s website) for any election campaign or campaign-related activities.\u201d<\/p>\n

In one email, Ford has used a City of Toronto email address, promotion of re-election campaign email address, and a City of Toronto employee to aid his re-election campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monday morning pop quiz: As of first thing last Friday morning, how many Torontonians \u2014 or Canadians, for that matter \u2014 knew that city councils across the country were planning to raise the rainbow flag during the Sochi opening ceremonies to protest Russia\u2019s, um, policies towards LGBT rights? Not too many of you, am IContinue reading “LORINC: Ford’s flag flap flops”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4051,"featured_media":47710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLORINC: Ford's flag flap flops - Spacing Toronto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2014\/02\/10\/lorinc-fords-flag-flap-flops\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LORINC: Ford's flag flap flops - Spacing Toronto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Monday morning pop quiz: As of first thing last Friday morning, how many Torontonians \u2014 or Canadians, for that matter \u2014 knew that city councils across the country were planning to raise the rainbow flag during the Sochi opening ceremonies to protest Russia\u2019s, um, policies towards LGBT rights? 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