On The Outing Of Canadian Cynic
June 15, 2009 · By Matthew Campbell
No doubt, most regular readers have heard by now that the identity of Waterloo-based Canadian Cynic has been made public. I can’t speak for anyone else, especially for those whom Mr. Day has affected over the years, but for what it’s worth, I’m willing to use this opportunity to extend the olive branch on this occasion. I’m not asking for agreement, or even understanding necessarily, just some civility in the blogosphere. To some degree we’ve all failed over the past six years since the Blogging Tories, the original blogroll in Canada, to be the alternative information media that the Canadian citizenry expects us to be as they go on to make informed decisions on the future of our nation. Perhaps its time to stop the personality warfare that has distracted us scribes of the digital age from this duty so we can focus on the task at hand.
Maybe you have never personally had a CC attack on your blog because you are a male. I don’t care who he/she/it is, I never visited it’s place, but CC attacked my blog repeatedly.
I never ever visited his site even when I could see he had linked to my site for some reason. Vile is what he is, don’t believe me? Go to this post of mine:
http://climbingoutofthedark.bl.....iased.html
Check out Ti-guy calling me a disgusting lying fascist. Then continue to the comments by CC.
Did he deserve to be outed? I could care less. Sometimes Conservatives have to stop turning the other cheek!
I’ve been around and frankly, what I saw didn’t surprise me. There are those out howling for blood on both sides. But I did expect that.
What I truly wanted to see was if this man had the courage and conviction to keep on with his mouth as he had when he was annonymous. It seems he bricked up his potty mouth in responding to the “Outing”. His replies are somewhat (and suddenly) mature and borderline respectful, or at the very least clean.
I’ve don’t believe in the annonymity of the Blog Sphere, or commentary sections of websites, and as such I have always used my own name. As such, I’ve excercised some caution and reason as to what I said. I’m willing to take responsibility for the things I say and post and I’m willing to repeat them.
Obviously, this is not the case with Robert Day. And given that he has acknowledged the identification on his own blog, I’m a little confused why his sewer-mouth isn’t still running full tilt. The connection is there, the logs are there, and even if he were to wipe out his own website, between the caches and posts on various other blogs and websites, he really has nothing more to lose by continuing. The very fact that he chooses not to (suddenly), in my opinion, is further proof of his cowardice.
If blogs in the future are to have any credibility or mainstream value, the annonymity has to end. At least, for those who wish to be taken seriously. I can understand why some might wish to due to harm or danger of some other kind, but that should always follow with a disclaimer.
And for those who wish to take the path that CC/Robert Day has in the past, and use the language and accusations he did, should know that there will always be those who will seek to “out” you. So unless you have the courage and the conviction to do what Robert Day so clearly can not…..zip it.
“To some degree we’ve all failed (…) to be the alternative information media that the Canadian citizenry expects us to be ”
Get over yourself. This is medium is the minuscule of the minute. No one expects anything except what is and what it’s proven to be for twenty years.
How touching that you want to take this opportunity to apologize on behalf of the Blogging Tories to all the vicious leftist creeps. Why do you think that their hatred of conservatives is our fault? I’m sure your leftist “friends” are really impressed with your weak-kneed convictions. What a Pathetic post!
Why is THIS an opportunity to extend an olive branch??? By all means – extend an olive branch – it is a very leftist thing to do – and it will get shredded as if you are extending it into a tree shredder but if it makes you feel good go for it.
But that is irrelevant to this particular topic. It sounds like this guy is getting what he deserves.
I never visited it’s place, but CC attacked my blog repeatedly.
He took you to task our your bonehead ideas and lies….
Sure the language may have offended you, but the content was dead on.
I knew that drafting this piece was probably going to get me more criticism from my own camp than it was from the other side and have since confirmed that the offer was denied. Still, I stand by the attempt because, quite simply, this was an opportunity (albeit a slim one) to bring the level of professionalism and respect in the Canadian blogosphere up a notch.
I hold my own opinions on who is more to blame, and certainly count Robert as one of the worst offenders if not the worst, but in making such an offer did not want to put up any barriers. We cannot pretend though that the Blogging Tories community is completely blameless though, even if we’re a cleaner and a bit more articulate in our personal attacks that populate the BT and FD forums, as well as a few of the blogs in the community.
Ferrethouse asks why I decided to move as I did with this opportunity – a fair and excellent question. The response I offer is that Robert and his group over at Canadian Cynic represent that norm of the Canadian left far more than we are usually comfortable in acknowledging. Thankfully, their views are far from the mainstream (as Robert’s banner at the top quickly points out) but their views aren’t out of a place at what you would hear at an NDP convention. I doubt very much that Robert slept well last night and is very much a wounded animal this morning, but given the polarizations that have developed between the two sides over the past six years, it was going to take an event like this to make better relations a possibility and an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. We now know that if the situation were reversed, our side would not be afforded the same courtesy. With that, at least I know that I can sleep well tonight!
In the first place, Matthew, I slept surprisingly well last night. And in the second place, regarding that olive branch, why don’t we chat further? As demeaning as this might sound, while I think you’re appallingly ignorant at the moment, I think you have the potential to grow out of it. That’s not something I’d say about many of your Blogging Tory colleagues.
And to show you I’m serious, come up with a topic of your choice, and I’ll let you guest post over at CC HQ. If you do it well, I guarantee my readers will give you a pat on the back. If you do badly, they’ll rip you a new orifice.
There’s my offer. You know where to find me.
to bring the level of professionalism and respect in the Canadian blogosphere up a notch
That’s like saying that we should engage Mahmoud Ahmadinejad even though he wants to wipe Israel off the map simple so we can “up the level of professionalism”. Dignifying his crap with this offer does NOT up the profressionalism – it gives those who engage in it a free pass.
“… while I think you’re appallingly ignorant at the moment, I think you have the potential to grow out of it.”
You must feel particularly humbled by Robert’s offer, Matt. I mean, out of his tender mercies toward intellectual infants, such as you, the mighty Cynic has offered you a chance at far-Left enlightenment. This is your opportunity to sit at his feet and learn.
The Canadian blogosphere’s psychopath has finally got what he deserves!
He’s engaged in criminal defamation (i.e., malicious intent = s. 298 Criminal Code), and done a number of other vile things. It is therefore in the public’s interest to know the identity of that deranged individual. Now, Canadians will know where to send the police next time he gets out of hand (and off his medication.
Dear Weiner: Fuck off. No one cares what you think.
Dear Matthew: As hard as it is to believe, I was quite serious. While you are embarrassingly uneducated, you at least have an obvious talent with words and are possibly salvageable. The offer stands if you have any interest in some day not sounding like a clueless gomer.
On the other hand, don’t bring any of your retarded colleagues with you. They’re idiots. You can hang out here and stay stupid the rest of your life, or you can try your arguments on very smart people who will be ruthlessly honest about what they think of them and quite possibly give you useful advice.
Your call — stay stupid, or try for something better.
I see Robert Day really is a psychopath, and quite a deranged one, at that.
I’m sure now that your info is in the public domain, your many victims will be coming for you (and rightfully so).
Oh, by the way, Mr. Peters, anyone who takes this kind of idiocy seriously is in no position to denigrate anyone else’s intellectualism. I trust we understand one another.
BTW, CC, with thousands of readers every day, it’s quite clear that people DO care what I think. Just for example, the editior-in-chief of the Calgary Herald thinks that my blog is among the top few, if not the top blog out there.
You, on the other hand, are just a mental patient.
Oh I understand you, Robert. I just don’t respect you. If you could debate a topic or issue without constantly attacking the character or intelligence of your opponent then I might have a modicum of respect for you, but, alas, it seems this is beyond your ability. Case in point, you can’t even open the door for Matt to write at CC without calling him “ignorant.” It’s par for your course, Robert, and that’s why few people have any time whatsoever for the vapours that emanate from your e-landfill.
@ Werner:
That’s quite something calling CC a psychopath – I’ll leave it alone… but thanks for the laugh….
@ Mark Peters
Natural laws? Supernatural? Growing legs?
I’m sure that you have proof of all this? Right? Extraordinary claims should be backed up with you know, all that “proofy” stuff…
@ ferrethouse
One would not really want to “up the level of professionalism” by reapeating false information on the internet, right?
The translation of his statement has been disputed. Iran’s foreign minister stated that Ahmadinejad had been “misunderstood”: “He is talking about the regime. We do not recognise legally this regime.”[155] Some experts state that the phrase in question (بايد از صفحه روزگار محو شود) is more accurately translated as “eliminated” or “wiped off” or “wiped away” from “the page of time” or “the pages of history”, rather than “wiped off the map”.[156] Reviewing the controversy over the translation, New York Times deputy foreign editor Ethan Bronner observed that “all official translations” of the comments, including the foreign ministry and president’s office, “refer to wiping Israel away”.[157] Dr. Joshua Teitelbaum, an Israel-based professor with ties to AIPAC, in a paper for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, examined the language that President Ahmadinejad has used when discussing Israel.
AIPAC is the “American Israel Public Affairs Committee” – a lobby group that receives funding from Israel…
So you should easily understand that the “truth” is not so simple…But I’m sure that it’s easier to have a black/white word for you…
@ Matthew:
Well that would be interesting for you to have CC’s audience…
Garth Turner likes Werner’s blog a lot as well. Take THAT CC. You’re welcome Werner.
Never heard of him.
But now I will.
Get it?
I appreciate the offer CC, I truly do, but my original intention of this post and subsequent thread was to see if there wasn’t a way that, even though we in the blogosphere have disagreements, we might not be able to foster a culture wherein us partisan folk aren’t ripping each other to pieces over petty ego trips (again, I re-iterate here that ALL parties, self included, are guilty of this).
I’m still very much interested in this, and if it leads to guest posts, or other interesting arrangements, I’ll be all for it when the appropriate time comes. Right now though, I think it’s more important that we stop dehumanizing each other; the left does not have a monopoly on rational thought, and the right does not have a monopoly on integrity. My hope is that with a bit of cooperation and communication, we can disagree, but do so within the context of respectful debate, which in turn has great potential to enhance the quality of arguments put forward by all of the online groups.
Well said Matthew.