Angry in the Great White North

It is a given that the Liberal Party of Canada portrays itself as defenders of gay rights in Canada. The federal Liberal Party brought gay marriage to this country. Having said that, I don't believe for a minute that every Liberal is equally comfortable with homosexuality. There is room for a wider range of opinions.

But then having said that, the breadth of opinion would presumably shorten the farther up in the hierarchy of the party you go. That's just common sense. To move up the ranks, you have to conform more closely with the principles of the organization to which you belong.

I'm not saying there isn't room for differences in opinion, but I wouldn't expect to find a real outlier.

So it was with utter surprise that I stumbled upon the writings of Dave Yadallee, the president of the Edmonton-Manning Constituency Association for the Alberta Liberal Party. Note that we're talking about the provincial party, and not the provincial wing of the federal Liberal Party.

Still, the Alberta Liberal Party sticks close to the classic Liberal Party script. Consider this policy statement from ALP candidate Kent Hehr:

Alberta was once a leader in promoting and protecting basic human rights. Unfortunately, the current Conservative Government has shown a remarkable degree of intolerance to our gay and lesbian community. I support the rights of gay and lesbian Albertans to live and work without discrimination, including the right for gays and lesbians to be married in a civil ceremony (churches are not required, nor should they be, to perform same-sex marriages). I do not support any legislation that would allow public officials to refuse to marry gay and lesbian couples or to promote hatred towards [sic] gay and lesbian Albertans. We are all equal. Period.

Hehr uses gay rights as a way of differentiating the Alberta Liberals from the Alberta Conservatives.

Like Hehr, Yadallee is a partisan. Hehr calmly and succinctly describes a point of difference and makes an argument to support his position. But with Yadallee, there is an element of immaturity in his partisanship that makes you wonder just how he ever got to be president of a riding association. He calls (federal) Conservatives "Convictatives" -- some sly reference to the fact that Conservative ought to be in prison, I suppose. He's made bizarre predictions about the collapse of the popular support for the Stephen Harper Conservatives, the rebellion brewing in the ranks of Conservative supporters, and how the Tories would be reduced to less than a handful of seats in the next general election.

It should be noted that he makes these predictions under the name "The Doctor" using the email address doctor@nl2k.ab.ca. He is a big fan of the BBC series Doctor Who. You can find his writings by search for his email address using the Google group search.

Though his political writings don't show a particular sophistication in thought that one would expect from a riding association president, I was surprised to spot this post on a thread in which a flamewar erupted over catfish.

Yes...catfish.

You see, Dave Yadallee, aka The Doctor, asserted that catfish weren't fish because they were scavengers.

I know. It makes no sense. Their lack of scales means that catfish are not considered kosher according to Jewish dietary laws, but I haven't found any reference to the eating habits of catfish being used in any cultural context to define their fishiness. Indeed, the Jewish law does not remove catfish from the ranks of fish, just categorizes them as fish unfit for consumption by observant Jews.

Catfish are not fish because they scavenge? Weird.

In the course of the flamewar, Yadallee accused another newsgroup participant of being gay. Yadallee was called out on this and responded:

>>>>>On Thu, 20 Sep 2007 12:33:49 +0000, The Doctor wrote:

>>>>>> Be nice to yourself. After all you are not Top Poster the biggest
>>>>>> Typo ever from the homosexual first native groups.

>>>>>You know, I'm no fan of Top Poster myself. But when you post childish
>>>>>insults like that with no evidence whatsoever then you just make
>>>>>yourself look stupid.

>I have no problem with you saying he's a bit of a freak. He clearly has
>some issues. But how do you know he's gay?

>And why is calling someone gay such a terrible insult anyway?

Answering both, he deflects his true sentiments and also homosexuality is a slur to society and their militants just embarass those who shun the publicity.

--
Member - Liberal International
This is doctor@nl2k.ab.ca Ici doctor@nl2k.ab.ca
God, Queen and country! Beware Anti-Christ rising!
Voting Canadians vote anyone but Harper Cronies!!

Homosexuality is a slur on society? Frankly, I would be surprised if the breadth of opinion for the federal party or any affiliated provincial party would be wide enough to include that sort of sentiment being offered up by any Liberal member in good standing. Not even at the rank and file level, much less at the executive level of a riding association, and certainly not at the level of a riding association president.

And did the original insult from Yadallee also include an insult aimed at First Nations people? Or did he call TopPoster an aboriginal as well as a homosexual, intending that both be taken as insults?

Honestly, Yadallee is not the best writer. It's hard to tell, so let's let that one pass. Everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt.

In any case, I was surprised. I had a simplistic and stereotypical view of Liberals. Apparently the party can tolerate a far broader range of opinions on such issues as homosexuality. People can find a home in the Alberta Liberal Party, even a position of responsibility and authority, who believe homosexuality is wrong, not just on an individual level but in terms of a perceived effect homosexuality on society as a whole.

Addendum: Does the opinion of a Liberal in Alberta amount to anything? Of course it does. And if you need more than that, consider that the riding of Edmonton-Manning is represented by Dan Backs, and that Backs was elected in 2004 standing for the Alberta Liberals. In 2006, Backs was removed from caucus for a reason undisclosed, but described vaguely as a lack of teamwork. Backs has decided to pursue the nomination for the Progressive Conservatives. Sandeep Dhir is now the ALP candidate for Edmonton-Manning. Yadallee remains the president of the Liberal riding association. I am not sure if either Backs or Dhir share the opinions of the riding president on the question of homosexuality.