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Halifax, NS | Fri, September 3rd, 2010

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Quinpool Kid

Quinpool Kid
by John van Gurp
John is a lifelong resident of Halifax with a love of neighbourhoods and passion for communication. His devilish side appears in his sometimes critical writings, which he hopes at least serve to stimulate thought and discussion on important topics.

Gerald Keddy Oopsie !
Posted by: jvangurp on November 25, 2009 08:13AM

Yes Keddy's remarks seemed callous and insensitive toward the unemployed but I got the impression he was specifically and only talking about street panhandlers, a few of whom seem mostly interested in their next gram of weed and six pack of Faxe strong ale. Just a few.

Let's look at the debacle a little deeper. Who is actually offended here? I am guessing that 99% of the offended and outraged public are actually well employed. I bet quite a few of the most outraged are politicians leveraging this gaff as an easy win in the continual attacks against members of opposing parties as part of their predictable and sometimes childish political sparring.

Did Keddy say that all unemployed are bums or lazy or too good to work as seasonable workers? No he did not. He specifically referred to the sidewalk sitters. We all know the sidewalk sitters don't we? I think he meant the young folks in their tattered army surplus gear and their knapsacks and their big dogs. It's a travelling tribe out for a long distance party. Are they lazy and deserving of Keddy's remarks? That's not really something to discuss here.

The point is that he didn't attack all unemployed as his critics suggest. He lashed out at an easy target. Keddy was defending himself. The problem is that he's a seasoned politician who should never have fallen for that trap. He took the bait and blurted out something that came back and bit him in the ass. Mind you this will all be forgotten as soon as the next decent headline comes out. It was a gaff and nothing more.

Marilla Stephenson has a really great column on the issue.

Note: Whoops sorry about the photo. That was from the previous blunder.