The Toronto Star and The Catholic School Board would benefit from an English Comprehension Course

Self-beclowning, manufactured outrage against popular Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is the Toronto Star's core purpose as a media outlet these days. At least that's how it seems, and the latest bout of idiocy from al Starzeera does nothing to dispel that impression.

In fairness to The Star's angry, self-proclaimed "progressives" this time they had some help from some intelligence-impaired staff and parents in Toronto's Catholic School Board.

The Star reports that the co-chair of Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School received an anonymous letter from a significant number of staff and the school council decided to hold a special meeting about an interview Ford gave with Sun TV's David Menzies.

In the interview (see video below) Ford describes how the football program is helping to save the lives of the players by giving them a positive outlet.

“It’s such a negative thing, what he’s saying, and it’s so untrue. For him to say that unless they play football their life is shot is so untrue. So untrue. We appreciate that he volunteers at the school; we appreciate the time he puts in for the football program. But not if he’s going to speak the way he’s speaking. We’d be better off without him as the football coach if he continues to speak this way. . . This has to stop.” 

Board spokesperson John Yan said the interview contained “a number of inaccuracies,” which he would not specifically identify. In general, Yan said, “the interview is an inaccurate portrayal of the community.”

The problem with the characterization from Don Bosco's School Council and the Catholic Board is that  Ford explicitly said he uses football as an incentive to get the kids to attend their classes and maintain good grades.

As the Star acknowledged,  Ford said, “You can’t tell them to get an education. But I use the football as a carrot. I said: If you don’t go to school, and you’re (not) passing, you don’t play football. Oh, they’ll do backflips to play football.”

It would seem apparent that if Ford felt Don Bosco was providing a terrible education, he wouldn't be demanding his players attend classes with the obvious (to anyone other than a School Board official) implication being that education is the key to their success in life.

But part of the problem for the Don Bosco School (i.e. Parents) Council is that they didn't like the implied  depiction of their community as crime-ridden and underprivileged.

There's only one problem with their outrage. Don Bosco's community IS crime-ridden and underprivileged.

But God forbid that a politician actually tell the truth about something!  If only they had a mayor who was a member of the Liberal Party or NDP, they would have a representative with the good sense to lie to their faces.

Unfortunately, Ford is someone who calls things as he sees them.

Which really upsets the mushy heads at The Toronto Star.




h/t Blazing Cat Fur