LONDON CITY COUNCILLORS FORCED TO GO FOR "SENSITIVITY TRAINING" TO GET THEIR BRAINS S

Written by Paul Fromm

Tuesday, 01 February 2011 07:45

LONDON CITY COUNCILLORS FORCED TO GO FOR "SENSITIVITY TRAINING" TO GET THEIR BRAINS SCRUBBED How fragile are our freedoms? How completely minority whipped and dominated are we in Canada? If you look at London, Ontario, the answers are not encouraging. A controversial London city councillor discovers a friend who, he says, had access to his Facebook had posted something -- the prissy press won't tell us exactly what -- that is "inappropriate." The councillor immediately takes it down. Somebody sees it. This busybody, we're not told who, complains about it. We're not told why. London City Council sucks in its breath with collective shock and all enrol to have their brains scrubbed; that is, to subject themselves to a day-long sensitivity training, mass struggle session. "London’s entire city council must take sensitivity training after a racy song was posted on one councillor’s Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/>page. *The Free Press* has learned a programme focusing on women abuse and family violence, which all city workers already must take, is now mandatory for council — the fallout of an online flare-up that’s ensnared Coun. Stephen Orser.'I apologize to anyone who was offended by it,' Orser said of a YouTube <http://www.youtube.com/> music video, titled *The Pussycat Song*, he says was posted by a female friend who had access to his Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/>page'“(The friend’s) sense of humour is a whole different ball game than mine. As soon as I saw it, I removed it.'The song, full of not-so-subtle double entendres, was only posted briefly, Orser said. But at least one person who saw it on Orser’s personal Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/>page — on which he identifies himself as a city councillor — complained to city hall. City manager Jeff Fielding spearheaded the anti-abuse program that was launched last year at city hall, where there’ve been some ugly incidents in the past. While he wouldn’t discuss Orser’s Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/>posting, Fielding said he spoke to Mayor Joe Fontana, who agreed council should get the training. 'I’m going to praise the mayor for taking the necessary steps,' Fielding said Wednesday. 'Personally, I think this is very beneficial.' The city launched the program last January. It’s designed to train all 3,000 city employees to better recognize and react to abuse and other forms of violence in the workplace, at home and in the community. (*London Free Press*, January 7, 2011) It's as if some anonymous kid had written a bad word on naughty little Stevie Orser's notebook. The teacher had found out and kept the whole class of innocent kids in after school to write out 100 times: "In politically correct Canada, we must not write naughty words that offend some thin-skinned minority on some other student's notebook." "*Double entendres*"? Say it's not true. We're hyperventilating! What is the matter with these witless politicians? None of them is responsible, except Orser who removed the offending posting or song as soon as he saw it. Why should the others, led by Joe Fontana, a former Liberal MP, subject themselves to a day of politically correct preaching, which, almost certainly the taxpayers will have to pay handsomely to provide? Should they not let their constituents be their moral guides? Would their time not be better spent and the money of the taxpayers, who pay their salaries, about the city's business than being the passive audience of a cultural communistic mass democracy struggle session? Speaking of "sensitivity" wouldn't "sensitivity traning" be better directed at Third World immigrants to explain that practices like head to toe *burkas *or *niqabs *or the demand that male Sikhs be entitled to carry their daggers (kirpans) when Majority members are not allowed to carry concealed weapons are offensive to the founding/settler Majority in Canada. What about sensitivity to OUR feeliings for once? Sensitivity tuneup fallout from video CITY COUNCIL: Racy song on councillor's Facebook page By PATRICK MALONEY, The London Free Press Last Updated: January 6, 2011 7:24am - *Story*<http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/01/05/16775366.html#/news/london/2011/01/05/pf-16775366.html> - *Comments*<http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/01/05/16775366.html#/news/london/2011/01/06/pf-16780496.html> - Email Story<http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/01/05/16775366.html#email> - Print<http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/01/05/16775366.html#print> - Size A<http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/01/05/16775366.html#small> A <http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/01/05/16775366.html#medium> A<http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/01/05/16775366.html#large> - Report Typo<http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/01/05/16775366.html#typo> - <http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&winname=addthis&pub=CanoeAdmin&source=tbx32-250&lng=en&s=facebook&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lfpress.com%2Fnews%2Flondon%2F2011%2F01%2F05%2F16775366.html&title=Sensitivity%20tuneup%20fallout%20from%20video%20%7C%20London%20%7C%20News%20%7C%20London%20Free%20Press&ate=AT-CanoeAdmin/-/-/4d424af7172f1d46/1&CXNID=2000001.5215456080540439074NXC&pre=http%3A%2F%2Ffullcomment.nationalpost.com%2F2011%2F01%2F13%2Fcanada-the-worlds-most-easily-offended-country%2F&tt=0><http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&winname=addthis&pub=CanoeAdmin&source=tbx32-250&lng=en&s=digg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lfpress.com%2Fnews%2Flondon%2F2011%2F01%2F05%2F16775366.html&title=Sensitivity%20tuneup%20fallout%20from%20video%20%7C%20London%20%7C%20News%20%7C%20London%20Free%20Press&ate=AT-CanoeAdmin/-/-/4d424af7172f1d46/2&CXNID=2000001.5215456080540439074NXC&pre=http%3A%2F%2Ffullcomment.nationalpost.com%2F2011%2F01%2F13%2Fcanada-the-worlds-most-easily-offended-country%2F&tt=0><http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&winname=addthis&pub=CanoeAdmin&source=tbx32-250&lng=en&s=google&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lfpress.com%2Fnews%2Flondon%2F2011%2F01%2F05%2F16775366.html&title=Sensitivity%20tuneup%20fallout%20from%20video%20%7C%20London%20%7C%20News%20%7C%20London%20Free%20Press&ate=AT-CanoeAdmin/-/-/4d424af7172f1d46/3&CXNID=2000001.5215456080540439074NXC&pre=http%3A%2F%2Ffullcomment.nationalpost.com%2F2011%2F01%2F13%2Fcanada-the-worlds-most-easily-offended-country%2F&tt=0> [image: Coun. Stephen Orser (Free Press file photo)] Coun. Stephen Orser (Free Press file photo) London’s entire city council must take sensitivity training after a racy song was posted on one councillor’s Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/>page. *The Free Press* has learned a program focusing on women abuse and family violence, which all city workers already must take, is now mandatory for council — the fallout of an online flare-up that’s ensnared Coun. Stephen Orser. “I apologize to anyone who was offended by it,” Orser said of a YouTube<http://www.youtube.com/>music video, titled *The Pussycat Song*, he says was posted by a female friend who had access to his Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/> page. “(The friend’s) sense of humour is a whole different ball game than mine. As soon as I saw it, I removed it.” The song, full of not-so-subtle double entendres, was only posted briefly, Orser said. But at least one person who saw it on Orser’s personal Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/>page — on which he identifies himself as a city councillor — complained to city hall. City manager Jeff Fielding spearheaded the anti-abuse program that was launched last year at city hall, where there’ve been some ugly incidents in the past. While he wouldn’t discuss Orser’s Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/>posting, Fielding said he spoke to Mayor Joe Fontana, who agreed council should get the training. “I’m going to praise the mayor for taking the necessary steps,” Fielding said Wednesday. “Personally, I think this is very beneficial.” The city launched the program last January. It’s designed to train all 3,000 city employees to better recognize and react to abuse and other forms of violence in the workplace, at home and in the community. The training requires a full-day course for city managers and a half-day for all other employees. With Orser bracing for a backlash over the Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/>posting, the misstep again underscores the risks posed by social media to politicians and anyone with a public profile. Last month, a man appointed to the London Transit Commission board resigned after tweeting a vulgar insult at a city councillor — coincidentally, the target was Orser. No stranger to controversy, Orser encountered a few potholes during his first term on council. Despite that — and notwithstanding a thorny relationship with proponents of Old East Village, a part of his ward — he was re-elected handily Oct. 25. Orser says he has no problem with the training. He maintains a friend who had access to his Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/> profile posted the controversial song during a small gathering at Orser’s home. “I’ve learned one thing — nobody else goes on my computer,” he said.