Away in Edmonton on work, when I got half a dozen calls about a disgusting radio ad in a Tamil radio CTBC- Canadian Tamil Broadcasting Corporation, run by Illaybharati, I was puzzled.
When I heard the recording of the ad in YouTube, I felt like puking. This is disgusting in many ways. By placing such an ad targeted at the Tamil community, it portrays Tamils to be anti gay, worse they daringly assume that homophobia will appeal to the Tamil community in Toronto.
This is the kind of stereotypes by ’white’ politicians living in the colonial world of plantation and salves that tarnishes Tamils and immigrants and portrays them of failing to accept Canadian values, living in cultural ghettos filled with anti Canadian values.
There are many issues with the Tamil community and as a Canadian of Tamil heritage, I have been one of the most vocal critics of it, including the LTTE, but I can assure you of one thing, that the Tamil Community is not anti gay. If any, they are the most caring, culturally vibrant group who don’t judge politicians by their sexuality, but rather by their public service.
Here is the exact translations of the Ad:
Tamil Transcript of the ad
MAN #1: Mani anna (elder brother), who are you going to vote for ?
MAN#2: *snickering dismissively* what a question…we are Tamil…we have a religion, a culture..take rob ford…he is married to a woman..also he promises to lower transfer and other fees..
man#1: so..immigration?…
MAN#2: *snickering dismissively again* that’s a federal matter..probably to get the whiteman’s vote (term for white man used here colloquially with racist undertones)..
MAN#1: i am also voting for rob ford
** this is a paid advertisement*
Rob Ford should come out clean on this and should apologize to Tamil Canadians and Torontonians if this is the work of his campaign team, if not we would like to see him condemn it and clarify his position on same sex marriage.
CTBC should provide details of who paid for the advertisement.
I don’t know if he was directly behind those ads or not (though it wouldn’t surprise me if he or at least someone involved in his campaign was), but Rob Ford has made it pretty clear in the past that he’s against same-sex marriage: http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/08/04/14919356.html
And yes, I’d be very interesting in knowing who funded those ads too!
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Disgusting. This has “conservative” written all over it…
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“what a question…we are Tamil…we have a religion, a culture..”-Man #2.
There is your answer right there. The Tamils, like many new immigrants have a culture and a religion that you on the left never question. Did you think they were going to leave that at the door when they went to caste a vote? If they voted for Smitherman, that would go against their god, their ingrained moral beliefs.
Who do you think holds more weight to a Tamil, a muslim or a christian? Their god, or George Smitherman? Three separate religions but all with a strong belief in a god. Not the same god, but a god none the less.
It is easy to beat on christians, their god can be negotiated with, and is sort of wimpy. Not so with muslim’s and tamil’s. Their gods are unbending and demand strict adherence.
Funny actually as the left keep going on about baking the glorious multicultural pie, not realizing they aren’t even going to get to lick the plate.
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Vijay you demand the Ford campaign come out and come clean about this ad. You presuppose the ad was condoned. More than likely this was an ad released by persons unknown to appear to be from the Ford campaign. Possibly a Smitherman last ditch effort to garner sympathy because he is gay. I do know for sure this could not be an ad condoned and released by the official Ford campaign.
You ask the Ford campaign to apologize for the content in this ad again presupposing guilt. They have nothing to apologize for as this is so obviously the work of either rouge supporters or a fifth column attempt by the Smitherman campaign. Don’t be so quick to pull the trigger of your indignation.
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While most Tamils are Hindu, many others are Muslim, Buddhist and even Christian. So to ascribe a single belief system to the Tamil population or any other for that matter merely displays your ignorance and is why we get ads like this in the first place
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Honey Pot. Lol. The irony of your handle meshes well with your bigotry, ignorance, and paranoia. Honey is sweet, you are a bitter right wing know nothing.
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Canada is letting racist homophobic bigots into the country, and they vote with their “culture”. Great.
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The majority of Tamils are Hindu. That said, I was just pointing out the fact of how stupid the left is to not think a person’s religious and cultural beliefs do not play a part in how they caste a vote. You are not even thinking of where many of these immigrants are coming from. When is the last time you heard of a gay pride parade through the streets of Baghdad? A touring Queens troupe being welcomed in Sri Lanka? Do you got anything? Today, homosexuality is still a criminal offense in Sri Lanka, as it is in many of the states in the region. Sri Lanka is unique however, as criminalization also applies to lesbians. I am not saying it is right, I am just saying it is so.
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Ironically, new immigrant communities like Tamils who are very high users of social services and welfare system will be first affected by the cut in social services. Perhaps Ford should launch a campaign to weed out all fraudulent welfare abusers in the new immigrant communities in Toronto.
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I have also heard the Ad in the Radio, which I was shocked … Because Canadian Tamils are progressive community in Canada, but they failed to understand their own religion, Many Tamils think Anti-Gay or Homophobia is part of their Culture, but infact they forget that Gays, Homosexuality is widely accepted in Ancient Tamil Nadu and India on the whole. Few examples I can say is The Only Gay parade of India or whole South Asia is conducted every year in Tamil Nadu ( Koothandavar Temple ) where hundred thousand of Gays congregate for three day Gay parade and festivals for Homosexual people, where all over India people attend to observe the MARRIAGE CEREMONY OF ARAVAN, who married to a homosex gay, MOHINI, ( Goddess Krishna ).
Second instance is very true fact Canadian Tamils in Scarborough worship AYYAPAH, god of kaliyuga, ( AYYAPPA TEMPLE IN SCARBOROUGH IS FAMOUS ) who born to a God Shiva who is Male and Lord VISHNU who transformed into women from Man ( it clearly refer to Gays ). So, Tamils has to be understand the very fact Ancient Tamils and Hinduism allowed Homosexuality in Ancient Days and Homosex are accepted and treated equivalent to God. But Modern Tamils ( Like those in the Ad says, he will vote for a Man who married to Woman , failed to understand the God he worship daily is Man who accepted another Man as his wife and bear the Child Ayyappa and they worship all of them as God ) failed to Understand it.
So As a Tamil, Straight Man, i am supporting for Homsexual rights, but I am strictily opposing to those Tamils promote Homophobia.. .. Like you and me, like men and women, Homosexual people has right to enjoy all those benefits U n Me enjoying .. If you try to show the Culture and Religion as barried, U Tamils forgot the very same culture and Religion allowed Gays and praised them as God. . ..
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