Well, by now I'm sure most people in Canada have heard the name. Brigitte Marcelle DePape is the Senate page who displayed a "Stop Harper" sign during the Throne Speech this week and later expressed her views about the Prime Minister to the media. I figured I might as well add my two cents to the story, although I'm sure plenty of commentary has been made and I don't know if anybody cares what I think. However, I like to write, I have an opinion, so who cares if someone reads it or not.
First of all, the act was extremely disrespectful - to the office of the Prime Minister, to Stephen Harper himself, to the Senate and last, but not least to Canada. DePape later spoke about Stephen Harper being disastrous for this country and her generation. She's exactly what's wrong with this generation - no respect, no discipline and thinks she can do whatever she likes. There is a time and a place for her protest and this wasn't it. She insulted all of us with her outburst, which was equivalent to spitting on the flag or burning it. Very patriotic of her.
Second of all, she clearly has no idea what she is talking about. She's an ignorant youth, a pawn of the media and extremists, who probably thinks she's a patriot and helping make a difference. She's a puppet, spouting out slogans she's been watching on TV and the Internet. Stephen Harper hasn't destroyed any social programs and if she had listened to the Throne Speech, instead of interrupting it, she might have realized he's not planning on doing it in the future either.
Third, she claims that Stephen Harper does not represent the majority of Canadians. She claims three out of four Canadians do not support Stephen Harper. Last time I checked, 39% of the popular vote is about 14% more than 1/4. Perhaps, instead of meddling in politics, she should go back to school and learn some math. Also, around 40% of the vote is standard for a multi-party system majority. DePape should look into the statistics from previous elections to confirm that. Even at their height in the 90s, the Liberals only had 43% of the vote. It seems that history is not her strong point either. If it was a two-party system, as exists in the U.S. the 39% would probably translate into around 60% of the popular vote.
Finally, related to the previous point, there is her call for an "Arab spring". We just had the Liberals and NDP start a little revolution by forcing an election and this time, the people of Canada spoke for stability, for the economy and for a stronger Canada. Any uprising now would be a small, but loud minority, definitely not representing the views and beliefs of Canadians and that should never be allowed.
DePape has no idea what the revolutions in the Middle East and Africa are about, but thinks she has a right to disrupt Canada's highest institutions to express her juvenile, uneducated views. Shame on her for this embarrassment to Canada. I hope that there will be consequences for her actions and that she learns something more from this, other than that doing something stupid in public can make you popular. If she really wants to make a difference in our country, she should get an education, volunteer, contribute, improve the laws, instead of making ignorant and disrespectful comments and gestures.
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