Head Tale

I’ll start with a “disclaimer fact” before I get to my real list of facts about #elbowgate.

I’m on record as saying I don’t like *any* of the childish shit that happens in Parliament from any party and wish it wasn’t that way.  I also think the NDP reaction to this situation was very poor from both a public relations/political perspective (not sure how different those two things are but I mention both anyhow.)

Now, having said that, here are a few facts to correct much of the misinformation I’m seeing online (such as this genius who treats what happened like the Zapruder film while missing the biggest point – which I’m sure you’ll figure out in my list below)…

1. It’s a fact that this whole thing got mislabeled as #elbowgate even though it escalated to something unprecedented in Canadian history only after the current Prime Minister of Canada chose to leave his seat and aggressively put his hands on another MP while saying “Get the fuck out of the way!“
2. It’s a fact that the NDP and Conservatives were doing nothing against the rules of Parliament by briefly delaying the vote although after less than a minute of delay, the current Prime Minister of Canada chose to leave his seat and aggressively put his hands on another MP while saying “Get the fuck out of the way!”
3. It’s a fact that the vote could’ve proceeded with one party whip in his seat even if the other wasn’t which means that even if the NDP were blocking the Opposition Whip, it didn’t matter and yet the current Prime Minister of Canada chose to leave his seat and aggressively put his hands on another MP while saying “Get the fuck out of the way!”
4. It’s a fact that the MP who was manhandled did not want to be touched and immediately told the Prime Minister “Let go of me…now!” after the current Prime Minister of Canada chose to leave his seat and aggressively put his hands on another MP while saying “Get the fuck out of the way!”
5. It’s a fact that no one can know for sure what happened and why – whether Trudeau accidentally nudged Brosseau or she leaned into him; whether his elbow was unintentional or “accidentally on purpose” in the heat of the moment;  whether she changed from laughing to wincing as an honest reaction to an unexpected elbow to the breast or once she realised that she could embarrass the current Prime Minister of Canada who chose to leave his seat and aggressively put his hands on another MP while saying “Get the fuck out of the way!”
6. It’s a fact that no matter the intent, severity or even whether a person is likely to be charged, when a person “intentionally uses force on another person without their consent” that is the legal definition of assault which is what occurred when the current Prime Minister of Canada chose to leave his seat and aggressively put his hands on another MP while saying “Get the fuck out the way!”
7. It’s a fact that the elbow in question did not occur on a subway train or in a soccer match or on Boxing Day at the mall or anywhere else where apologists are making (poor) analogies to downplay what happened in the highest office in the land after the current Prime Minister of Canada chose to leave his seat and aggressively put his hands on another MP while saying “Get the fuck out of the way!”
8. It’s a fact that in most workplaces if someone makes aggressive, bullying physical contact with another co-worker while swearing at them, there would be a real risk of discipline or even dismissal which is unlikely to happen in this case even though the current Prime Minister of Canada chose to leave his seat and aggressively put his hands on another MP while saying “Get the fuck out of the way!”
9. It’s a fact that the current Prime Minister was both a teacher and a bar bouncer in his past life but in no way does that give him either the right nor the skills to deal with this situation and it actually frightens me that, in a predicament he felt frustrated by, a former teacher such as the current Prime Minister of Canada chose to leave his seat and aggressively put his hands on another MP while saying “Get the fuck out of the way!”
10. It’s a fact that this scandal took away from the real work of MPs or actual news and events for a few days but only because the current Prime Minister of Canada chose to leave his seat and aggressively put his hands on another MP while saying “Get the fuck out of the way!”
11. It’s a fact that this “born on third, thinks he hits a triple” politician who claims to represent a new civility and a new way of doing politics had what was essentially a temper tantrum when he didn’t get his way and yet the working class, single mother and former bartender who has already overcome derision and mockery once (much of it based on her gender and socio-economic status) is once again being pelted with unbelievably vile abuse for something that only happened to her because the current Prime Minister of Canada chose to leave his seat and aggressively put his hands on another MP while saying “Get the fuck out of the way!”
12. It’s a fact that both the NDP and Conservatives are trying to score political points over what happened only because that’s what any politician (including a Liberal one) would do in a situation where the current Prime Minister of Canada chose to leave his seat and aggressively put his hands on another MP while saying “Get the fuck out of the way!”

Some more reading on this topic if you’re interested.