Green leader won't endorse Vancouver candidate
Patrick_Ross @ Sun Apr 15, 2007 12:33 pm
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/s ... hub=Canada
$1:
Green leader won't endorse Vancouver candidate
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May says she won't sign the nomination papers of a Vancouver candidate who described the twin tower's collapse on Sept. 11, 2001 as "beautiful."
Kevin Potvin said on Friday he was being "symbolic" when he wrote a column in 2002 cheering the terror attacks, and that it should be obvious he took no pleasure in the fact that thousands of people were killed that day.
But May said in a statement released Sunday that Potvin's views are antithetical to the party line.
"Non-violence is one of the Green Party's fundamental principles," said May. "Our members declare their commitment to strive for a culture of peace and cooperation between states and between people.
"I spoke with Kevin and realize this has been difficult for him. He is a community leader, a father and an engaged citizen. He plays a very helpful role in his community.
"However, his views are antithetical to Green Party values. We have irreconcilable differences. I will not sign his nomination papers and he will not be a Green Party candidate" in Vancouver-Kingsway.
Potvin is the publisher and editor of The Republic, an alternative Vancouver newspaper.
Parts of his November 2002 column were reproduced in newspaper articles Friday. He wrote that when he saw the first of the World Trade Centre towers fall Sept. 11, 2001, "there was a little voice inside me that said 'Yeah!'
"When the second tower came down the same way, that little voice said 'Beautiful.'
"When the visage of the Pentagon appeared on the TV with a gaping and smoking hole in its side, that little voice had nearly taken me over and I felt an urge to pump my fist in the air."
The column goes on to say "I know lots of people were killed. But then again, I see lots of people getting killed whenever I turn the TV news on, and frankly, it doesn't really get me anymore."
Potvin said Friday he didn't mean he was dismissing the deaths. He said in an interview with the Canadian Press that he titled the column "A Revolting Confession" because he was repelled by his own thoughts.
"Obviously, as a human to human here, you know that I'm not using beautiful in that sense," he said.
In his column, Potvin said the number of people killed on Sept. 11, 2001, isn't the reason why those attacks were such an important event.
Lots of people die every day in lots of places like Rwanda and in the United States, he wrote.
"The only reason Sept. 11 merits so much attention is because the targets were so supremely symbolic. Corporatism and militarism were struck that morning, and that's why it's such big news."
He also wrote that he is not alone in his belief.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May says she won't sign the nomination papers of a Vancouver candidate who described the twin tower's collapse on Sept. 11, 2001 as "beautiful."
Kevin Potvin said on Friday he was being "symbolic" when he wrote a column in 2002 cheering the terror attacks, and that it should be obvious he took no pleasure in the fact that thousands of people were killed that day.
But May said in a statement released Sunday that Potvin's views are antithetical to the party line.
"Non-violence is one of the Green Party's fundamental principles," said May. "Our members declare their commitment to strive for a culture of peace and cooperation between states and between people.
"I spoke with Kevin and realize this has been difficult for him. He is a community leader, a father and an engaged citizen. He plays a very helpful role in his community.
"However, his views are antithetical to Green Party values. We have irreconcilable differences. I will not sign his nomination papers and he will not be a Green Party candidate" in Vancouver-Kingsway.
Potvin is the publisher and editor of The Republic, an alternative Vancouver newspaper.
Parts of his November 2002 column were reproduced in newspaper articles Friday. He wrote that when he saw the first of the World Trade Centre towers fall Sept. 11, 2001, "there was a little voice inside me that said 'Yeah!'
"When the second tower came down the same way, that little voice said 'Beautiful.'
"When the visage of the Pentagon appeared on the TV with a gaping and smoking hole in its side, that little voice had nearly taken me over and I felt an urge to pump my fist in the air."
The column goes on to say "I know lots of people were killed. But then again, I see lots of people getting killed whenever I turn the TV news on, and frankly, it doesn't really get me anymore."
Potvin said Friday he didn't mean he was dismissing the deaths. He said in an interview with the Canadian Press that he titled the column "A Revolting Confession" because he was repelled by his own thoughts.
"Obviously, as a human to human here, you know that I'm not using beautiful in that sense," he said.
In his column, Potvin said the number of people killed on Sept. 11, 2001, isn't the reason why those attacks were such an important event.
Lots of people die every day in lots of places like Rwanda and in the United States, he wrote.
"The only reason Sept. 11 merits so much attention is because the targets were so supremely symbolic. Corporatism and militarism were struck that morning, and that's why it's such big news."
He also wrote that he is not alone in his belief.