Rocky Dong has been earning some kudos from a few folks for his “delightful” low-budget campaign videos promoting his Burnaby North-Seymour candidacy.
I’ve included a link to one of them, in which Rocky, who is running for the People’s Party of Canada, once again dons the boxing gloves – his name Rocky, he’s boxing – get it?
This time, Rocky is fighting “socialism” and he gets his ass kicked before vowing to rise again to get his revenge. The video is so poorly done it would be an insult to a high school AV class. I don’t know if it’s done this bad deliberately or if the people behind it are just incompetent.
Even the narration is so poorly recorded that I didn’t really catch most of it. Thankfully, there are helpful (crappy) graphics.
The two videos Dong has done have charmed some people and, in isolation, I get it. We’re tired of slick politicians! It’s great to see somebody have some fun!
Yeah, sure, except that Dong is running under a banner that is loaded with anti-Muslim racism, immigration fear mongering and climate-denial garbage.
@Rocky4PPC is back! #Socialism challenges Rocky Dong!
— PPC Burnaby North-Seymour (@NorthPpc) September 23, 2019
Rocky stands for all , but it becomes David vs. Goliath!
Who will stand with @Rocky4PPC for #respect, #freedom, #responsibility, and #fairness in #elxn43?
We stand with Rocky, @MaximeBernier and @peoplespca!#cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/N1TqtzkPd5
When I think of it in that light, it’s not so charming.
To me, candidates can’t just separate themselves from their party’s policies or their leader by being quirky.
The PPC’s own leader, Maxime Bernier, is frightening all on his own. Reading his Twitter feed makes me feel like Andy Dufresne crawling through the sewer in the Shawshank Redemption – only I never escape the pipe to get clean.
Bernier only recently viciously attacked teen climate activist Greta Thunberg – calling her "mentally unstable." Imagine what it takes to attack a child like that because she fears for the world’s future.
There is instance after instance of the PPC whipping up anti-immigration hatred.
It’s not just me who thinks so, of course.
"I am troubled by your decision to allow the leader of the People's Party of Canada in the debates. It is wrong that Mr. Bernier be given a platform to promote an ideology of hate that spreads prejudice and disinformation," Burnaby South MP and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh wrote in a letter to the Leaders' Debates Commissioner, arguing that Bernier shouldn’t be included. "Mr. Bernier has courted racists to run for his party. He frequently promotes damaging conspiracy theories on his social media pages. And he has been photographed with far-right hate groups with neo-Nazi ties."
I’ve had PPC supporters write me claiming that the candidacy of Rocky Dong is some sort of proof that the party isn’t racist. It’s the political equivalent of “I’m not racist – some of my best friends are POC.”
So, no, I don’t think Rocky Dong’s homemade videos are funny or cute or refreshing. It’s a sneaky distraction from the ugly politics the PPC plays – politics that are dragging this country down into the gutter.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
