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James Gosling Appointed to the Order of Canada
Andrija Ifkovic writes "James Gosling, the creator of Java language and a VP of Sun has been appointed to the Order of Canada. 'The Order of Canada recognizes outstanding lifetime achievement and contributions to society and the country by Canadians from all walks of life.' This is the highest honor Canada can bestow upon its citizens."
It's aboot time he recieved this, eh.
Azural - instrumentals
The thing is, most of us don't see that as a bad thing, whereas you US folks have this pre-conditioned distrust of Royalty for some unfathomable reason
The concept of "Royalty" is a history-encompassing scam where brigand families who murdered and backstabbed their way to political dominance, then established the fiction that they were fundamentally superior by the grace of genetics and edict of God, and used that fiction to claim right to subjugate and torture their "subjects" when not embroiling them in self-enriching wars. They are not better than anyone else, worse in fact because they lived high on the hog on the lie that they were better. The history of most "royal" families should make being a member a mark of shame, not something to be elevated.
Even if the Royal family doesn't have power anymore, it should be as disgusting and shameful as the Confederate flag, a symbol of when one class had institutional, irrevocable license to dominate over another. I have no respect at all for even the symbolic institution of royalty. I wouldn't associate with someone who clung proudly to their ancestral plantation heritage, and likewise I wouldn't accept an honor from a false institution such as royalty. If anything, you are the one preconditioned to accept such garbage, not us to reject it.
The optics of the Canadian parliament are very interesting, given that so much of politics is managed optics. The vast majority are white, a large majority are male; out of proportion with the population and a picture of late colonial chauvinism. Then up there at the head, literally and figuratively, is this statuesque black woman of humble origins and high esteem, with her hand on the plug.
While the Klan and its kin are quiescent and underground, and people generally maintain an air of politeness, the thread of racism runs pretty strongly through the canadian multicultural tapestry. Polite, but still virulent and systematic. So, it's a very interesting balance of power illuminated by those optics (and you know they've been manufactured: she's an appointee). The head of state is a socially progressive black woman, so there.
Damn those pesky terrorists