Read and research, before engaging your rage

Opinion

It looked like Liberal arrogance of the first degree, deliberately blowing off a meeting of a major Parliamentary committee.

Conservative MP Larry Brock on X: “UNBELIEVABLE. Parliament is back, but Liberal members of the Justice Committee are MISSING IN ACTION. Crime is out of control, Canadians are terrified, but Conservatives are ready to restore safety to our streets.”

Ditto, Conservative MP Roman Babar: “It’s 3:30 pm on a Tuesday. The Standing Committee on Justice is supposed to be meeting right now. Crime is out of control and justice reform is desperately needed. The Committee’s Conservative members are ready to work, but Liberal members refuse to show up. Unbelievable!”

You get the point. Problem is, there was no meeting. No staff. No translators. Just four Conservative MPs.

But let’s dial back the temperature a bit.

Yes, the justice committee regularly has a committee room scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 3:30 and 5 p.m. But Parliament only began on Tuesday, and, if the Tories were keeping up on their homework, they might have noticed that the clerk of the committee, Jean-François Lafleur, had sent out a notice of meeting for meeting No. 2 of the justice committee (meeting No. 1 was held on June 13 to elect a chair) at 11:19 on the morning of Sept. 16, saying the next meeting would be held on Sept. 18.

Who among us hasn’t made a scheduling mistake?

It didn’t have to become a social media rage event. But that’s what happened — and what happened after the original Tweets is even more revealing about where hot takes and social media has left us all.

The replies to the Conservative social media posts pretty much split down the middle.

On the one hand, there was a steady stream of responses by social media users attacking the Liberals for not showing up: “If I didn’t show up to do my job there would be consequences … What can we not hold our corrupt government accountable? Where are the laws that can allow us to fine and charge these ppl? It’s all feels so hopeless and pointless lately.”

“Liberals do not care about damn about Canadians. They are controlled by the WEF. They are 2 years away from communism.”

“Canadians demand accountability, so it’s time to financially penalize both liars and those who aren’t applying themselves to represent CONSTITUENTS.”

“The liberals are … denouncing our democratic process, for their authoritarian, communist, tyrannical state! This must not be permitted!”

You get the drift.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the equation, the Conservatives were getting trashed for misreading the schedule.

“This is 100% a LIE. There was no meeting scheduled, and this was a STAGED PHOTO by the disgusting, horrible and deceitful Larry Brock.”

“Why must the conservatives use staged events, drama, etc. to play games with voters? Voters are sick of rhetoric and games, one line catch phrases and general disrespect? Is that all you have? Is there no substance or ideas that you can share without games?”

“Larry Brock, admitting to the world that he doesn’t know how calendars work. Weird flex, but okay.”

“Lol Canadians are terrified? Where? Certainly not where I live. … Plus… that committee doesn’t have its first meeting til Thursday. Lol Are you okay, Larry?”

It makes it seem like Canadians are in two different camps that can’t even take the time to look up a schedule to settle an issue before taking to social media like flocks of flying monkeys.

Nor, apparently, can they even absorb the other side of the argument enough to reach the simplest of middle ground.

You can’t help but think, even 10 years ago, parliamentarians might have had a quiet laugh amongst themselves about the mix-up.

And wouldn’t that have been better?