Dear Editor,
I’d like to start by thanking Danik Dozet and Gareth Mandin for their response letters to my original letter “OPIRG supporting radical communists.” I’m happy to see the Fulcrum act as a forum for the exchange of ideas on campus.
Since two letters were written in response to mine I’ll try and kill two birds with one stone in this letter, so bear with me. Furthermore, to my RSM/OPIRG readers, sit down before you read this. I will likely quote Margaret Thatcher (you’ve been warned).
Communist sympathizers love to compare violent communist regimes to the early forms of developed western countries. This approach is academically dishonest and fails to give credit to contemporary and developed democracies like Canada who are the envy of the world with respect to human rights and overall citizen freedom.
To quote Margaret Thatcher (here we go): “Socialists cry ‘Power to the people,’ and raise the clenched fist as they say it. We all know what they really mean—power over people, power to the State.”
This statement hits the nail on the head when we talk about the kind of political systems Dozet and Mandin boast about. Communism isn’t about individual empowerment. It’s about controlling the masses and killing the spark in every individual to work hard, to enjoy the fruits of our labour, and to destroy our will to work tirelessly so future generations may enjoy a higher quality of life than us.
Mr. Dozet paints a rosy picture of life under communism. Specifically he says: “people could live in peace from resource wars and safety from violence based on nationality, race, gender, and sexual orientation” under communist regimes. This is fundamentally false. Even today, in countries that still centralize their political power through corrupt communist parties, the closest thing that even resembles non-discrimination amongst peoples is the fact that they all share the burden of poverty and oppression. They all share a lack of basic rights, and any rights they do enjoy they fear expressing them under the threat of persecution.
Perhaps writing this letter is a waste of time. I’m faced with ideological opponents who don’t wish to be confused with facts as their minds are made up. However, I’ll finish the letter by talking about OPIRG, the student-funded organization who financially support radical communists. They are ripping off students across Ontario, funding radical causes with money taken non-consensually in August and December with the payment of tuition.
To all readers I would ask you to read all the most recent letters published in the Fulcrum (can be found on their website) and if you truly believe that the University of Ottawa’s 40,000+ students would consciously support the ideals of Dozet, Mandin, and their OPIRG friends, then do nothing.
If you stand with me and believe that these radical communist ideals don’t represent the common interests of students and that their levy shouldn’t be prioritized over essential SFUO services such as the food bank, then take a stand and tell them “no-more.”
—Marcus R. Mattinson, fourth-year public administration and political science student at the U of O.
