Vulcanoid

I think a good chunk of the issue is (rightly or wrongly) the "their homes" part of it. Some people feel that if a person has become a Canadian citizen, their home should be in one of the provinces or territories, and that leaving to have a home elsewhere (particularly one where they originally had, before moving to Canada) is indicative of wanting Canadian protection, rather than of wanting to be a part of Canadian society.


Essentially, these people by and large have no problem helping people when Canada is their home. They have a bigger problem helping people when Canada is, or appears to be, their lifeboat.

bats

I know what people think about it but my comment was that it seems only Canada had this attitude, and why.


Maybe some of those people were born Canadian.
The conflict was expected to have lasted longer than a month otherwise why would evacuations take place? Imagine that you and your family were being bombed by a neighbouring country and that your government did not retaliate. Cluster bombs and phosphorus bombs are landing in civilian areas. You have the opportunity to leave and you take it. Then there's an unexpected ceasefire and the country you've lived in for many years, maybe all your life, is not entirely wrecked. Wouldn't you go back?

As for the evacuation if dual nationality, I doubt there would have been time to assess who had this and who didn't.

I think it's a bigoted and churlish attitude.

edit. Instead of being pleased that those people were able to return to their homes Canadians were sulking because the refugees preferred Lebanon over Canada.
No doubt they are the same Canadians who don't want the Syrians here and if those Syrians are ever able to return to help rebuild Syria there will be complaints about ingratitude

Vulcanoid

I'd expect evacuations to take place based on the severity of the issue, not the timescale; at the extreme, if I was in a city that would be levelled as part of a day-long conflict, I'd quite like to see an evacuation take place.

Teaandtoday5

Interesting. The humanist thing I mean. The organisation, without the belief aspect. I don't have religion, but if I did the 'organised' aspect of it would still be one of the major drawbacks.

Shard

Unfortunately you need some 'organisation' to counter the insidious creep of religion itself. Best example of this is opposition to the highly perverse government policy of not only allowing, but encouraging faith schools. British humanists are trying to change this.

Teaandtoday5

When I first read your response I thought hmmm, yeah, good point. But, apart from the likelihood that any government encouragement has to do with funding/creep towards privatisation do religious schools make any difference to the overall level of 'belief'? I'm not really a fan of Dawkins-style atheism that has to 'convert' others to non-belief.

BristolUK

Belief in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy lessens because people tell you they don't exist (the cads) and doubt sets in.

Imagine what you're told at home being reinforced by your teachers and then at home again and then by your teachers again but also by your peers because that's all they get at home and at school as well.

That's got to make a belief more ingrained than if being exposed to other ideas hasn't it?

Novocastrian

Oh, you're probably right. I just hope to make friends with a few people who aren't completely brain dead. I'll probably spit in their faces after 20 minutes.

Teaandtoday5

Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy don't exist (sorry). I know a lot of people who believe in psychics (there's a word for Shard's other thread), lot's of people do, but there aren't any psychic schools. I agree family influence is strong, but I do think some people are just 'susceptible' to belief, and will do so regardless. Religion is not a secret, and those who want/need it will find it.

My youngest is in grade 8, and there exists amongst her peers a belief that clever kids go to Catholic high school. Most of those who will be choosing St Max are doing so because of that belief (and possibly a comparison of exam results) not because of religious affiliation.

Shard

Religious schools breed division in society. The watered down CE and RC schools probably don't make much difference to 'belief' and even if they did, modern Christian belief is not a particularly corrosive strain of the virus. Other strains are not quite so benign.

Novocastrian

Ha!

BristolUK

They won't need to find it though, it will be there morning noon and night.

Shard

Look, I'm trying to be restrained in my pronouncements!

Shard

Imagine if you can persuade just two consecutive generations (current parents and their children) to drop their belief in religion, the whole sorry 2000 year edifice crumbles in about 40-50 years. That's all it takes for the planet to become largely rational.

Teaandtoday5

When has the 'you can't/you shouldn't/you're wrong' approach ever succeeded in rationalising religious belief? Fighting religion promotes a bunker mentality. Just live and let live. Religion will never be 'gone'. Some people need it. Let it go.