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Opinion: Are you racist if you vote against PR?

The people managing the pro proportional representation campaign are painting a picture of people who aren’t voting in favour of their cause as knuckle-dragging racists.
racist
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The people managing the pro proportional representation campaign are painting a picture of people who aren’t voting in favour of their cause as knuckle-dragging racists.

According to the tweet below, if you vote in favour of the existing electoral system (first past the post, or FPTP) you don’t support racial diversity.

Illustrated with clapping, non-white hands, the tweet is racially charged and links to a piece from the Vancouver Sun where David Suzuki is talking about how diversity in all of its forms is generally a good thing, and that proportional representation will offer a platform for more diverse viewpoints.

At one point Suzuki alludes to race, saying that “Our current voting system in British Columbia — first past the post — does the same thing with our political system by creating a single voice in government that fails to reflect the diversity of our communities, our values or our political views.”

racist
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The piece is titled David Suzuki: Proportional representation’s diversity of views will lead to better policies.

Whoever’s running VotePRBC is not letting facts get in the way: if you don’t vote in favour of one of the pro rep options, they want you to know that you’re a racist, closed-minded troglodyte. Because David Suzuki wrote something about diversity.

Both sides of the campaign are blasting out ridiculous rhetoric with help from the $500,000 of your tax dollars that they’ve each been supplied, but this is the lowest of the low so far.

Whoever signed off on this garbage messaging should hang their head in shame.