Social Neanderthalism

Herewith a lovely new phrase — so useful in these days of thoughtless social conservatism — brought to my attention by Pam.* The story itself was interesting enough, about how the conservative Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has told his party's MPs not to talk about those two gay Mounties who are planning to get married this summer. I'm sure that y'all can come up with plenty of your own reasons why he might do this.

However, could any of us have thought up a reason and expressed it so poetically and concisely as this:

Opposition MPs said the gag order is telling. "It shows that Stephen Harper does not trust his own caucus to avoid social Neanderthalism on these issues," said Liberal MP Scott Brison.

"Social Neanderthalism" seem particularly apposite and suitably ironic, particularly when applied to the beliefs and activities of those who would deny Neanderthals as an evolutionary ancestor to Homo Sapiens.#

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*Pam Spaulding, "Canada's Harper puts the gag on wingnuts over Mountie marriage", Pam's House Blend, 26 May 2006.

#Yes, that was largely gratuitous, but I feel obliged to say Homo pretty much whenever I can work it into the conversation.

Posted on May 29, 2006 at 19.32 by jns · Permalink
In: All, Such Language!

2 Responses

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  1. Written by Bill Morrison
    on Monday, 29 May 2006 at 23.33
    Permalink

    I hadn't heard Mr Brisson's "social neanderthalism" comment. It certainly fits some of the members sitting on the government side of the House, some of whom can make mid-western Republicans look positively progressive in their social stance.

    Mr Brisson, who is a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party (which is in even greater disarray than the Democrats in the US) is one of two or three openly gay members of the Canadian Parliament, and was a cabinet minister in the last government.

    An aside: it is common in Canada to follow English tradition and refer to the Conservative party as "Tories" (the Liberals are "Grits"). The term Tory was freely applied to the former Progressive Conservative party, which was wiped out in an election in the 1990s, going from the largest majority in Canadian parliamentary history to only 2 members. The current "Conservative" party is a merger of the old PCs, and the Canadian Alliance party, an ultra-right-wing party that originates in Western Canada and has its roots in the Social Credit movement of former Alberta premier "Bible Bill" Eberhart. I refuse to call them Tories, they don't deserve the compliment. I prefer to use a portmanteau term of my own creation, combining "Tories" and Prime Minister Harper's surname into "Harpies."

  2. Written by Chris
    on Tuesday, 30 May 2006 at 00.33
    Permalink

    There are four out homo MPs, Bill. Libby Davies and Bill (whatzizname – Svend Robinson's riding assistant in Burnaby-Douglas(*) before Svend (also gay) resigned), both NDP from BC; Scott himself (formerly a Tory, now a Grit, from Nova Scotia); and Real Menard, of Montreal and the Bloc Quebecois.

    (*) that's Svend's old parliamentary constituency, or "riding" as we call 'em here in the Great White North. Don't you find it amusing how the 'Murricans just number their "congressional districts"? where's the fun in that?

    and do I get to claim author credits for Steven and the Harpies?

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