A plot by volunteers to falsely accuse an adversary of being a pedophile needs to be denounced by OneCity and all civic campaigners.
In the often dystopian, nether world of Twitter inhabited by trolls, pols and journos, a hate-storm has migrated to the real world and threatens to engulf a party with the now-seemingly ironic name of OneCity.
“A city where everyone belongs” is the party’s motto. Yet, several of its volunteers and supporters plotted to use QAnon tactics against a Vancouver housing activist.
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Taking a page from the alt-right playbook that cast former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as a child trafficker, local left-wing minor leaguers have set out to smear Rohana Rezel as a pedophile.
Why? Because Rezel disagrees with OneCity’s promise to rezone the entire city based on the trickle-down premise that Vancouver’s housing affordability crisis would be solved if only developers were set free to build in every nook, cranny and neighbourhood.
Rezel is a software developer who in his spare time tracks housing data, including the number of short-term rentals, the number of homes being flipped, and the amount of empty-home taxes levied. He ran unsuccessfully for Vancouver city council four years ago, but since then has continued to advocate for more purpose-built affordable housing, including co-ops, low-cost subsidized units, and housing subsidies.
But rather than engage in a policy debate, the plotters apparently considered it more expedient to potentially destroy a man’s reputation, his career and maybe even his life by falsely labelling him as one of the worst possible human beings.
Fortunately, the vileness of the suggestion was even too much for some in the group, who took screenshots of the chat and forwarded them to Rezel.
“I was really shocked that they were plotting this,” Rezel said. “This is beyond the pale, screaming pedophile for a political purpose …
“I’m lucky that they’re not as sophisticated as they think they are. But I still can’t wrap my head around it that they’d use these ‘fun and games’ to destroy people’s lives.”
Faced with that prospect, he sought legal advice and decided to go after them for manufacturing the lie before they had a chance to spread it.
Here’s an excerpt from the chat log:
“Maybe we give him a taste of his own medicine and openly wonder why he’s associating on Twitter with possible pedophiles,” wrote Tim Ell, who had earlier posted photos of him door-knocking with OneCity’s Christine Boyle.
“Nope. I would be very unhappy with that sort of posting,” Sushil Tailor responded.
“So then we’re doing it,” Ell replied.
“But there are better ways to f — k with people like Rezel,” Tailor wrote. “Ways that frustrate him, rather than needlessly slanders (sic) him.”
Tailor’s Twitter profile says he is “a rootless cosmopolitan, yimby propagandist” and software developer for Microsoft. A YIMBY is a ‘Yes, in my backyard’ proponent of adding housing in every neighbourhood.
Within a few hours of Rezel’s post, others tweeted about the bullying and intimidation that they had endured from some of the same people who had been in that chat or are linked to both OneCity and Abundant Housing Vancouver.
It took more than a day for OneCity to post a Twitter response. Rezel didn’t see it because the party has blocked him. There was no apology.
“We are glad to see that the individual (Ell) understands that his language was inappropriate and has apologized and committed to do better,” campaign manager Alex McGowan wrote in an emailed response to my questions.
In a later email, McGowan wrote that OneCity has asked Ell to “take a step back from the campaign,” adding that “he will not be involved with the campaign or volunteering with us moving forward.”
Ell also posted his response online. He made no attempt to reach Rezel.
“First, let me be clear: this group had nothing to do with OneCity,” Ell’s Twitter post said.
The screenshots, he wrote, were “taken wildly out of context and the meaning has been misrepresented.”
But in what possible “context” is it OK to talk about destroying someone’s character with lies? The only one I can think of is the same one inhabited by the alt-right trolls who earlier this week made “jokes” about raping Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre’s wife.
Ell also wrote, “I have never, and would never, accuse someone of anything without evidence. Regardless of their political views, no one deserves to be the target of slanders or misinformation.”
His non-apology seems to extend the plot because by Wednesday, the pedophile rumour was spreading on Reddit, with people asking why Rezel hadn’t denied the accusation.
It’s not the first time Rezel has been targeted for online harassment. When he ran for council in 2018, he was subjected to racist taunts and even called a terrorist because of his South Asian background.
This kind online intimidation, harassment and hate speech perfected by right-wing anarchists that has spread to the left requires much more than an apology.
It has got to stop because it destroys lives. The fear it engenders puts our civil society at risk and damages the foundations of democracy.
It’s a fight that can’t be waged by one individual at a time.
It requires denunciation. First and foremost, it ought to come from Christine Boyle, other OneCity candidates, and their supporters. But it can’t just stop with them.
It must be publicly condemned by others seeking public office and anyone who still believes in the possibility of a better city, province and country.
dbramham@postmedia.com