I'll be honest, I actually didn't believe the allegations against Toronto Mayor Rob Ford about smoking crack up until the news hit on November 5th. Aren't crack addicts usually a lot thinner? I don't mean that as a joke, it's what I would imagine.
So, now that he's gone on and admitted his use, but remains to do his job as Mayor, fixing the damage to the reputation of Toronto and restoring the trust that the people put in him should be the most crucial next steps.
What he has going for him are the number of people who empathize with his drug problem - denial and hiding the truth from loved ones is usually the first sign of an addiction. They may be a minority, but the support is there. What Ford should do right now is use that to his advantage if his mandate is to continue running the city as their Mayor and to get the people back on his side.
In PR, Crisis Management is not about spinning the truth or turning a negative in to a positive. In Ford's case, there is no way you can turn the fact that he admitted to smoking crack in to something that the audience will see in a different light.
What a Publicist can do is salvage what hasn't been lost or damaged and begin to rebuild the foundation by filling in the cracks and replacing the bolts.
The first step is to be honest with your audience, which Ford has finally done. The next step is to show them what you plan on doing to fix the situation with specific goals and measurable outcomes. For Ford, that would mean admitting to having an addiction, getting help at a clinic or through a medical professional, and assigning the Deputy Mayor to take over during his hiatus. The final outcome would be a genuine apology to the City of Toronto (not using the words "I sincerely, sincerely, sincerely...), a move towards helping other addicts, and implementing actions that remind people about all the good that he has done prior to the allegations.
Showing an act of good faith and sincerity is something that most people can forgive. Ford is not a bad person, he made bad choices. He is a public person in a very public profession with even more public responsibilities which magnifies his situation ten times fold.
In order to receive the support of the people of Toronto, his peers and staff, the next few weeks will be crucial in implementing these steps if Ford wishes to serve the people of Toronto with authenticity and integrity.
This has been my close up, I welcome your thoughts.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
The Difference Between Ethnicity and Nationality
I was listening to CKNW's "The Bill Good Show" yesterday morning and caught a bit of his segment on 'Just How Racist Are We', an article written by Province Deputy Editor Ros Guggi. I was reminded of a segment on the "Simi Sara Show" a few months back about a similar topic. There was this one particular caller who stated that immigrants who arrive in Canada should denounce their ethnicity and be recognized as Canadian and not Italian-Canadian (that was the example he used). To me, the comment sounded racially motivated. It was frustrating to hear, and it offended me.
Guggi's article series is about exploring how racist our province is in the 21st century, and aims to serve as a platform for an open and honest discussion about racism. Here is my contribution to the discussion, by commenting on how this caller's "feedback" appeared as a racist issue hidden behind a statement about immigration.
I was born in Viet Nam, I speak vietnamese to my parents, I have a vietnamese name, and I practice vietnamese customs on many occasions. I immigrated to Canada and have chosen to live here for the past 30 years and have earned the privilege to be Canadian; I didn't chose to be Vietnamese or to be born in Viet Nam. So, I consider myself to be Vietnamese-Canadian, an indication of my given ethnicity, and my earned nationality.
My parents, my brother, and myself are one of many Vietnamese/Chinese escapees who fled the political turmoil of Viet Nam at the end of the 1970's. We were those "boat people". It is a part of our family history and identity, a life altering decision that is pretty hard to forget.
Just as the right to pursue your dreams, your freedom, your ambitions is part of a democracy which is a privilege and a choice, so is your Nationality. Ethnicity is not; yet, this caller, and I'm sure he's not alone in thinking this, seemed to argue that becoming Canadian should override the premise of someone's ethnic background.
Your ethnicity is the foundation of who you are, it's something that you don't have the ability to change when it comes to forming your identity. Your nationality on the other hand, is a choice.
Immigrants come from all ethnic backgrounds, from countries that have over hundreds to thousands of years of history. So, to ask an Immigrant seeking a different nationality to denounce their ethnicity walks the line of being racist.
That caller I referenced in the beginning doesn't seem to know the difference between nationality and ethnicity, so he identifies the two as being one in the same. He identified himself as Canadian and boasted that as his superior identity. It is racist when a person believes their race is more superior over another's.
If you are to argue that being Canadian is your ethnicity, I encourage you to do some serious research in to the history of your ancestry. It would be a shame that a person not know their family history if it can be so easily accessed. We all know that Canada is not more than 200 years old so it's safe to say that many Canadians have roots outside of this country.
I feel strongly about this issue because my ethnicity is quite visible, maybe that makes it easier for me to speak on the subject. I also respect my cultural background and embrace my family history.
Ultimately, I hope people will recognize the difference between their nationality and their ethnicity - the former is a choice, and the latter is what you are born with.
Guggi's article series is about exploring how racist our province is in the 21st century, and aims to serve as a platform for an open and honest discussion about racism. Here is my contribution to the discussion, by commenting on how this caller's "feedback" appeared as a racist issue hidden behind a statement about immigration.
I was born in Viet Nam, I speak vietnamese to my parents, I have a vietnamese name, and I practice vietnamese customs on many occasions. I immigrated to Canada and have chosen to live here for the past 30 years and have earned the privilege to be Canadian; I didn't chose to be Vietnamese or to be born in Viet Nam. So, I consider myself to be Vietnamese-Canadian, an indication of my given ethnicity, and my earned nationality.
My parents, my brother, and myself are one of many Vietnamese/Chinese escapees who fled the political turmoil of Viet Nam at the end of the 1970's. We were those "boat people". It is a part of our family history and identity, a life altering decision that is pretty hard to forget.
Just as the right to pursue your dreams, your freedom, your ambitions is part of a democracy which is a privilege and a choice, so is your Nationality. Ethnicity is not; yet, this caller, and I'm sure he's not alone in thinking this, seemed to argue that becoming Canadian should override the premise of someone's ethnic background.
Your ethnicity is the foundation of who you are, it's something that you don't have the ability to change when it comes to forming your identity. Your nationality on the other hand, is a choice.
Immigrants come from all ethnic backgrounds, from countries that have over hundreds to thousands of years of history. So, to ask an Immigrant seeking a different nationality to denounce their ethnicity walks the line of being racist.
That caller I referenced in the beginning doesn't seem to know the difference between nationality and ethnicity, so he identifies the two as being one in the same. He identified himself as Canadian and boasted that as his superior identity. It is racist when a person believes their race is more superior over another's.
If you are to argue that being Canadian is your ethnicity, I encourage you to do some serious research in to the history of your ancestry. It would be a shame that a person not know their family history if it can be so easily accessed. We all know that Canada is not more than 200 years old so it's safe to say that many Canadians have roots outside of this country.
I feel strongly about this issue because my ethnicity is quite visible, maybe that makes it easier for me to speak on the subject. I also respect my cultural background and embrace my family history.
Ultimately, I hope people will recognize the difference between their nationality and their ethnicity - the former is a choice, and the latter is what you are born with.
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