Toronto Proud Boy Profile: Ron Stubbings

Reprinted with permission from the original author.

By now some people are familiar with the wannabe frat boy right wing cult called the Proud Boys. Their schtick is a constructed hyper -“masculinity” mixed in with racism, misogyny,homophobia and stale internet memes. They have started to show up at demos and have thrown fists when they can get away with it. And some people have felt that they have been able to get away with a lot. There is a concern out there that the police have protected the Proud Boy bigots from harm while turning a blind eye to their violent actions and provocations.

Let’s meet one of them. Ron Stubbings. (Ron Banerjee, Ronny Cameron, now Ron Stubbings...why are they always called Ron?) In his late 40’s Ron can hardly be labelled as a boy in chronological terms. It would be unfair to even say he had the mentality of a typical boy as most boys do not harbor such vile hatred.

Anyways...

Ron wanted to be an Anglican priest and studied theology at UofT, then he wanted to be a comedian. He now seems to have decided to take a new career path as a full time hater.

Here is a bio from his comedian days:

and another one that gives a bit more info:

Ron is now all about the Proud Boys. Here is an editorial he wrote for their magazine:

The editorial is a strange piece about the merits of fighting (I think, it is badly written) and he name drops his brother “the Deputy Chief of Police for the Toronto Police Service.”

Infighting Amongst Canadian Islamophobes: Part 4

The previous post entitled, "Infighting Amongst Canadian Islamophobes: Part 3" was going to be the last in the series for a while as there were other articles I've been working on, but then I was given a gift by a reader that sort of screamed for a fourth entry.

In a few cities today, at least Toronto and Calgary, there were anti-Muslim rallies. The event in Calgary had only between 10 and 15 individuals show up. In Toronto, though the organizers had hoped for at least 200 and one of them (Ronny Cameron) suggested 100 had shown up, Arthur Smitherman contradicted this number:

Today the anti-Muslim protesters seemed to be outnumbered by a significant margin by anti-fascists, were kept bottled up in one area, and were unable to move.... so it was labeled a total triumph by the anti-Muslim side.

Well, there was certainly a punch. Keep reading. ;)

Infighting Amongst Canadian Islamophobes: Part 1

This past Saturday ARC reported that the Canadian chapter of the Soldiers of Odin had broken away from the Finnish parent organization because after basically two years of being presented with evidence that the founder of the Finnish chapter was a neo-Nazi and that much of the membership were neo-Nazis, the new Canadian leadership who had previously denied this reality had come to realize that the Finnish founder of the Soldiers of Odin was, indeed, a neo-Nazi.

Also, a lot of Canadian members didn't want to pay membership dues to Finland, so money was an issue.... probably the real issue.

As Stewart Bell observed in Monday's edition of the National Post however, this break has resulted in a schism within the Canadian movement:

TORONTO — The far-right group Soldiers of Odin has splintered in Canada after the two main factions turned against each other in a dispute over whether to remain aligned with their racist namesake in northern Europe.....The Finnish leaders of the anti-immigrant group responded by expelling Daniels and banning him from using the name Soldiers of Odin. The Quebec branch then said it was also splitting away from the Daniels wing. 

“There is indeed a disconnect between SOO Quebec and SOO Canada,” said the Quebec chapter president, Katy Latulippe. “As the provincial president, and with a unanimous vote, we decided that Quebec would dissociate Canada.” 

The Daniels faction “will no longer be allowed to wear the colors of the Soldiers of Odin,” she said. “It is important to know that more than 50% of the divisions in Canada do not agree with Bill Daniels and also wishes to continue their activities under the banner of the SOO.”

One wonders what the Canadian Finnish loyalists would do should they come across anyone associated with Daniels' SoO wearing the colours of the SoO in defiance of the Finnish order?

That this is all happening isn't all that much of a surprise. ARC has witnessed the rise and fall of numerous hate groups which have broken apart due to personality conflicts within the group itself. And the SoO isn't the only anti-Muslim hate group to find itself in this position in Canada either.

For example, Stewart Bell has also observed that Ron Banerjee's vanity project Rise Canada has broken with Sandra Soloman who has become the most visible personality in the Canadian Islamophobic movement:

In another development, Sandra Solomon is no longer spokesperson for the anti-Muslim group Rise Canada, which removed the link below. pic.twitter.com/7XwIfDNbj6

— Stewart Bell (@StewartBellNP) May 1, 2017

Banerjee alluded to the breaking off of ties with Soloman, though he didn't refer to her by name:

Fallout from the Kellie Leitch Presentation in Brampton

First, before I continue to far, I will be writing about the events that took place in Toronto, Brampton, and Calgary on April first, though in the meantime we direct our readers to the CBC which covered the event in Toronto.

So, it's been a rather eventful week in Canadian politics.

• Video shows Kellie Leitch at meeting with controversial critics of Islam
• Kellie Leitch didn't know anti-Islamic group was part of Brampton event, campaign manager says
• Kellie Leitch Campaign Says It Rejects Anti-Muslim Group Now Promoting Her

ARC broke the story that Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate was courting a group in Brampton that included Ron Banerjee and Rise Canada. I'll talk more about Banerjee and Rise Canada in a moment, though I would be remiss if I didn't note that Ron must be feeling at least some heat in that he deleted both the video from YouTube and the article promoting Leitch on the Rise Canada website:

Good thing I saved a copy I guess.

But the reality is that there were other items in the video that I should also have focused on:

Ron Banerjee and Rise Canada Hate Group Meets With Kellie Leitch

I'm just going to cut to the chase here and show the video. Leitch appears at the 6:43 mark:



UPDATE: Also noticed that the man who tore apart the quran at the Peel School Board meeting was also present.

Our readers are already well familiar with Canadian Hindu Advocacy, Rise Canada, and Ron Banerjee who founded and leads both hate groups, but we understand that those coming to this blog for the first time likely have no idea who Banerjee or these groups are. For those people, here are a few relevant links:

• Ron Banerjee, Andr矇 Drouin, and Rise Canada
• Rise Canada and Other Islamophobes Celebrate Their Islamophobia At Toronto Mosque
• Ford Fest Fallout: Ron Banerjee Alleged to Have Assaulted LGBT Rights Protester
• More Ford Fest Fallout: Ron Banerjee Focus Of Criminal Complaint
• PEGIDA Canada Rally Meets With Opposition: Banerjee Demands Opposition Be Shot
• Immediate Aftermath of PEGIDA Canada Rally
• Strange Bedfellows: Canadian Hindu Advocacy's Relationship with Social Conservative Christians, the JDL and the EDL
• April 2016: Bits and Bites

Banerjee also operates Twitter accounts for both Canadian Hindu Advocacy and Rise Canada in which he celebrates the deaths of Muslims and Sikhs, post misogynistic diatribes against women, and attacks the LBTGQ community. While it looks like Banerjee was not the organizer of the event, he was certainly a prominent figure who was speaking at the podium when Ms. Leitch arrived.

Kellie Leitch has become infamous during her campaign for the Conservative Party leadership for advocating immigrants be tested to determine if they conform to acceptable, "Canadian values." Below are some of the twitter posts from Banerjee on both the Canadian Hindu Advocacy and Rise Canada Twitter accounts that provide some insight into the, "Canadian values" of these two groups and Banerjee himself:

And more....

March 19 Anti-Muslim Rallies: Some Victories, Some Hard Lessons

By this point ARC readers know that any time we mention Kevin "The Chairman" Goudreau on the blog, it is probably because he did something profoundly stupid or embarrassing but isn't self aware enough to realize that this is the case:

Yep, the Goudreau held a rally in Peterborough while wearing an ill-fitted suit because he now wants to project gravitas.

Though really, to refer to what the Goudreau held as a rally is sort of like polishing a turd and calling it a diamond:

Still, despite holding his "rally" (word is they were there for less than 5 minutes) in what looks to my uneducated eye as a relatively empty street with few people to witness it, and what few people who did witness the event simply mocked him and his merry band of short bus passengers, the Goudreau appears to see it as a massive success and his first step towards his inevitable rise as der Kanadisch F羹hrer:

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At least one person however, seemed to imply that the Goudreau was sort of gilding the lily:

That's right folks. There were more anti-Muslim rallies in select Canadian towns and cities this past week.

Kevin's explanation for the pathetic nature of his rally is flimsy at best, but it is telling in that he really believes (and is likely correct) that some of the kind of people who would attend a "White Pride" march would also be attracted to an anti-Muslim protest. It's sort of a Venn Diagram, but of hatred. For example, Goudreau has some prominent anti-Muslim activists amongst his own friends:

Brad Salzberg, the leader of the Cultural Action Party of Canada, isn't just anti-Muslim but is also anti-immigrant in general. He held a very small anti-Muslim protest in Vancouver this past Sunday. And Sara Smith is better known as Sandra Solomon, an especially vocal and virulent anti-Muslim protester associates with Eric Brazau and Ron Banerjee; she was a key speaker at the anti-Muslim event that took place Sunday in Toronto.

When analyzing the anti-Muslim protests that took place this past Sunday, I think it is important to look not only at the victories scored by those who opposed the xenophobes and Islamophobes, but it is equally important to recognize that there were some setbacks.

Rise Canada and Other Islamophobes Celebrate Their Islamophobia At Toronto Mosque

On February 17, Ron Banerjee, Eric Brazau, Sandra Solomon, and other Islamophobes protested in front of a mosque in Toronto. As of Saturday the Toronto Police Service claimed to be investigating the protest as a possible hate crime.

And since Banerjee was kind enough to provide video of the event, this writer decided to provide our readers with the pertinent excerpts interspersed with Banerjee's tweets and screen shots from the Facebook profiles of some to the other participants.

Yep, this writer made a video:

Yeah, it isn't great; poor production value, editing, and all that (including a rather unfortunate lapse in memory regarding the year that we are currently residing, as the first text page has the date that the rally took place as 2016 rather than 2017 UPDATE: fixed). It's my first time so cut me a little slack. But we think it provides our readers with the general tone of the protest as well as the bigotry of at least some of those involved in the protest:

Meir Weinstein and Ezra Levant, unsurprisingly, thought the protest was supper kool:

Though they wouldn't have needed the excuse be hateful towards Muslims, Banerjee and co. were reacting to M-103, a private members motion condemning Islamophobia.

Actually, lets, post the full text of the motion:

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) recognize the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear; (b) condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination and take note of House of Commons’ petition e-411 and the issues raised by it; and (c) request that the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage undertake a study on how the government could (i) develop a whole-of-government approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination including Islamophobia, in Canada, while ensuring a community-centered focus with a holistic response through evidence-based policy-making, (ii) collect data to contextualize hate crime reports and to conduct needs assessments for impacted communities, and that the Committee should present its findings and recommendations to the House no later than 240 calendar days from the adoption of this motion, provided that in its report, the Committee should make recommendations that the government may use to better reflect the enshrined rights and freedoms in the Constitution Acts, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

That's it. And it is similar to the wording of another Liberal motion condemning the rise in antisemitism around the world:

a) there has been, in the words of the Joint Statement issued following the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on January 22, 2015, “an alarming increase in Antisemitism worldwide,” including the firebombing of synagogues and community centres, the vandalizing of Jewish memorials and cemeteries, incendiary calls for the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people, and anti-Jewish terror; 

b) this global anti-Semitism constitutes not only a threat to Jews but an assault on our shared democratic values and our common humanity; 

Therefore the House: 

a) declares its categorical condemnation of anti-Semitism; 

b) reaffirms the importance of the Ottawa Protocol on Combating anti-Semitism as a model for domestic and international implementation; 

c) reaffirms, in the words of the Ottawa Protocol, that, “Criticism of Israel is not antisemitic, and saying so is wrong. But singling Israel out for selective condemnation and opprobrium – let alone denying its right to exist or seeking its destruction – is discriminatory and hateful, and not saying so is dishonest;” 

And the House further calls upon the government to: 

a) continue advancing the combating of anti-Semitism as a domestic and international priority; 

b) expand engagement with civil society, community groups, educators, and other levels of government to combat anti-Semitism and to promote respect, tolerance, and mutual understanding.

That motion condemning antisemitism was, rightfully, adopted unanimously.

So it would make sense that M-103 would be similarly accepted. I mean, given that this motion will be voted on in the aftermath of what appears to be a likely Islamophobic mass shooting resulting in the death of six men as well as numerous assaults on Muslims and vandalism of their places of worship, who could possibly have a problem this this non-binding motion?

Right?

Nope. People are losing their shit. Or to be more specific, demagogues such as Kelly Leitch and some other Conservative Party leadership candidates as well as Ezra Levant and his merry band at "The Rebel" are ginning up fear that this, I once again stress, non-binding motion will take away people's free speech, become an anti-blasphemy law, and impose sharia on Canadians:

Except this happened in 2015.

And despite the efforts of reasonable Conservative such as Michael Chong and rather valiant efforts by some media outlets such as the CBC, "Globe and Mail," "The National Post," and Global to inform the Canadian public as to what M-103 is and what it is not, the folks who are inclined to believe Muslims are hiding under their beds and in their closets ready to jump out one day to dress their women up in niqabs and force feed them kabobs are having none of this rational discussion and have fully embraced the crazy:

In the meantime, Liberal MP Iqra Khalid who tabled the motion spoke about the death threats she has received ("The Star" also covers these threats and sexually demeaning insults) as a result of her motion as a reason why she would not remove the word "Islamophobia" from the motion as requested by the Conservative Party. She has since been offered police protection.

You know, threats (as well as other lovely comments) like these posted yesterday:

Trump Train Derailed: Canadian Supporters Respond

You would have to be living under a rock to not be aware of what has become known as the "Trump Tape" in which Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks about sexually assaulting women on a hot mic:

In part as a result of the tape and, perhaps, his crude dismissal of it as mere "locker room" banter, Trump has seen his support collapse. Though things could change between now and November 8, it seems very unlikely that he will be the next president, despite what his supporters believe.

In Canada, Trump is generally reviled by most Canadians despite their political leanings. But that doesn't mean that he is without support in Canada, albeit from a relative fringe component of the population. Many of those Canadian fringe Trump supporters, both individuals and groups, are well known to our readers.

We're sure that our readers will not be in the least surprised that Ron Banerjee loves him his Trump.

This may be in part owing to Trump's statements regarding Muslims and Muslim-Americans, though if it is possible Banerjee is even more extreme in his views:

Banerjee often combines his hatred of Muslims with his violent misogyny: 

It then should not surprise our readers that not only does Ron Banerjee continue to support Trump, but has threatened women with retribution should Trump lose the election as a result of their vote: