I enjoyed the article. I just want to express my disagreement with the conclusion and give my take.
We all feel that knee jerk reaction sometimes - “the government needs to step in!”, but after ten years of liberals, I’m totally against this. It will take extreme amounts of convincing to get me to a point where I would agree that the government’s purview should expand
Better solution: stick to reputable institutions (which could include substacks or YouTube channels) rather “bushwhacking” yourself without a guide. You’re not a journalist. You have no expertise in getting the truth. Stay in your lane. Pay for valuable service.
Consumers seeking information will figure it out. If somebody dies in the meantime, that’s fine. People die due to myriad factors. The world isn’t “safe”. Anyone who struggles with this notion needs to grow up and take responsibility.
Anyone who is bothered by having had this experience - drowning in clickbait - should be searching now for those institutions that stayed faithful. If I’m going to Mexico next month, where should I get my news? A little bit of cultural evolution here will be sufficient, imo.
Giving the government the authority to decide what is true is only a good idea where the government has a lengthy demonstrated commitment to that. Which I'm not sure any government has demonstrated yet, ever, in history. Maybe Gorbachev, and that's rather a unique context.
"Disinformation needs to be addressed " is where the problem starts: western Govts have turned it into an art form and suggesting they are the ones to fix it is just inviting the fox into the hen house. Your first and best defense is believing nothing you read on social media until you can authenticate for yourself. I consider social media as entertainment first and as authentic somewhere down the line. It is the territory of bots, trolls and special interest orgs and if they can't be bothered to post their real names I give their posts zero credibility on face value.
> western Govts have turned it into an art form and suggesting they are the ones to fix it is just inviting the fox into the hen house.
I'm not going to pretend that propaganda (the old name for disinformation) never happens in the west, but the idea that it's western governments that are the primary problem here is absurd.
Two things struck me about this very sensible article. First, although I have traveled to more than 40 countries, it had never occured to me to register with Global Affairs Canada, and given the world-wide volatility, that is a great idea. Second, Mr. Wilczynski's concern for hotel staff and admonition to be nice and understanding of their situation is breathtakingly Canadian! Be nice! Imagine that!
Excellent column Thanks to the author and The Line for getting this published in such a timely manner. Will keep the advice in this column in mind in day to day life but especially when traveling
Great column and stay safe! The disinformation was something I immediately took note of. The horrifying Tumbler Ridge killings coverage were just filled with AI generated video and images. Lots. Lots and Lots. Even journalists tweeted false information. No clue how to fix this other than perhaps a Carrington Event that fries all the electronics and sends us back to 1859.
Misinformation on social media can be an issue. But in the case of Tumbler Ridge, social media posts were the only way a crucial fact - that the shooter was a male who identified as a woman - came to light.
Because criminology matters. Men are more dangerous. We just are. We're radically more likely to commit violent crime than women are. Pretending that prevention of these crimes needs to focus on stopping women from murdering kids in schools as much as it needs to focus on stopping men leads to problems... fatal ones.
"Trans-women" aren't women. They're men because they are male. Male humans are called men. Some people have spiritual beliefs about the nature of a soul. Some think it is what makes you a person. Others don't. Others think it has a gender that contradicts objective biology. Still others don't think it has sexuality at all. Other people think other things about a soul. Some don't think it exists at all. That's fine, but we don't treat people's spiritual opinions as objective facts in public life for any other set of spiritual beliefs, so we shouldn't do it for trans spiritual either. And right now that's what too many people in our society are doing. They have spiritual beliefs about a "gendered soul" and they're insisting that their spiritual beliefs should be imposed on everyone else.
In our last conversation you said you had a huge problem with people trying to force their religion on everyone else, so you SHOULD have a huge problem with this, because that's exactly what trans ideology is. The phrase "trans-women are women" might as well be "there is no god except Allah and Mohammed is his prophet". It's a spiritual "religion" being forced on people in direct contradiction with the non-spiritual world.
And this matters because correct facts and identification matter when it comes to preventing these crimes.
Consider religious terrorism. Let us imagine the RCMP and the media started pretending that a religiously motivated mass murder at a Jewish centre was committed by Amish people, when it was actually committed by two Muslim men. You can see how it's a huge problem if we start trying to prevent mass shootings by the Amish and divert resources away where they are needed.
"Trans-ideology"? I'm not even sure where to start with that. No one is trying to impose anything on anyone. All they want to do is live their lives the way they choose. What a giant steaming pile of bullshit.
Your second paragraph is a sea of opinions. None are based in fact.
Are you familiar with the concepts of evolution and freedom? You know, thaty that the world we live in is constantly changing, and that in a free society people should be allowed to live as they please as long as it doesn't harm others? Now try and imagine what it would be like to be a trans kid in a small northern town. No supports. The stress, the doubt, the questions, the ostracising. Growing up is hard enough. Add all that on top. Do you see that being just a tad stressful perhaps.....maybe because of people like yourself who are clearly terrified of things they don't understand ( I don't understand it either, but I do believe people should have the right to live the life they want to live within the legal bounds of society).
Then, you come out with an apples and gorillas comparison that is, IMHO, completely irrelevant. The reality is that straight men commit far more violent crimes then trans-people. This is nothing more than a 1950s mindset finger-pointing.
Neither am I. That the shooter was trans was widely reported as trans from the outset, and it wasn't some hidden secret that could only be found on social media.
Sure we do. And yet, the more we learn about mental health, the less money we put into it, so we clearly don't actually care at all. But why does it matter if it's a male or a female who commits the crime? Why does it matter if they're trans? What does that confirm? Nothing. Murder is a tragedy...every single time.
I definitely would not include Global Affairs as a source of information worthy of basing decisions. Primarily because all of their info is filtered to avoid even remotely possible lawsuits and embarrassing the political leadership in the media . Getting a multiplicity of sources to me is the best approach which I think is what the author is driving at. And hiring a bodyguard from a local family wouldn’t hurt either.
Excellent article. Our trip to PV was cancelled as well - no flight, no airport open to fly into and nothing but disinformation everywhere. Thank you for pointing out the need for registration with GAC as well.
I agree that reliable professional news sources like NY Times, BBC, Bloomberg etc are worth the cost of subscribing. Don’t get essential news off TikTok, X, Facebook.
Information is a problem in the early stages of any crisis. Information is developing constantly; events are moving; people on the scene are *in the event* and can't necessarily provide more information or provide verification. Governments have no special capacity for acquiring and processing information; news organizations are far better equipped and staffed to do it.
Social media has made the spread of misinformation (and disinformation) easier, but it's always been there. The 9/11 attacks and the following days were a haze of foggy information as governments and news organizations struggled to figure out what was happening.
Lots of smoke plumes....tourists safe...but the disinformation!!....no mention of the dozens of assassinations/murders of Mexican law enforcement officers. What order there is in PV is due to the residual effectiveness of law enforcement people. Otherwise the cartel drug gangs and mafia would be running amuck unrestricted. The author can enjoy his all inclusive benefits at a luxury resort seemingly oblivious to the sacrifices of those trying to maintain a civil society operating with laws.
This article is kind of ironic, given some of the exaggeration that The Line itself engaged in with it's most recent Dispatch:
"The cartels have responded by raising hell throughout the country"
"Major airlines have suspended flights into the country’s airports"
Those statements are basically untrue, as the unrest was limited as far as I can tell to PV, Manzanillo, Guadalajara and perhaps some other smaller centers adjacent to them. That's like saying the civil unrest in Ottawa and Coutts was "throughout the country" and that numerous border crossings were closed. Yeah, not so much. Mexico is a very large country as well.
I had several friends texting me, asking about my family as they spend some of their winter in Playa Del Carmen, which is 1,500-2,000km away. They kept a low profile for a few days, but other than maybe a few more Federales patrolling the highway, there was little else going on.
I experienced disinformation firsthand 15 years ago when several wildfires threatened my community in B.C. Commenters on official government agency Facebook pages kept reporting that the fires had jumped the river or reached the outskirts of town, freaking out other commenters and causing localized panic. Not sure what can be done about it that would be Charter proof and not come across as government censoring information they don’t like.
Thanks for this, Artur. I'm glad you and your wife are okay. Kudos to you as well for recognizing that the staff you encountered were also under siege. Because of the experiences we Canadians usually have with Mexicans, I think it can sometimes to be difficult to appreciate that they are people first and service workers second.
I enjoyed the article. I just want to express my disagreement with the conclusion and give my take.
We all feel that knee jerk reaction sometimes - “the government needs to step in!”, but after ten years of liberals, I’m totally against this. It will take extreme amounts of convincing to get me to a point where I would agree that the government’s purview should expand
Better solution: stick to reputable institutions (which could include substacks or YouTube channels) rather “bushwhacking” yourself without a guide. You’re not a journalist. You have no expertise in getting the truth. Stay in your lane. Pay for valuable service.
Consumers seeking information will figure it out. If somebody dies in the meantime, that’s fine. People die due to myriad factors. The world isn’t “safe”. Anyone who struggles with this notion needs to grow up and take responsibility.
Anyone who is bothered by having had this experience - drowning in clickbait - should be searching now for those institutions that stayed faithful. If I’m going to Mexico next month, where should I get my news? A little bit of cultural evolution here will be sufficient, imo.
Giving the government the authority to decide what is true is only a good idea where the government has a lengthy demonstrated commitment to that. Which I'm not sure any government has demonstrated yet, ever, in history. Maybe Gorbachev, and that's rather a unique context.
"Disinformation needs to be addressed " is where the problem starts: western Govts have turned it into an art form and suggesting they are the ones to fix it is just inviting the fox into the hen house. Your first and best defense is believing nothing you read on social media until you can authenticate for yourself. I consider social media as entertainment first and as authentic somewhere down the line. It is the territory of bots, trolls and special interest orgs and if they can't be bothered to post their real names I give their posts zero credibility on face value.
> western Govts have turned it into an art form and suggesting they are the ones to fix it is just inviting the fox into the hen house.
I'm not going to pretend that propaganda (the old name for disinformation) never happens in the west, but the idea that it's western governments that are the primary problem here is absurd.
Two things struck me about this very sensible article. First, although I have traveled to more than 40 countries, it had never occured to me to register with Global Affairs Canada, and given the world-wide volatility, that is a great idea. Second, Mr. Wilczynski's concern for hotel staff and admonition to be nice and understanding of their situation is breathtakingly Canadian! Be nice! Imagine that!
Excellent column Thanks to the author and The Line for getting this published in such a timely manner. Will keep the advice in this column in mind in day to day life but especially when traveling
Great column and stay safe! The disinformation was something I immediately took note of. The horrifying Tumbler Ridge killings coverage were just filled with AI generated video and images. Lots. Lots and Lots. Even journalists tweeted false information. No clue how to fix this other than perhaps a Carrington Event that fries all the electronics and sends us back to 1859.
Misinformation on social media can be an issue. But in the case of Tumbler Ridge, social media posts were the only way a crucial fact - that the shooter was a male who identified as a woman - came to light.
Why is that a "crucial fact"?
Because criminology matters. Men are more dangerous. We just are. We're radically more likely to commit violent crime than women are. Pretending that prevention of these crimes needs to focus on stopping women from murdering kids in schools as much as it needs to focus on stopping men leads to problems... fatal ones.
"Trans-women" aren't women. They're men because they are male. Male humans are called men. Some people have spiritual beliefs about the nature of a soul. Some think it is what makes you a person. Others don't. Others think it has a gender that contradicts objective biology. Still others don't think it has sexuality at all. Other people think other things about a soul. Some don't think it exists at all. That's fine, but we don't treat people's spiritual opinions as objective facts in public life for any other set of spiritual beliefs, so we shouldn't do it for trans spiritual either. And right now that's what too many people in our society are doing. They have spiritual beliefs about a "gendered soul" and they're insisting that their spiritual beliefs should be imposed on everyone else.
In our last conversation you said you had a huge problem with people trying to force their religion on everyone else, so you SHOULD have a huge problem with this, because that's exactly what trans ideology is. The phrase "trans-women are women" might as well be "there is no god except Allah and Mohammed is his prophet". It's a spiritual "religion" being forced on people in direct contradiction with the non-spiritual world.
And this matters because correct facts and identification matter when it comes to preventing these crimes.
Consider religious terrorism. Let us imagine the RCMP and the media started pretending that a religiously motivated mass murder at a Jewish centre was committed by Amish people, when it was actually committed by two Muslim men. You can see how it's a huge problem if we start trying to prevent mass shootings by the Amish and divert resources away where they are needed.
"Trans-ideology"? I'm not even sure where to start with that. No one is trying to impose anything on anyone. All they want to do is live their lives the way they choose. What a giant steaming pile of bullshit.
Your second paragraph is a sea of opinions. None are based in fact.
Are you familiar with the concepts of evolution and freedom? You know, thaty that the world we live in is constantly changing, and that in a free society people should be allowed to live as they please as long as it doesn't harm others? Now try and imagine what it would be like to be a trans kid in a small northern town. No supports. The stress, the doubt, the questions, the ostracising. Growing up is hard enough. Add all that on top. Do you see that being just a tad stressful perhaps.....maybe because of people like yourself who are clearly terrified of things they don't understand ( I don't understand it either, but I do believe people should have the right to live the life they want to live within the legal bounds of society).
Then, you come out with an apples and gorillas comparison that is, IMHO, completely irrelevant. The reality is that straight men commit far more violent crimes then trans-people. This is nothing more than a 1950s mindset finger-pointing.
I’m sorry, I’m not into being gas lit.
Neither am I. That the shooter was trans was widely reported as trans from the outset, and it wasn't some hidden secret that could only be found on social media.
As a society, even we want to look away, we need to understand as much as we can about people who commit violence.
I said “crucial” but I could have just as well have said “basic”. Whether a person is a male or female is a basic fact.
Sure we do. And yet, the more we learn about mental health, the less money we put into it, so we clearly don't actually care at all. But why does it matter if it's a male or a female who commits the crime? Why does it matter if they're trans? What does that confirm? Nothing. Murder is a tragedy...every single time.
We are in dark times.
I definitely would not include Global Affairs as a source of information worthy of basing decisions. Primarily because all of their info is filtered to avoid even remotely possible lawsuits and embarrassing the political leadership in the media . Getting a multiplicity of sources to me is the best approach which I think is what the author is driving at. And hiring a bodyguard from a local family wouldn’t hurt either.
Thank you. Sad situation. Was so nice to vacation in Mexico to avoid the USA. Seems like that will be off the list for a while.
Great advice and a compelling description of what really happened in Mexico! Thank you!
Excellent article. Our trip to PV was cancelled as well - no flight, no airport open to fly into and nothing but disinformation everywhere. Thank you for pointing out the need for registration with GAC as well.
I agree that reliable professional news sources like NY Times, BBC, Bloomberg etc are worth the cost of subscribing. Don’t get essential news off TikTok, X, Facebook.
Information is a problem in the early stages of any crisis. Information is developing constantly; events are moving; people on the scene are *in the event* and can't necessarily provide more information or provide verification. Governments have no special capacity for acquiring and processing information; news organizations are far better equipped and staffed to do it.
Social media has made the spread of misinformation (and disinformation) easier, but it's always been there. The 9/11 attacks and the following days were a haze of foggy information as governments and news organizations struggled to figure out what was happening.
Lots of smoke plumes....tourists safe...but the disinformation!!....no mention of the dozens of assassinations/murders of Mexican law enforcement officers. What order there is in PV is due to the residual effectiveness of law enforcement people. Otherwise the cartel drug gangs and mafia would be running amuck unrestricted. The author can enjoy his all inclusive benefits at a luxury resort seemingly oblivious to the sacrifices of those trying to maintain a civil society operating with laws.
This article is kind of ironic, given some of the exaggeration that The Line itself engaged in with it's most recent Dispatch:
"The cartels have responded by raising hell throughout the country"
"Major airlines have suspended flights into the country’s airports"
Those statements are basically untrue, as the unrest was limited as far as I can tell to PV, Manzanillo, Guadalajara and perhaps some other smaller centers adjacent to them. That's like saying the civil unrest in Ottawa and Coutts was "throughout the country" and that numerous border crossings were closed. Yeah, not so much. Mexico is a very large country as well.
I had several friends texting me, asking about my family as they spend some of their winter in Playa Del Carmen, which is 1,500-2,000km away. They kept a low profile for a few days, but other than maybe a few more Federales patrolling the highway, there was little else going on.
I experienced disinformation firsthand 15 years ago when several wildfires threatened my community in B.C. Commenters on official government agency Facebook pages kept reporting that the fires had jumped the river or reached the outskirts of town, freaking out other commenters and causing localized panic. Not sure what can be done about it that would be Charter proof and not come across as government censoring information they don’t like.
Thanks for this, Artur. I'm glad you and your wife are okay. Kudos to you as well for recognizing that the staff you encountered were also under siege. Because of the experiences we Canadians usually have with Mexicans, I think it can sometimes to be difficult to appreciate that they are people first and service workers second.