Was it really necessary to make NDP candidate Ray Lam’s private Facebook pictures public in order to discredit him?
Well maybe. While the photo is relatively inoffensive, it is kind of creepy. I mean, what sort of person posts this kind of stuff online in the first place?
Filed under B.C. Government
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Its pretty clear that the NDP had some other reason to can this guy. You dont treat your own like this unless he has done something to piss off the party brass.
What I don’t understand is why he so plainly posed for these pictures? It’s not as though these are ‘gotcha’ snaps taken by some intruder. He’s fully participating in the photography. I suppose that’s fine if you’re a normal mortal but when you seek to become an elected pillar of the community it’s madness. There’s some doubt that Lam had anything to do with posting these pictures on his Facebook page but it’s hard to see too much relevance in that given that he contributed to some one, or perhaps many others, having access to them.
well, i guess i won’t be voting for him now. the ndp has quite a problem with both attracting good candidates and vetting the piss poor ones who seek the nomination.
facebook sounds like fun; this is why i don’t have an account: pre-emptive career suicide.
Sigh, first of all, that picture could just as easily be a pic of him holding a hand or a waist if the girl was posed slightly differently and this is actually a Photoshop.
And before anyone says it—I used to work in media and the things that can be done with photoshop are unfricking believeable. I know people who could make a pic of Iggy and Harper engaged in teabagging, and you would never ever ever be able to tell it was a fake if you didn’t know them.
And if it real, really who gives a shit? They are both consenting adults, and it’s not pornographic by any means. I’ve seen a lot of important Liberals and Tories, and members of the media, those holier than thou dipshits, drunk and in compromising positions in my twenty odd years of convention going. The only difference is that no one had cameras back then.
What matters is what he stands for as a person, and what he could do as an advocate for his consituents. Nothing else!
Once again, like with Iggy’s family heritage, I just.don’t.give.a.shit.
“constituent”, not “consituent”. Argghh
“”It’s not a matter of the fact that the photos were there. It’s that voters hold you up to a certain standard and they should and I think sometimes if you do things like that, it’s just not appropriate,” [Liberal candidate Mary McNeil] said.”
I completely agree. Public pictures of a candidate for public office engaging in perfectly legal levels of drunkenness and (one assumes) consenting body gestures is unacceptable. Getting drunk and driving your car around Hawaii, though… that shit is off limits, don’t judge it too harshly.
Man. Touches. Boob.
OH MY GOD!!!!!
I tell ya, I could never, ever, run for office. If boob touching offends people, my God, if ‘they’ ever learned about the girlie parts I’ve touched, and what I used to touch them…
Seriously, the guy deserves to be canned because he was far too stupid to remove the pictures. Trust me, when you are to be in a campaign, this is precisely the kind of thing you take care of beforehand. Been there, done that.
I think its quite childish to take facebook photos and make them public for partisan purposes but after 3 minorities and the shit that’s been thrown I could care less right now.
I mean, what sort of person posts this kind of stuff online in the first place?
Gee RT..I guess I better never run for anything public either. I’ve posted worse…simple harmless pics, having fun with my friends…but now that I have read the photoshop idea thingy…will use THIS as an excuse if ever called on it!
Made it through another Winter…hope your Spring has been lovely…mine has been cool and chilly, but went for a pedi and bought the CUTEST.EVER flipflops…they are a choc. brown colour and have a leopard medallion circle by the v of the flipflop…perhaps I shall take a pic of my adorable feet…and post it online….
And if it real, really who gives a shit? They are both consenting adults, and it’s not pornographic by any means.
Exactly. If you live in a major urban centre you’ve seen at least this much on subways and public parks.
We let off politicians who actually do harm – like engage in smear campaigns and lie through their teeth, and we’re getting all prissy over this?
In itself, the tittie pic is harmless, is it not? Having his drawers dropped to underwear and his erection groped for the world to see is quite another story. This man is beyond stupid. What a world!
We let off politicians who actually do harm – like engage in smear campaigns and lie through their teeth, and we’re getting all prissy over this?
Well, if anything, maybe a generation will start learning that actions have consequences and if they feel they have to express themselves, they might think about it just a tad longer.
I’m so tired of this narcissistic and pointless exhibitionism. “Look at me, look at me, look at me me me!” Yeah, great you copped a feel. Get back to me when you can tie your pecker into a bowtie.
poor guy should have been running for mayor. after all, naked crotch shots wearing only a chain of office are acceptable at that level of politics. but this dirty man touched a bewbie, heavens forfend, he’s lucky the good townsfolk don’t have him cleansed from their midst with scourging fire. sure, not clever to post but holy puritanical over reaction to party pictures.
after all, naked crotch shots wearing only a chain of office are acceptable at that level of politics.
Now, that was novel. Learn from your elders, children.
Ok, and now that I’ve thought more about this, I just realized the incredible irony. You see, the only equivalent photos I can think of that I might have are of me pregnant, like tummy shots, or breastfeeding.
And Facebook will not allow those on the grounds that that all exposed breasts are obscene! Meanwhile, every human rights act protects my right to breastfeed in public in real life. MPs have breastfed babies in the HoC, on TV, no issue, exposed boobs and all.
But this candidates photo is not obscene on facebook, but it is in real life.
Or photos and film of actresses in “artsy” shows. She can be naked and engaged in sex acts, for broadcast, because she’s a paid actress. But he can’t pose for photos like this because he’s unpaid and they are amateurs?
Sometimes life is odd.
…what sort of person posts this kind of stuff online in the first place?
Oh, a very rare kind of person, Red–someone who fits an extremely narrow profile: young, North American, with a pulse.
Seriously, this kind of photo is utterly ubiquitous. Your kids have posted something similar. Just ask them.
“I mean, what sort of person posts this kind of stuff online in the first place?”
Umm.. are we sure he posted it? Scenario: he’s acting like this at a party. Someone takes picture, posts it to their fb account, tags him. Now the picture is on his FB page on that “pictures of so and so by others” section…
Umm.. are we sure he posted it?
Per the link to the Vancouver Sun above:
“An issue was made regarding inappropriate material on my private Facebook page,” Lam said in the statement. “I regret this material and the associated comments that have now become public.”
SF — They may well have. In fact, I know my son has — or at least similar kinds of stuff.
I’ve got mixed feelings about this sort of thing. There’s some privacy issues all around that I’m not entirely comfortable with.
There’s some privacy issues all around that I’m not entirely comfortable with.
Same here. And when it comes to social networking sites, I’ve got huge privacy and dignity issues. I would never even consider having anything to do with them. I get tons of “Friend” requests, many from former students I can barely remember. It’s absurd, presumptuous, and it debases the very notion of friendship.
Ditto. I blurred out the woman’s face in that photo because I didn’t think it was appropriate to post it the way many newspapers seem to have (as did Lam) with no compunction or respect whatsoever for her personal dignity.
Call me old fashioned…
He should have been bright enough to realize that if he runs in politics, these pics would come back to haunt him…not too bright.
Interesting what Aurelia said – she’s right and should use it as an argument.
redtory asks: “it is kind of creepy. I mean, what sort of person posts this kind of stuff online in the first place”
If that’s all the info we have to judge him, could we otherwise conclude that his character is not so much different than that of a person who would post it, second-hand?
CRF — I was posing that inquiry after the matter was already in the public domain/media and being discussed.
Your “point” isn’t logical at all, but is simply a idiotic personal attack against me.
Re Facebook itself, over 200,000,000 people have Facebook entries; Facebook claims over 100,000,000 access their accounts every day; the CIA is one of the backers as is the Department
of Defense. Corporate and government surveillance has never been easier. This is on top of back-door surveillance monsters like PROMIS.
Sir Francis, re “young, North American, with a pulse.” At an historical juncture that has crisis written all over it, the ball gets passed off to Millennials…a generation that has never experienced the word “No,” from parents, to teachers, to employers. (One of the more lovely labels is that of “Generation Kill” trampling about upon the global geopolitical hotspot.) Army recruitment is about the only activity happening on the skeletal remains of strip malls.
Listen to their pop music for an example of limp world outlook. And now they are about to encounter a life experience of “No” in spades. I am not holding my breath. This is fascist putty and fodder in-the-waiting. Social vanity and insecurity is not exactly a great mix for generating noble responses coupled with courage and integrity.
Recall the string on effeminate decadence of several weeks ago. Mr. Lam can put forward his name as poster boy. For such a political idiot, this would likely strike him as a very “progressive” thing to undertake.
Well red, I did want to criticise you personally, for what you wrote. You are taking what has been posted about in the MEDIA, and then, all by yourself, arguing that what the MEDIA have posted IS sufficient information with which to judge the character of this person when you ask the rhetorical question: “what sort of person posts this online in the first place”. You can’t possible know what sort of person he is on this basis alone. Any more than one would wish to judge your character from reposting this photo.
So, of course, I don’t think it was an idiotic comment. I don’t think we should judge Mr Lam by this photograph ANY MORE than I think we should judge your character by posting it. But if YOU are going to INSIST on judging his character on the basis of the media posting what had been a private photo then, ho-ho, why shouldn’t I post that this is more than a little unfair of you? It was a criticism that you should be more careful. Maybe the meaning of what I wrote went completely over your head, but calling that a “stupid” “personal attack” on your character is a bit over-the-top.
crf — Yes, it’s all over my head…
I didn’t just re-post the photograph for the sake of doing so — in which case, calling my character into question would be fair enough — but did so to have a more general discussion about whether it’s fair to judge people according to online photos posted of their personal activities.
And I didn’t ALL BY MYSELF argue “that what the MEDIA have posted IS sufficient information with which to judge the character of this person”…
I’m not convinced of that at all. It suggests some questionable judgment perhaps, but maybe nothing more. And it may well be quite unfair. I was just wondering how others felt about the issue.
Ghaa, spare me the generational angst. Maybe the young do it more than the middle aged and elder, but everything newly possible follows the same pattern. There are lots and lots of pasty, flabby 50 year old bodies on Facebook.
What kind of person? A normal person. Many comments here acknowledge this but then go on to say a potential politician does not have the luxury of being normal. I don’t want to live in a country like that.
Have you folks seen the photos of the French first lady? Why can’t we be more like France?
What kind of person? A normal person. Many comments here acknowledge this but then go on to say a potential politician does not have the luxury of being normal. I don’t want to live in a country like that.
Have you folks seen the photos of the French first lady? Why can’t we be more like FranceÉ
funny, before reading the last two sentences i thought to myself: `better move to France then“…speaking of which, my keyboard has somehow switched to french: MERD!
Actually, I seem to remember reading somewhere ( ah, here it is ) that Mr. Lam is actually gay.
I don’t think there’s anything inherently sexual in these pictures – just goofing around.
And the Liberal candidate who used these photos against Lam kinda got all screechy about it, too. Just a tad annoying.
Dammit! Html gone wrong.
Ok, here’s the link.
Have you folks seen the photos of the French first lady? Why can’t we be more like France?
Part of it already is. Just not the parts where this kind of stuff matters.
In cultures like France’s and French Canada’s, there’s an understanding that comes with sexual or sexualised expression…you are expected to be somewhat discreet and can expect more discretion from others in return. On top of that, non- or only mildly-sexual nudity isn’t that shocking.
That link doesn’t seem to want to load.
[insert puns here]
Hard time getting it up…on your page eh?
Maybe just the raw link: http://www.theprovince.com/Technology/Photos+alone+reason+quit/1517395/story.html
Oh, there it is. Well, so he’s “openly gay”…
Who knew — or cared? It’s really beside the point.
Maybe this kind of stuff matters, maybe it doesn’t… and, as the letter-writer suggests, not many of us are “without sin” of one sort or another.
Oh, no arguments there. I think this whole thing has been blown way out of proportion.
It’s all entertainment value, really.
Yeah, maybe so. “Blown” out of all proportion. Har, har.
But seriously, at the end of the day there’s really not much fun or “entertainment” to be taken from the misfortune of others.
Yeah, you kind of have to feel sorry for the poor guy.