Commentary

Controversial Mark Hecht story morphs into heated Twitter discussion about Douglas Todd

by Charlie Smith on September 9th, 2019 at 7:09 AM
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      There's a funny story in my family about how my father once tore up the newspaper at the kitchen table.

      It was over a Gorde Hunter column in the old Victoria Colonist.

      Hunter was a right winger who railed about the metric system, Cuba, and official bilingualism.

      My father never figured out that the best response was to avoid this column altogether if he wanted to remain his usual placid self.

      The Vancouver Sun's Douglas Todd may have a similar effect on some of his readers.

      He's polarizing.

      I'm not a fan of his work because I feel that it unnecessarily stigmatizes foreign students and erodes public confidence in multiculturalism, immigration, and diversity.

      Nowadays, I only read the Todd columns that generate the greatest outrage over social media.

      I'm guessing that he dislikes most of what I write, including this post.

      But what's surprised me in the hullabaloo over the notorious Mark Hecht column is how Todd's work has become a topic of concern on social media.

      Vancouver Sun reporters at the paper who tweeted their opposition to the Hecht column are being asked what they think about Todd's columns.

      In the wake of the criticism of Todd on social media, his defenders have come out to praise his work.

      I've written what I think.

      Below, you can read how some others are viewing this situation.

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