Jack Layton, Leader of Canada's Official Opposition, dies

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Jack Layton, the Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada and the Leader of the Official Opposition in Canada, has lost his battle with cancer. I send my condolences to his family, as it's almost always a sad time when a beloved relative dies.

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61 is no age to die. Very sad.

ruveyn

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I find myself a little lost and confused, because I find that this collective descent into mawkish sentimentality is misplaced.

Jack Layton was a dedicated, principled, lifelong public servant. He was worthy of admiration, and I admire him and his achievements greatly. But I do not mourn him.

I am worried that the Opposition will be fractured and unfocussed, leaving the Prime Minister with an open field. But that does not cause me to grieve.

I am sad that a man who worked so hard to keep himself fit and healthy died at such a relatively young age. I am sorry that his wife, his children and his granddaughter will be deprived of his love and affection. But that does not make grief personal to me.

It seems to me that Canadians--especially, but not exclusively, Canadians on the left--are tripping over themselves to express publicly grief and sadness that they would not publicly express for the death of a loved one. This is not new, of course. It has happened in many cases of untimely death, but I wonder what lies beneath it.

visagrunt- as a Quebec resident this probably affects me more than many other Canadians. The NDP was a breath of fresh air sweeping out the stagnant corruption that is the Bloc Quebecois. I am now very worried about the future of this province, as it is evident that it was Mr Layton alone who was responsible for the Quebec landslide. I am very, very sorry for his family; but I think I am more sorry for Quebec. I'm sure many others in Quebec feel this way. And across Canada many felt Mr Layton was the best hope in ousting the CCRAP party, which I am inclined to agree with. The future seems uncertain at this point

Cancer is a horrible way to die. I know nothing about this politician, but I am sorry that he died, especially due to cancer.

What the heck do you mean by "express publicly grief and sadness that they would not publicly express for the death of a loved one"? Uh, if there were numerous cameras rolling, people obsessed with the life, times, and implications of said loved one, and a real claim that said loved one was a public figure, then I'm pretty sure I wouldn't mind public expressions of grief and condolences, nor would I exclude myself from partaking in them.

Uh ok I don't see what's wrong with publicly grieving or how there's anything more to it than his death was tragic. RIP to him, he got the NDP more seats than the liberals the first time in Canadian history.

Last edited by AceOfSpades on 23 Aug 2011, 3:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

It means precisely what it says. In the midst of all of this sentimental expression, where are Olivia, Mike, Sarah, Bea and the rest of Mr. Layton's family? They are truly in mourning, rather than indulging in public displays.

Interesting that you emphasize obsession. This is little different (except in scope) than the spectacles that accompanied the death of the Princess of Wales. I have no problem with condolences--as I said, I admire him and I am sorry for the loss to his family. I have no problem with speculation about what this means for the state of Canadian and Québec politics--his loss implies enormous change. But I simply do not understand what impels someone to lay a floral tribute at his constituency office, or on the Centennial Flame. Are we that rudderless that our only reaction to an event like this is sentimental gesture?

I still have next to no idea what the hell visagrunt is arguing. Thousands of people were aquainted with Jack Layton, millions more knew about him as a charismatic, public figure. When beloved public figures, nay, NATIONAL figures die, it is customary for many people to attend their funerals and public tributes to their lives. Jack Layton, a beloved national figure, is no different - in fact, his public disclosure of his feelings on cancer probably connected him to Canadians he didn't personally know even more.

Yeah what's the issue here? I doubt people are just shedding crocodile tears for him.

Well, no wonder you have next to no idea--you aren't reading what I am saying. I am not arguing anything at all.

I am expressing my own personal sense on disconnection from the Zeitgeist. Your words like "obsession," and "beloved," lie at the heart of my confusion. I admire Jack Layton, but I have shed no tears at his death. Yet dozens of my friends are making public declarations of shock and grief. I contrast this with the death of Pierre Trudeau in 2000. He, too, I admire greatly. I certainly recall people turning out to pay their respects, but I don't recall an outpouring of grief such as we see today.

I am not suggesting that people's emotions are not genuine--but I am wondering what prompts an emotional response to the death of a public figure.

I do think that the media are trying their best to get the best snapshots of the common Canadian in mourning over the loss of Jack Layton, and that this is probably skewing the actual "outpouring of public grief."

For me, I thought that Jack would one day be PM. I think that the greatest loss here (aside from Vigilans' excellent point regarding Quebec) is that we have lost a leader with such integrity from our political landscape. I mean, Harper, Iggy, Duceppe and Jack. Which of these does not belong?

I have always been a keen supporter of Jack, and I admit I was personally saddened to hear of his death, even though it was not unexpected. But if I saw a cameraman coming towards me, and reporter with a microphone aimed at me, I'd run the other way. But there are those who will put on a show for the camera about anything.

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It's funny, actually. I have a Canadian friend who is definitely of the federalist, Christian, libertarian and paleoconservative right and he won't vote for any party in Canada because there are none that even remotely represents his views.