Tea & Two Slices is a long-running local news round-up by NEEDS frontman and veteran dishwasher Sean Orr, who lives and works in Gastown, deeply aware of his privilege.

Earlier this week our city was inundated by an insurrectionist convoy explicitly perpetrating white supremacist, sexist, transphobic, anti-homeless, and ableist violence. These people aren’t working class. This isn’t about a vaccine mandate. It’s about mobilizing a populist anti-democratic foreign funded militia movement with links to Trump and fuelled by a hacked Facebook account. It’s important to note that these guys are being duped. That’s the nature of populism.

This isn’t about a few bad apples or some confederate and Nazi flags. Any attempt to “both-sides” this is dangerous and only seeks to obscure their explicit white supremacism and uphold the colonial violence this country was founded on. Remember, when someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time.

To wit: Vancouver police issued no tickets during Saturday’s truck convoy and counter-protest. Here’s why. It’s not sophomoric to say that the police have always been the jackboots of the propertied elite. We saw it on January 6th. We saw it in Ottawa as police posed with the seditionists. We saw it Vancouver when Thin Blue Line-adorned police faced off with counter protesters, instead of the convoy. They made every attempt to clear the counter protesters and turned a blind eye on at least four occasions when trucks attempted to run them over. They made five arrests – all counter protesters defending our city and our health care workers.

This is in absolute contrast to how they respond to indigenous land defenders. The VPD, who themselves are anti-vax, ignoring the fact that the biggest killer of cops last year was Covid, will always side with the necrocapitalism that is pushed by our political class. The selective application of the rule of law is a Canadian virtue. Oh, and we’re not calling for more police violence, we’re saying the absence of it is possible.

Meanwhile, as two hospitals had very real bomb threats called in, this clown goes on a hate filled rant on live radio: Kid Carson and Vancouver radio station parting ways after anti-mandate segment. Another poster boy of privilege priming his audience for his inevitable role as some ersatz Joe Rogan podcaster. No doubt he’ll be getting a ton of cash from the American far right. Have me on your show, Kid Carson, if you’re such a believer in free speech.

The problem is, this kind of platforming of mistruth and barely concealed anti-social lowest common denominator politics has very real victims: ‘I don’t want to go anywhere alone’: Indigenous woman claims she was assaulted in Vancouver. Not to be overly dramatic, but we need to start teaching our marginalized youth to defend themselves.

Meanwhile, Melissa de Genova, who said that the insurrectionists have a right to invade Vancouver and that the police did a very fine job also proved how infinite her well of hatred for the marginalized is by voting against tiny homes for the homeless. What a brave stance: Mayor Kennedy Stewart condemns NPA opposition to new housing for homeless. I mean, tiny houses without plumbing is just another bandaid…but still, who votes against bandaids when someone is bleeding?

She’s also against safe supply, and accused fellow councillor Jean Swanson of being a drug dealer. This, in a province that just saw 2,224 die from failed drug policy: 2021 was B.C.’s deadliest year of opioid overdose crisis. It’s no crisis. Our own premier said it was a personal choice to become addicted to drugs. As long as we continue to fail to treat it as a medical and socioeconomic problem we are doomed to keep breaking these records year after year. This is what I mean by necrocapitalism.

You’ll be able to buy a piece of the English Bay Barge when they deconstruct it. Necrocapitalism is owning a piece of a barge that washed up in a storm where people actually died; which destroyed the (rushed because of Expo86) Coquihalla and left thousands stranded; which destroyed thousands of acres of farmland and killed 1.3 million farm animals due to climate change. But hey, it’s a great conversation starter!

‘Stunning development’: Vancouver no longer Canada’s priciest housing market. The problem with this kind of headline is that it ignores the fact that a big part of Vancouver’s crisis is due to the dearth of corporate head office jobs here. I’m sure that if you indexed house prices to wages, Vancouver would come out way on top.

Related: City of Vancouver ordered to disclose Airbnb data. Huge victory.

B.C. Liberals decisive in vote for Falcon. Nothing says “we’re totally not out of touch with the electorate” than electing Campbell crony Kevin Falcon as your leader. We get it, you hate working people.

‘Astounding’: Demolition forcing out residents of Vancouver affordable housing complex. Offer all demovicted residents the same rate you ghouls.

Some good news: Minimum wage to be tied to inflation.

Solidarity: Richmond massage parlour workers defend safety of their work environment. Sex work is real work.

Cash Corner: new Lexicon entry?

Bonus: Sankofa Film Festival: Films from the Diaspora focuses on loss of Black spaces.