We have not wasted too much time focusing on Rob Ford in the Partisan—as we have been focusing on more important issues, like the indigenous protests in Elsipogtog against fracking. However, we do believe the Rob Ford scandals, and the reactions to it, tell us a lot about the society we live in and what we need to do to change it. Here are some key lessons we can learn from the fiasco.

Lesson # 1: The police enforce class rule by using violence against poor and marginalized people, not rich and powerful people.

In the “Project Traveller” raids in June—where at least two of the men connected to the Rob Ford video were arrested—numerous people were violently attacked by the police. One 100-year old woman was sleeping when police surrounded her bed and pulled her hands behind her back. Dozens of peoples’ apartments were searched in the middle of the night for no reason. Anyone who lives in a low-income suburb of Toronto, or any major city in Canada, knows that the police will harass and jail young, poor and racialized people for anything.

The Somali-Canadian community in the Dixon area (north of Toronto)—the main target of the raids—are already dealing with poverty due to a lack of living-wage jobs and structural racism in this country. They are also powerless against greedy landlords, some who refused to repair doors the police broke in.

Meanwhile, Rob Ford was shown exchanging envelopes in late night gas station meetings with a known drug dealer, and the police didn’t pull the mayor over to find out what was in those packages. They also admitted they stopped interviewing Rob Ford staff and contacts months ago about the video because they wanted to focus on the “guns and gangs” arrest of Somali Canadians.

We do not want racist and classist police. We must fight for a society where the people themselves will manage security. We must fight for a justice system that fights for communities, not corporations and powerful individuals.

Lesson # 2: For the bourgeois media, personality is politics

Mainstream media defines “acceptable” political beliefs by what they decide to cover and what language they use. For example, the media portrays the option to vote, every four years, between three similar political parties—all of who represent the ruling class—as if it is a vibrant democracy. Likewise, the media makes politics about personalities and individuals, and turns politics into entertainment. The message is clear: you can vote on the personality of your political representative, but don’t think you have any say over environmental degradation, the quality of food and clean water communities have access to, access to education, decent jobs and housing, etcetera.

The capitalist media has focused on selling papers and TV commercials, making a “reality show” out of Rob Ford—covering his family life, his partying, etc. The sad truth is that many people in Toronto have come to believe personality IS politics—and are demonstrating for Rob Ford to resign based on the fact he is “embarrassing” or addicted; meanwhile these same people failed to demonstrate about actual issues, like when Ford tried to cut $50 million from services like day cares and libraries, affecting mostly poor people.

In a communist system, media is based on what is important for people to know, rather than what sells. Moreover, we are working towards a communist democratic politics where people have true power over the real issues affecting their day-to-day lives. Politics is not about one man’s escapades—power should be in the hands of all the people.

Lesson # 3: Racism, sexism and classism are rampant in a capitalist society

Rob Ford is a racist and sexist man. He has used the old trope that Asian people take jobs from Canadians, calling them “Oriental people” and saying “they work like dogs.” He sexually harassed a female councilor and security guard. He called taxi drivers “Pakis.” The list goes on and on. Rob Ford comes from a milieu where these kind of comments are normal.

Why do racism and sexism continue? They are needed by the capitalist class. Corporate marketing uses women’s bodies to sell products, for instance; our capitalist society has long denied all but the most menial and undervalued work to racialized migrant labourers. Low wages and poor treatment are accepted because of divide-and-rule, racist, sexist tactics on the part of the capitalist elite.

But the response by the larger public to Rob Ford’s scandal also reveals racism and sexism. Many Canadians seemed especially appalled that Rob Ford did crack, as if they are scandalized simply because a rich white man did a drug associated with poor and racialized people. Few of these same people spoke out all the other times he insulted entire communities.

Likewise, few people cared about the brutal “Project Traveller” raids on the Somali community, because the bourgeois media and politicians have portrayed this community as criminals. Finally, while many people were disgusted by Rob Ford’s lewd comment about allegations made by female security guard, no one seemed to notice that he openly named this woman and used his power to intimidate and harass her—something women face in the workplace on a daily basis.

While many see Rob Ford’s “casual racism” and sexism as jokes, we know how these ideologies are used as tools to oppress entire communities. Fighting racism, fighting sexism and fighting capitalism go hand in hand.