Wear A Damn Poppy!

I don't dislike Don Cherry. But let's face it, his patriotism has always bled into the "anti-foreigner" camp. Usually anti-Europeans. Mostly the ones in the NHL. Again, that doesn’t mean that I dislike him. It means that I disagree with the way that his mind seems to work. He is a voice from another time. A voice from when we didn’t know better. And that voice has profited him well, as it has many people who, like him, speak their minds regardless of consequence. That’s not a bad thing, being honest about one’s opinion. Not staying silent because of who might react. It’s admirable on its face. But this adds a different dimension which is less admirable: perpetuating stereotypes that have no basis in fact. Stereotypes which form the basis of knee-jerk, us-vs-them rhetoric. We know better now than to foster that rhetoric. So, I think moving on from Don Cherry was just a matter of time.

That isn’t what has captured my attention about this situation, though. What captivates me is the slippery slope that we so readily step upon without questioning.  Other people's interpretations and conclusions regarding his words are slathered across the internet and debated. It is usually described as “an anti-immigration rant.” Do you know that it was? Or are you just going along with what someone told you?

For what it’s worth, I believe he muddied a valuable topic - wearing poppies to remember the fallen – with whiffs of anti-immigrant rhetoric. What he was saying is hard to follow, because he is a walking non sequitur. When I heard it for myself, initially I thought people were overreacting to his use of the phrase “you people”. To me, that easily could have been referring to anyone who won’t honour the fallen with a poppy on their lapel. (To which I agree: that's ungrateful and indefensible.) But when I listened again, I heard those three words that came after you people: “They come here...” Those three words don’t describe anyone who won’t wear a poppy. They describe people who come here. They describe immigrants.

His defence may be that he was trying hard not to say that – that he was actually trying to be sensitive now that we know better – but it leaked out nonetheless. Maybe because that sentiment ping-pongs around in his head even when he doesn’t mean to express it. I do believe his purpose was solely to shame those who won’t wear poppies. (I agree: shame.) He just had a stream of consciousness moment that organically included his default anti-foreigner position. But that wasn’t what he was ranting about. And because it’s been said that it was, his actual premise – wear a damn poppy, people! – has been lost.

It was simple for me to find out what other people thought about his words, but it took me 20-30 minutes to track down a video of his actual words to decide what I think. Yes, it seems so much easier and therefore efficient to base your opinions on someone else’s. But it isn't effective. 

To that end, listen for yourself. Make your own decision:  https://youtu.be/uKrRw7Jfo4w