By Fareed Khan
The anti-immigrant rant by hockey personality Don Cherry on Hockey Night in Canada on November 9th, where he targeted (primarily non-White) immigrants for not honouring veterans by wearing a poppy for Remembrance Day, put the media focus on Cherry rather than on veterans where it should have been. The controversy around his comments continues more than a week later as Canadians continue to weigh in on what he said.
The anti-immigrant rant by hockey personality Don Cherry on Hockey Night in Canada on November 9th, where he targeted (primarily non-White) immigrants for not honouring veterans by wearing a poppy for Remembrance Day, put the media focus on Cherry rather than on veterans where it should have been. The controversy around his comments continues more than a week later as Canadians continue to weigh in on what he said.
What Cherry and
his legions of supporters conveniently ignored is that the freedom that
Canadian veterans fought
and died for includes the freedom to choose how to honour that sacrifice. While many Canadians chose to honour veterans
by wearing a poppy, many did not (both immigrant and non-immigrant).
Honouring the sacrifices of veterans
happens in many forms, including making sure that what they fought and died for
prevails – a democratic nation free from
tyranny, including tyranny of the majority, or a tyranny of one. In addition,
Canadian immigrants from nations without democracies honour veterans year round
by working to defend a Canada where people of all racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds
are welcomed, and where they can use the freedom purchased with blood to challenge
those who would advocate racist ideas – ideas that Allied soldiers, sailors and
airmen fought to defeat in World War 2.
Cherry and many of his followers also
seem to be ignorant to the fact that the African, Asian and Caribbean countries, from which most recent immigrants to
Canada originate, also paid a steep price in both World Wars when they
were European colonies.
In World War 1 more than 1.5 million
soldiers from British colonies were sent to the trenches on the front lines in
Europe to be used as cannon fodder. More than 130,000 of these soldiers – Black,
Brown, Arab, Asian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, etc. – died on the battlefields of Europe. But
their sacrifices are barely acknowledged on Remembrance Day. In World War 2 the contributions of British colonial forces from Africa, Asia and the
Caribbean totalled more than 2.5 million soldiers, sailors and airmen who
served in all theatres of the war, many paying the ultimate price.
One of the other
disturbing things about this controversy is the reaction of those who have come to Cherry’s defence. It bodes ill for Canada that so many people
are unwilling to acknowledge the racist
nature of his comments, as well as acknowledge his history of making
xenophobic and bigoted comments targeting various communities. Around a
day when Canadians were supposed to come together to acknowledge something which should bind us, the reaction by
hundreds of thousands of Cherry supporters on social media, created an “us”
versus “them” mentality. It is an
indicator of a disturbing divide in this country, and their refusal to
acknowledge the othering of immigrants by Cherry is an issue that goes beyond
hockey, and should concern all Canadians.
As we saw this past week most Canadians
were rightfully critical of Cherry for what he said, and for ignoring the reality
that victories in both World Wars were achieved by more than just Canada, the
US and European nations. Those victories happened because of the sacrifices of
peoples from around the world. His
refusal to acknowledge those sacrifices is just as problematic as his statement
which began this controversy.
It’s obvious from Cherry’s comments,
and the reaction of many who defended him after his firing from Hockey Night In
Canada, that he and his fans can’t accept that people of all ethnic and faith
backgrounds paid the ultimate price to achieve victory in both World Wars. As the beneficiaries of those sacrifices the
best way for us to honour veterans is not just on Remembrance Day, but every day
by ensuring that the freedom that was purchased with precious lives continues
to be defended. Because if it isn’t then
whether we wear a poppy for future Remembrance Days or not is meaningless, and it
is an insult to those who spilled blood to
give us the freedoms which many Canadians take for granted.
© 2019 The View From Here. © 2019 Fareed Khan. All Rights Reserved.
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