“Remember guys, you can say anything you want on the air, disparage the patriotism of non-white Canadians, call them ‘You people’, and suggest that immigrants aren’t really Canadians. Just don’t use the n-word and you’re good.”
Chracterizing him as “no nonsense” is just not an honest assessment of the facts. Cherry is, in fact, quite full of nonsense, and what he’s in hot water for is entirely nonsense. His implications that immigrants do not wear poppies, and that native-born Canadians usually do, are both total nonsense.
Perhaps my personal standards of honesty are unusually high, but I think that for a person to be classified as “No nonsense,” they should not speak nonsense, but in fact Cherry does, quite regularly. Being a loudmouthed asshole is not “no nonsense.” What he said was a lie. There is no other way to say it. It was bullshit.
So that’s my take on that. As to the issue of wearing poppies, that’s stupid bullshit too. MOST PEOPLE DON’T. If you don’t believe me, go to a public place and do an honest count. And who cares? I usually do, but if the reason someone ends up wearing one is shame and/or confirmity then what the hell does it really mean?
Bu fine, I’ll wear mine, but I am openly contemptuous of bullshit-spewing chickenhawks like Don Cherry who drape themselves in the flag and the glory of braver men and women than he, babbling about the sacrifices of veterans in an effort to prove how much better and more patriotic he is than “pinkos.” Remind me again what branch of the service Don Cherry was in? Oh that’s right, he served with the Barrie Flyers during Korea. How noble.
Not everyone has to serve, and people who do serve are not better than those who don’t (I served.) But there’s nothing grosser than someone like Cherry who attaches himself like a lamprey to the honour or serving so they get reflected glory. If you want to honor veterans do it quietly, for when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.
Grosser still is using this holier-than-thou horseshit to divide Canadians into good ones and bad ones. That’s the kind of hateful and divisive horseshit our veterans fought against.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Subbans, Givani Smith, Wayne Simmonds, Devante Smith-Pelly among others have had it aimed at them at least once on the ice.
I think firing is too much. He’s said worse. But I’m not surprised. The guy is out of touch. When he travels from place to place for the games, he refuses to leave his hotel room. I’ve never served, but I’ve worked for the military as a civilian, and I’ve cared for thousands of soldiers. They are a very diverse group. And they have been for a long time.
He’s said worse over the years, yes (remember his remarks about “French guys” which instituted a five-second delay for a while?). But his remarks have added up, and this may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
His comments were idiotic but I hate to see the old coot go. He and Ron Maclean were a real fixture on Hockey Night in Canada. The Coach’s Corner segment with Cherry and Maclean dates back to 1986, and the show itself is a Canadian tradition going back to 1952 and Guinness World Record holder as the longest-running TV sports program anywhere.