Don Cherry deserves a public apology
Mr. Thorp’s remarks are absolutely right on the mark. I take my hat off to you, sir.
The red poppy is the most famous symbol used to commemorate those who sacrificed their lives in World War I and conflicts that followed. I buy my poppy to help raise money for those veterans whose lives have been affected by war. The Royal Canadian Legion uses this money to assist those that the Canadian Government neglects.
As a child, and now an octogenarian, I have many memories of adults with arms missing, those who lurched rather than walked, those with horrible, scarred faces, and those who had a strange, far away look in their eyes. I was told that the latter suffered from “shell shock”, and, as their actions were unpredictable, I would be wise to stay away from them. These were our neighbours, people that were my parents’ friends, all veterans of WWI.
As a teenager, too young for military service, I worked in the kitchens at the army’s Camp Wainwright during the Korean War. Many of my fellow kitchen workers were WWII vets, almost all suffering from the same injuries as those listed above. To this day, the memory of all these folks remains clear and sharp in my mind. And I suspect that this is also true of almost all of the people of my generation, including Don Cherry.
Don Cherry’s maternal grandfather was a WWI survivor of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. I would guess that Don Cherry learned a lot about the horror of war on the knee of this gentleman. His paternal grandfather was an original member of the North West Mounted Police, a force that also saw its share of combat.
The thing is, sales of the Legion Poppy Drive have been declining, at the same rate, I suspect, as the population of my generation is declining. And that was what I heard Don Cherry say on his original broadcast. The “you” he was talking to, was all of us — the whole population of Canada — not any particular group. The word “immigrant” was NEVER used!
But the media “edited” his comments to change the whole meaning of his speech. The media decided, for whatever reason, to throw Don Cherry under the bus. If the media wants to report a story, then they should report on the WHOLE broadcast, not just a part of it. Let the public decide what to think, quit trying to manipulate us.
I’m not really a betting man, but if I was, here’s a couple of wagers I’m pretty sure I’d win: few, if any, of the callers protesting Don Cherry’s comments had purchased a poppy this year. And he sure stuck it to them, didn’t he?
Most, if not all, of the callers were under the age of 65 or they would have heard the same thing as I did.
“The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” seems to be a working ethic that is lacking in the media today. And, in my humble opinion, until that is rectified and a public apology given to Don Cherry, none of the media are worthy of wiping the dust off of Mr. Cherry’s shoes.
Don Dawson
Duncan