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Don Cherry fired

Brihard said:
I wish people tangibly cared about our fallen as much as they cared about TV hockey guy.

A hockey guy who has not coached in 40 years.

His partner had this to say,
I want to sincerely apologize to our viewers and Canadians. During last night's broadcast, Don made comments that were hurtful and prejudiced and I wish I had handled myself differently. It was a divisive moment and I am truly upset with myself for allowing it.
https://twitter.com/RonMacLeanHTH/status/1193673238355873792

The Legion,
Mr. Cherry’s personal opinion was hurtful, divisive and in no way condoned by the Legion. We do remain appreciative of his passionate support for Veterans.
https://twitter.com/RoyalCdnLegion/status/1193999991557312515

milnews.ca said:
-- you engage your freedom of speech, you may  face consequences with your employer - or maybe even future employers.

The one-minute warning we got: "You come to us from a society with many prejudices. We won't try to change your beliefs. But, if you treat anyone with disrespect, we will change your employment."

They did too. You could - literally - find yourself transferred to the city farm shovelling sh^t.

Quirky said:
Canadians are generally snowflake morons.

Not sure the name-calling is necessary.



 
A few interesting things come to light about this.

- Attendance at Remembrance Day activities is up. 

This article breaks it down.  https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/as-attendance-rises-millennials-most-likely-to-show-up-at-remembrance-day-ceremonies-1.4679392

- I'm not sure how poppy sales went this year.  Or last year,  but people carry less and less cash.  People might buy a poppy but leave it on one jacket and forget to switch or wear it under their jacket on a suit or blouse or wherever. 

I had one on my coat.  But didn't really wear one at the office, sometimes , sure but not every day.  I have an emergency one in my car pinned to the ceiling in case I lose mine or need it as appropriate.

So what Don Cherry was saying may be accurate, less and less people might seem to not wear poppies.  But does that mean they aren't supportive or even active participants in Remembrance Day activities? I don't know.  But attendance is up.   
 
I'm just sad about the upcoming shortage of flamboyant outfits:

jason_don_cherry_green_hat.jpg
 
Remius said:
. . .

- I'm not sure how poppy sales went this year.  Or last year,  but people carry less and less cash.  People might buy a poppy but leave it on one jacket and forget to switch or wear it under their jacket on a suit or blouse or wherever. 

I had one on my coat.  But didn't really wear one at the office, sometimes , sure but not every day.  I have an emergency one in my car pinned to the ceiling in case I lose mine or need it as appropriate.

. . .
This year (the poppy campaign season, at least) has been, for me, a perfect example of the cashless society.  On those few occasions that I did encounter a poppy volunteer (or a box on a counter), I was always without proper cash (the metallic variety, at least) and not prepared to blow the dust off my billfold and retrieve one of the few $50 or $20 bills that have probably been sitting there as "emergency backup" for at least a year or more.  Even the wearing of a poppy on an outer jacket has been sporadic; my excuse is that I am loathe to poke pinholes in a Gore-Tex (or other brand PTFE fabric) waterproof garment.

The distribution of poppies, as the most visible fund raising activity of the Legion, probably suffers from the common problem of that organization; a mid-20th century operating model in the 21st century.

As I was composing this reply, my research took me to the "digital poppy" page (it's in partnership with the RCL), where one can donate and get a virtual poppy dedicated (if one wished) to the memory of a specific individual.  I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised that one of the celebrities used as an example was the subject of this thread.
 

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Remius said:
A few interesting things come to light about this.

- Attendance at Remembrance Day activities is up. 

This article breaks it down.  https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/as-attendance-rises-millennials-most-likely-to-show-up-at-remembrance-day-ceremonies-1.4679392

- I'm not sure how poppy sales went this year.  Or last year,  but people carry less and less cash.  People might buy a poppy but leave it on one jacket and forget to switch or wear it under their jacket on a suit or blouse or wherever. 

I had one on my coat.  But didn't really wear one at the office, sometimes , sure but not every day.  I have an emergency one in my car pinned to the ceiling in case I lose mine or need it as appropriate.

So what Don Cherry was saying may be accurate, less and less people might seem to not wear poppies.  But does that mean they aren't supportive or even active participants in Remembrance Day activities? I don't know.  But attendance is up. 

I could go to certain areas of the Lower Mainland and the number of poppies would drop to zero in some malls/shopping centre and barely a sign in English. The reasons are varied, lack of English, to busy working and surviving. Religious reasons and sometimes political agendas that do not suit Canada.

Perhaps I have missed it, but I also don't see much in the way of articles in some of the more common immigrant languages explaining Nov 11th, the significance of the poppy. I see first had how parents of our cadets can be totally unaware of it's meaning. Now that Don is sacked the mob will disperse and nothing will be done to solve the issue he pointed out.
 
Blackadder1916 said:
This year (the poppy campaign season, at least) has been, for me, a perfect example of the cashless society.
Never thought of that as a factor - thanks for that.

Meanwhile, to throw another ingredient into the discussion stew, here's the RCL's take on the latest (source).
 

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Meh. TV guy guy got fired for saying something dumb. There are a lot of ways he could have expressed his opinion without making it about identity politics. I've seen a great number of people not wearing poppies, of all ages, races etc. It's not something especially ignored by non-white populations within Canada. Instead he's basically just fed more fodder to the race-baiting populists. He became a liability to his company, so he was let go. At 85, it seems like his grip over what was coming out of his mouth has been slipping for a while anyway.

Good on him for everything he did for charity, for youth hockey, and yes, for supporting the military. That doesn't mean a business owes him a platform where he gets to say things that will bring them into disrepute.

That's all I've got to say on it. What a ridiculous sideshow from one of the most important days of the year.
 
This was only made into identity politics by people who wanted it to be about identity politics. He didn't single out a single race, culture, creed at all. He said "you people... newcomers to Canada". Is it all of a sudden racist to tell people that in Canada we drive on the right side of the road?

Somewhere along the way people have equated informing newcomers of the social norms and customs in Canada with being racist and bigoted.
 
PuckChaser said:
... Is it all of a sudden racist to tell people that in Canada we drive on the right side of the road?

Somewhere along the way people have equated informing newcomers of the social norms and customs in Canada with being racist and bigoted.
Informing about social norms/customs is one thing, but different from which side of the road we drive on.  One area is "can do's", with some people seeing them as "should do's," while the other is legal "must do's" - and in a democracy, wearing a poppy is still not a legal "must do".

Education about the meaning of the poppy is valuable and needed (and not just among recent newcomers to Canada, based on how many people I saw over the past couple of weeks without poppies where I live), but living in a democracy also means people will do things we don't always agree with.  And I don't think having a sports celebrity singling out and berating "you people", whoever that group may be, for not wearing poppies is a useful approach toward educating and bringing people on side.

In other news, someone may be offering Grapes a job - more on the attached here.
 

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PuckChaser said:
This was only made into identity politics by people who wanted it to be about identity politics. He didn't single out a single race, culture, creed at all. He said "you people... newcomers to Canada". Is it all of a sudden racist to tell people that in Canada we drive on the right side of the road?

Somewhere along the way people have equated informing newcomers of the social norms and customs in Canada with being racist and bigoted.

We all know what he was talking about.  Your quote is missing the whole context of his rant. Here it is courtesy of the NP.

https://nationalpost.com/news/coachs-corner-don-cherry-fired


“You know, I was talking to a veteran. I said ‘I’m not going to run the poppy thing anymore because what’s the sense? I live in Mississauga, nobody wears — very few people wear a poppy. Downtown Toronto, forget it! Downtown Toronto, nobody wears a poppy.’”

“You people love — that come here, whatever it is — you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey,” Cherry said. “At least you could pay a couple of bucks for a poppy. These guys paid for your way of life, the life you enjoy in Canada. These guys paid the biggest price.”


So when he's looking at people how is he making that determination?  There is only one way, the way they look.  So he made a broad brush statement.  YOU PEOPLE THAT COME HERE.  He wasn't informing newcomers about how and why we where a poppy.  He ranted and yelled at clouds and missed an opportunity to do it right. 

He's going on about milk and honey and frankly is incoherent most of the time which is why I rarely if ever listen to the guy.  I'm not offended by his words or his intent.  But I am disappointed he had to bring identity politics into something by singling out one particular group when it is a lesson ALL Canadians need to hear.  But he chose to lecture only the one segment. 

Was it racist?  I don't personally think so but there are plenty of people that skirt what is technically appropriate language and mask their own bigotry with it so they can claim they aren't racists when called on it.    But the term YOU PEOPLE when used to describe minorities has been considered a pejorative.  Context is everything.  If he had said you people in Toronto I doubt this would be an issue.

https://www.yourdictionary.com/you-people

Ross Perot used it in a speech in 1992 and the NAACP wasn't thrilled.  https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/12/us/the-1992-campaign-racial-politics-perot-speech-gets-cool-reception-at-naacp.html

"When he said 'you people' or 'your people,' it was like waving a red flag in front of a bull," he said. "It's something white folks have used when they don't want to call you n*****, but they don't want to treat you like an equal."

In the end he's a celebrity who stepped into the political/activist realm and got bitten just like many others.  Dixie Chicks, Kathy Griffin etc.  They all felt the repercussions of their free speech using their platforms for things that they were not meant for. 

 
PuckChaser said:
This was only made into identity politics by people who wanted it to be about identity politics. He didn't single out a single race, culture, creed at all. He said "you people... newcomers to Canada". Is it all of a sudden racist to tell people that in Canada we drive on the right side of the road?

Somewhere along the way people have equated informing newcomers of the social norms and customs in Canada with being racist and bigoted.

I'm willing to bet there were/are larger numbers of Caucasian, born and raised, true north strong and free, bonafide Canadians not donning poppies then those of obvious immigrant status walking around our streets. He was purposely singling out a specific group of people he took issue with and the phrase "you people" has a marked and very noticeable tone of dislike and inequality behind it. I said it, Brihard said it, Milnet.ca touched on it too...all he had to do was choose his words more wisely while still getting his point across and he would've been fine.
 
BeyondTheNow said:
...all he had to do was choose his words more wisely while still getting his point across and he would've been fine.

At least when representing your employer and sponsor.

He can say whatever he wants now.
 
The only thing I will add as a caveat is that SportsNet knew damn well what they were getting with Don Cherry and he was hired exactly because he is controversial.

I'm pretty sure he'll be getting a nice severance package.
 
Remius said:
I'm pretty sure he'll be getting a nice severance package.

I'm not a lawyer, but he may have a case for wrongful dismissal,

Don Cherry Fired: Termination For Cause and Wrongful Dismissal
https://stlawyers.ca/blog-news/don-cherry-fired-over-comments-about-immigrants/
 
Remius said:
So when he's looking at people how is he making that determination?  There is only one way, the way they look.  So he made a broad brush statement.  YOU PEOPLE THAT COME HERE.  He wasn't informing newcomers about how and why we where a poppy.  He ranted and yelled at clouds and missed an opportunity to do it right. 

My Dad is one of those "you people that come here", he's not offended and even agreed with the statement. How many of the complaints to the CRTC were actually from people who can actually identify as one of the "you people that come here"? People always want to jump up and speak for the minority, maybe we should let them offer their own opinions. Maybe they could care less about what an old white guy on TV said?

I'm secretly hoping TSN picks Cherry up. They already own the HNIC theme song.
 
PuckChaser said:
My Dad is one of those "you people that come here", he's not offended and even agreed with the statement. How many of the complaints to the CRTC were actually from people who can actually identify as one of the "you people that come here"? People always want to jump up and speak for the minority, maybe we should let them offer their own opinions. Maybe they could care less about what an old white guy on TV said?

I'm secretly hoping TSN picks Cherry up. They already own the HNIC theme song.

No idea. But although some complaints may have made it to the CRTC I suspect most went to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC)

But Jagmeet Singh and Harnarayan Singh of Punjabi Night in Canada certainly piped up.  I suspect they have a following of sorts.

I'm secretly hoping he stays fired and retired.  But as mentioned he is more than free to say what he wants now.  I'm sure someone will pick him up though.
 
Looks like Don Cherry is sort of walking back some of what he said.  Looks like he recognizes that using You People might have been appropriate.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/beta.ctvnews.ca/local/toronto/2019/11/12/1_4682055.html

 
Remius said:
Looks like Don Cherry is sort of walking back some of what he said.  Looks like he recognizes that using You People might have been appropriate.

That's smart,

"I could have said 'everybody' instead of ‘you people.'"
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/don-cherry-says-he-s-sorry-if-he-hurt-anyone-but-believes-silent-majority-agrees-with-him-1.4682055

Maybe this time he stepped a bit too far and accidently touched the third rail.

Just walk it back a bit. Say he was misunderstood. Maybe get your old job back.

 
Remius said:
Looks like Don Cherry is sort of walking back some of what he said.  Looks like he recognizes that using You People might have been appropriate.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/beta.ctvnews.ca/local/toronto/2019/11/12/1_4682055.html

It looks like he was willing to apologize but it wasn't enough. I believe I pointed this out a little while ago, what happens when celebrities try to apologize.

"I volunteered to apologize but it wasn't enough. I can't tell you what they asked me to do after that but I said I wouldn't do it."

I wonder what he was asked to do.

 
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