Centrerion Canadian Politics

Hockey Night in Canada, Don Cherry, racism, and the CBC

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Here's a little something I added to the Canadian Policy Wiki's Hockey Night in Canada policy. I thought it was already there in the policy's page (and said as much in a university admissions interview), but when I checked today, Don Cherry wasn't mentioned. So I've added what needs to be said about the intolerant fool and his remarks on French Canadians and Europeans. Check it out, and leave a comment to let me know what you think.

Don Cherry Notes
Don Cherry is the host of Coach's Corner, the show between periods on Hockey Night in Canada. With his flamboyant suits and opinionated comments, he has become a symbol strongly attached to HNIC.

Unfortunately, the Coach has repeatedly made rude remarks bordering on racism about French Canadian and European players. Don Cherry needs to apologize for this behaviour. The CBC should tell its star commentator to apologize and retract himself or else be fired. This should not be mistaken for coercion, since Cherry is being given an alternative, and if he doesn't like it, he can leave and vent his intolerance privately.

His remarks are a pulsating stain to the credibility of Canadian public television. They certainly decrease viewership in Quebec, and contribute in no small way to the two solitudes, to say nothing of what European immigrants to Canada must feel. Of course, Cherry does no service to federalism when young French Canadians hear what he has to say about them.

More importantly, the CBC MUST take action to correct the situation because of what it would mean if it didn't: that the CBC condones bigotry, and considers it acceptable to hold such discourse in a family environment. If Cherry himself is too obsessed with his stereotypes to change, the least the CBC can do is prevent children being indoctrinated with such nonsense.

Children in the Muslim world are taught to hate Jews, Christians and the West generally, which indoctrination has been showed to instrumental to terrorists' recruitment efforts, as demonstrated by terrorism expert Stewart Bell of the National Post, in his book The Martyr's Oath. Will the CBC help foment divisions in Canada?

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posted by lecentre @ 7:46 p.m.