The Greatest Canadian
The first results from the CBC contest are in. The nation has voted for their top 50 choices, and the CBC released them last night. Now the blustering and rhetoric begins in response to those chosen. Garth Woolsey, columnist for the Toronto Daily Star nearly busted a gut this morning. Why? It seems Woolsey thinks that the people who chose Don Cherry should have gotten permission from him, first. "The stereotypes are true: We really are a nation of shallow, narrow-minded, beer-swilling, puck-chasing hosers," he pouts, because of finding Cherry's name in the top ten, alongside the likes of Frederick Banting, David Suzuki, and Alexander Graham Bell. Find another bandwagon to hop on, Garth! Try being more of an individualist, and stop following the herd who dump on Cherry because it's safe and convenient to do so, and because it makes them feel ever so educated and right-up-there with the intelligentsia. Woolsey dredges up last year's brouhaha again and suggests that Cherry has flirted about with racism when he made his comments about the European players wearing face guards more than the North American players. Get over it, Woolsey. Cherry was proven right by the stats. Case closed. There was nothing racist about that statement of fact, and anyone who says there was is just looking way too hard for it. People who voted for him know a good, decent, patriotic son when they see one.
That brings us to Seven Oaks magazine and the article written by Gina Whitfield in response to the CBC's list. She is upset because there are no women in the top ten, and the others who made it onto the list just don't make it for Whitfield. She really gets her garters in an uproar over finding Shania Twain to be the top ranked female, and suggests it's for no other reason than her small waistline. Where are the Canadian women of history who worked to make our country a better place, she asks. Why didn't Emily Murphy, Canada's first female magistrate and one of the "famous five" garner a place on the list? Valid question, Gina! The only problem is, you got carried away in your attempt to express righteous indignation.
Whitfield ruins her own chance to ring true when she tries to make a case for including Harriet Tubman on the list. Tubman was , indeed, a truly remarkable person, but she was NOT Canadian! She was born in Maryland, and after an adventurous life, lived out her years in New York. Whitfield seems to think that because Tubman brought escaped blacks to St. Catherines, Ontario, that means she should be on the list. Whitfield needs to think a little before she gathers any more spittle on her chin from her rant. The list is for CANADIANS, Whitfield. Women or not, it is meant only for Canadians.
That brings us to Seven Oaks magazine and the article written by Gina Whitfield in response to the CBC's list. She is upset because there are no women in the top ten, and the others who made it onto the list just don't make it for Whitfield. She really gets her garters in an uproar over finding Shania Twain to be the top ranked female, and suggests it's for no other reason than her small waistline. Where are the Canadian women of history who worked to make our country a better place, she asks. Why didn't Emily Murphy, Canada's first female magistrate and one of the "famous five" garner a place on the list? Valid question, Gina! The only problem is, you got carried away in your attempt to express righteous indignation.
Whitfield ruins her own chance to ring true when she tries to make a case for including Harriet Tubman on the list. Tubman was , indeed, a truly remarkable person, but she was NOT Canadian! She was born in Maryland, and after an adventurous life, lived out her years in New York. Whitfield seems to think that because Tubman brought escaped blacks to St. Catherines, Ontario, that means she should be on the list. Whitfield needs to think a little before she gathers any more spittle on her chin from her rant. The list is for CANADIANS, Whitfield. Women or not, it is meant only for Canadians.
1 Comments:
"spittle on her chin" -- what an image!
This list points out what the general population thinks. If people care so much about who made it on, and want to change it, go and do something to change the opinions of the general population. It's always easy to say why someone shouldn't have made it on and who should have been on in their place -- what's difficult is getting people to want to vote for others, who perhaps, are more appropriate. It's a challenge -- and a good one -- because it's not really the list that matters, but the process of getting people to recoginize other great Canadians for the great things they did. At the end of that process, I should hope that most people would care less about the list and realize that we have a great country, that has accomplished great things and be inspired by it. It's our history.
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