Hockey player kicked off team for refusing to sign flag

My dad would argue that it isn't really the Canadian flag. He calls it "Pearson's Pennant," saying he fought under the Red Ensign and as far as he's concerned it should still be our national flag.



He also says "The Maple Leaf Forever" should be our national anthem. I tend to agree with him.

 

Double J, with all due respect to your dad, that argument hasn't been relevant for 40 years. And I don't think it ever was.

And the Maple Leaf Forever? Um, that's a little, English-centric, don't you think? Next you'll be complaining that Canada Post should go back to calling itself The Royal Mail.

 

Yikes, maybe we should go back to singing God Save the Queen, like the Newfs do.

 

And a picture of Her Majesty in EVERY classroom in the country.

And bring back the Orange Day Parade!

 

I honestly don't care one way or the other about the flag issue, but I also see his point of view. And it's not like he has ever refused to salute the Maple Leaf flag, he just always preferred the flag he grew up with and served under. Nothing wrong with that.

British-centric, yeah. I don't think there's anything wrong with that either. It's our history, and by and large it's a good history.

 

Double J,

C'mon it's a PART of our history. But it certainly isn't the whole story by any stretch of the imagination.

It was just the part that we were force-fed growing up in white-as-ivory-snow 1960's Ontario. You know what I mean.

My grandmother refused to acknowledge our new flag and never forgave Mike Pearson.

She loved Diefenbaker, the Royal Family and always wore white gloves and a hat when she went out --even it was to go to the mailbox at the end of the street. So I understand the mindset.

 

Traitor

Actually, the recognized authority on U.S. flag treatment is the American Legion, which specifically indicates flags are not to be worn on sports uniforms. Yet nearly all of them do, or did at some point in the past five years. You could make the argument it trivializes the symbolism of the flag. Signing the flag would be considered descration for the US flag.

As for this hockey player, this is not a government-sanctioned organization we're talking about. It's a voluntary activity, and the team would seem to be within its rights to have a flag-signing requirement.

 

Yes, I agree that it's only a part of our history, but let's face it, until well into the 1960s, Ontario was as white as ivory snow. It still is that way in a big chunk of this province, as you recently noted on a different thread.

 

Double J, all I'm saying is that we were taught the British Empire version of Canadian history.

How old were you when you learned of the expulsion of the Acadians by the British government, a policy which was nothing more than ethnic cleansing, 1755 style. Never came up in my grade school Canadian history classes.

Back in the 60's it was almost considered treasonous to be anti-monarchy. Pierre Berton almost got lynched for his views. And yes, a lot of Ontario is still lily white but thqt doesn't include the GTA, where what, half of Ontario lives?

 

Come to think of it, I don't think I ever learned about the Acadians in school. Pretty sure I learned about that on my own. Touche.

Most of the Canadian history I learned in school focused on New France, the early explorers, the War of 1812, Confederation and Louis Riel. I don't think we ever studied anything that happened after the 19th century.

And it's not like I stopped taking history after Grade 10. I have six history credits on my high school transcript -- one from each grade except for Grade 12, from which I have two.

This isn't an age crack, but I can't speak for Ontario's education system in the '60s. I can only testify to how fucked it's been since 1975, when I was dropped into it, kicking and screaming.

 

Well, I could have said "the fifties"--when I was in grade school.

Yeah, we learned about New France and the Plains of Abraham and how the Brits took over their rightful position of being in charge while the priests were given the authority to keep the happy French peasants in line.

My point is, we didn't learn Canadian history. We were taught about the British colonization of Upper and Lower Canada.

 

Hmmm.....who was the Minister of Education in Ontario in the 1950s and early '60s?

John Robarts, immediately before and at the start of his tenure as premier.

Who followed him in that portfolio?

Brampton Billy Davis, who held the portfolio for the rest of Robarts' reign, until he too moved into the premier's office.

Coincidence? I think not. And it seems to me I've ranted about those two guys before. ;D