This whole thing was largely sparked by Cherry's ugly rant at the
inauguration of the new city council in Toronto. Cherry supporters argue
that he simply "supports the troops".
That claim was demolished
over Christmas in Kandahar, where Cherry fired off artillery,
autographed bombs, and bragged about "chasing the Taliban".
But many hockey fans across Canada have been disturbed by a larger
trend—the strategy of the Harper Conservatives to turn athletes and the
Canadian Armed Forces into props for their war-making agenda.
It's difficult these days to find a major sports event which does not
incorporate reference to "our brave troops in Kandahar". For me, the
most gut-wrenching was at the Oct. 31 Saskatchewan Roughriders vs. B.C.
Lions game at Empire Stadium in Vancouver.
The psychological aim of this strategy is to sow divisions among
Canadians, particularly among the solid majority who want an early
return home for the troops in Afghanistan. "Real" hockey fans and "real"
Canadians, we are urged to believe, all "support the troops" and
therefore back the alleged aims of the military mission.
Anyone who questions this reasoning is immediately under suspicion.
Such individuals are somehow not considered true fans or "patriotic"
Canadians.
Supposedly we "spit in the faces" of the troops. We are even accused of being "Taliban recruiters". (A Toronto Sun writer hurled this absurd slander at me on Jan. 7 during a call-in on 640 AM's "Opie Show"!).
For fans like me on the Left, such outrageous lies are easy to
dismiss. My credentials as a lifetime "true fan" of sports at every
level are impeccable. I bleed Roughrider green when I cut my finger, or
else the "bleu, blanc et rouge" of les Canadiens. I have a letter signed
by New York Mets manager Casey Stengel, sent to me when I was just
eight years old. I stop to watch Mabel League women's slo-pitch games at
my neighbourhood ball diamond, and volleyball at Kits Beach. I go to
every game of my son's Special Olympics soccer team.
But for many Canadians who consider themselves sports fans, this
campaign of intimidation can be stifling. That's why launching Hockey
Fans For Peace was so important. We are showing the world that people
can love hockey and speak out against the war.
We won't let
right-wing bullies dictate our beliefs and actions. We will keep
cheering for our favourite teams, and we will continue to demand the
immediate removal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan.
So put that in your pipe and smoke it, Don and Stephen!
Kimball Cariou is cofounder of the "Hockey Fans for Peace" Facebook group.
Related articles:
Canadian military downplays peacekeeping tradition
Harper taps into hockey to aid political game
It's been an interesting few days since Hockey Fans For Peace hit the
media radar. As cofounder, I've watched the small membership of our
Facebook group suddenly triple, and I've done some major radio
sports-talk-show interviews.
