One Of Life's Many Ironies
Vandals, they're always out to deliver their messages of intolerance and hatred. And this time around it was the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg reservation, near Maniwaki in Quebec that got hit. It was meant to be a day of celebration, for this was National Aboriginal Day in Canada. But when, early in the morning, people from the reserve converged on their newly-built community centre, they discovered their pride to have been sullied with swastikas and "white power" messages all over its nice new bright white stucco walls and the pavement before it..
Celebratory preparations for the day, including picnic tables and tent poles had been broken and lay scattered on the ground. Members of the larger community, upon hearing of the good work by local goons dropped by to lend a hand toward repairing whatever they could. A pall hung over the dismayed group, but they determined to forge on with their planned celebrations, and they did just that. They tamped down the misery of the message, the hard slaps, and welcomed those who arrived to help them celebrate.
Puzzled children asked their parents what "white power" meant. An elder shook his head in disbelief: "I don't believe that Canada is a tolerant society", he said..."we are." The children wanted to know if it was still all right to go ahead with the celebrations. "I'm determined to find who did this," said Chief McGregor of the Kitigan Zibi Police, involved in investigating a number of leads. People of the community are volunteering their contributions toward the estimated $20,000 it will cost to clean up the atrocity to their pride, their humanity.
That same day, there was a wreath-laying ceremony in Ottawa, marking the sixth anniversary of the National Aboriginal Veterans Monument. Proud Aboriginal Canadians who fought for their country during the Second World War were there to take part, and to beam their pride. They fought for Canada, for freedom from tyranny and oppression. As did David Ahenakew, former head of the Assembly of First Nations in Canada. Mr. Ahenakew was stationed abroad, in Germany after the war.
He found himself in great sympathy with the Germans with whom he interacted at that time. So much for that statement about Canada being intolerant, Aboriginals not. For in 2002 Mr. Ahenakew, a much-admired Native leader, and holder of the Order of Canada (since revoked, as Canadians do indeed represent tolerance, on balance) in acknowledgement of his services to Canada and his dedication to his people spewed forth a lurid stream of vindictive bile during a taped interview with a newspaper reporter.
Mr. Ahenakew made it abundantly clear where he stood in the matter of racial discrimination and superiority, condoning Adolf Hitler's consuming determination to exterminate Jews from the world scene, lamenting that the great man had not managed to complete the task. "How do you get rid of a disease like that?" he urged the reporter, James Parker, rhetorically, in explanation of his defence of the Fascist agenda.
Holocaust-denier and Nazi-sympathizer, Doug Christie is Mr. Ahenakew's lawyer, and objects to the reporter's taped conversation with this sterling citizen being used in evidence against him in a court of law. He maintains that as a private conversation, it should not have been made public. At the very least, he claims, the reporter should have warned Mr. Ahenakew, as police do, that his statement will be used in a public manner. Why else would a reporter interview someone, and with a tape, other than for public airing?
"Objectively speaking, there can be little doubt - the respondent was attempting to convince Mr. Parker that his hateful views about Jews were right and justified", Crown prosecutor Dean Sinclair argued before the three Justices hearing the case during this new trial. The man had, after all, on numerous occasions espoused his racial diatribes on public occasions when addressing Aboriginal congregations.
So, can we play that one back again, please?
Celebratory preparations for the day, including picnic tables and tent poles had been broken and lay scattered on the ground. Members of the larger community, upon hearing of the good work by local goons dropped by to lend a hand toward repairing whatever they could. A pall hung over the dismayed group, but they determined to forge on with their planned celebrations, and they did just that. They tamped down the misery of the message, the hard slaps, and welcomed those who arrived to help them celebrate.
Puzzled children asked their parents what "white power" meant. An elder shook his head in disbelief: "I don't believe that Canada is a tolerant society", he said..."we are." The children wanted to know if it was still all right to go ahead with the celebrations. "I'm determined to find who did this," said Chief McGregor of the Kitigan Zibi Police, involved in investigating a number of leads. People of the community are volunteering their contributions toward the estimated $20,000 it will cost to clean up the atrocity to their pride, their humanity.
That same day, there was a wreath-laying ceremony in Ottawa, marking the sixth anniversary of the National Aboriginal Veterans Monument. Proud Aboriginal Canadians who fought for their country during the Second World War were there to take part, and to beam their pride. They fought for Canada, for freedom from tyranny and oppression. As did David Ahenakew, former head of the Assembly of First Nations in Canada. Mr. Ahenakew was stationed abroad, in Germany after the war.
He found himself in great sympathy with the Germans with whom he interacted at that time. So much for that statement about Canada being intolerant, Aboriginals not. For in 2002 Mr. Ahenakew, a much-admired Native leader, and holder of the Order of Canada (since revoked, as Canadians do indeed represent tolerance, on balance) in acknowledgement of his services to Canada and his dedication to his people spewed forth a lurid stream of vindictive bile during a taped interview with a newspaper reporter.
Mr. Ahenakew made it abundantly clear where he stood in the matter of racial discrimination and superiority, condoning Adolf Hitler's consuming determination to exterminate Jews from the world scene, lamenting that the great man had not managed to complete the task. "How do you get rid of a disease like that?" he urged the reporter, James Parker, rhetorically, in explanation of his defence of the Fascist agenda.
Holocaust-denier and Nazi-sympathizer, Doug Christie is Mr. Ahenakew's lawyer, and objects to the reporter's taped conversation with this sterling citizen being used in evidence against him in a court of law. He maintains that as a private conversation, it should not have been made public. At the very least, he claims, the reporter should have warned Mr. Ahenakew, as police do, that his statement will be used in a public manner. Why else would a reporter interview someone, and with a tape, other than for public airing?
"Objectively speaking, there can be little doubt - the respondent was attempting to convince Mr. Parker that his hateful views about Jews were right and justified", Crown prosecutor Dean Sinclair argued before the three Justices hearing the case during this new trial. The man had, after all, on numerous occasions espoused his racial diatribes on public occasions when addressing Aboriginal congregations.
So, can we play that one back again, please?
posted by Pieface @ 4:56 PM
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