On a segment of the relatively unknown Fox News show “Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld” that airs daily at 3 am, Gutfeld and his three guests took shots at Canada; specifically our military that is currently engaged in Afghanistan. Gutfeld commented on the testimony that Lt.-Gen Andrew Leslie gave before a Canadian Senate committee wherein the general advised that the troops will need to take a break from operations after the current mission ends in 2011 in order to build up manpower and repair equipment. Gutfeld then sneered, “The Canadian military wants to take a breather to do some yoga, paint landscapes, run on the beach with gorgeous white Capri pants”.
When he finished that, one of his guests remarked, “I didn’t even know they were in the war. I thought’s that’s where you go if you don’t want to fight – you go chill in Canada.” Well, at least the latter part is right. This country does have a lot of people who voluntarily signed up for military service and then deserted. Of course they’re Americans, those who fled to Canada to avoid George W. Bush’s wars. Of course George Bush is gone, the United States has turned into a near-bankrupt autoworkers’ paradise but they’re still here. As for the first part of the comment, he appeared to be telling the truth too; he probably didn’t know that Canada has troops in Afghanistan.
After the clip was aired on YouTube, the anger in Canada began. Defense Minister Peter MacKay was outraged and demanded an apology. Some critics opined that in demanding an apology, MacKay might have been giving the Fox News host more attention than he deserved. This is probably true but MacKay can be forgiven. He was pressed for time because he was leaving Ottawa for Trenton, Ontario where the bodies of the latest four Canadian soldiers to die in Afghanistan were being repatriated from Kandahar.
Gutfeld did issue a statement that purported to be an apology. Gutless Gutfeld, aptly named by Sun Media’s Joe Warmington, said, “I realize that my words have been misunderstood. It was not my intent to disrespect the brave men, women and families of the Canadian military”. Some apology. It is clearly the fault of any Canadian who was offended that they somehow were not bright enough to really understand what he said. Most of us will never be intelligent enough to understand how saying that the men and women in Canada’s military would like to leave their jobs so that they can do yoga or walk on a beach in Capri pants is not being disrespectful to the soldiers.
Gutfeld explained that his show is “a satirical take on the news”. Well, if you have to explain that something is satire, it isn’t. As Canadian political satirist Rick Mercer pointed out in the Globe and Mail, one of the components of successful satire is telling the truth. And none of the panel members on Red Eye appeared to know enough to know what the truth was. The comment about not knowing that Canadian troops were even in Afghanistan appeared to be a statement of fact, not humour. There was also no context to the statements, probably because they didn’t know enough about Canada to put it in any sort of context. For example, there are things in Canada that the Obama administration and Americans are not too happy about; the oil sands in Alberta come to mind. If they would have mentioned something like this as a pretext for invading Canada, there might have been some humour to the statement. But to simply state that “this ridiculous country” should be invaded was, at the risk of offending the younger set, extremely juvenile.
It will be interesting to see if Fox News ever issues an apology for Gutfeld’s loathsome attack on the men and women serving in Afghanistan. Probably not. Gutfeld has certainly been a boon to the anti-Fox News forces in this country who, with the exception of the YouTube video have probably never watched it. Canadians should forget Gutfeld; he’s a nothing. But an apology should be demanded from Fox News for airing such insulting and appalling drivel.
This column is dedicated to Master Cpl. Scott Vernelli, Cpl. Tyler Crooks — both of November Company, 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment battle group — Trooper Jack Bouthillier and Trooper Corey Joseph Hayes, both with the Royal Canadian Dragoons. killed March 20, 2009 in Afghanistan
On a segment of the relatively unknown Fox News show “Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld” that airs daily at 3 am, Gutfeld and his three guests took shots at Canada; specifically our military that is currently engaged in Afghanistan. Gutfeld commented on the testimony that Lt.-Gen Andrew Leslie gave before a Canadian Senate committee wherein the general advised that the troops will need to take a break from operations after the current mission ends in 2011 in order to build up manpower and repair equipment. Gutfeld then sneered, “The Canadian military wants to take a breather to do some yoga, paint landscapes, run on the beach with gorgeous white Capri pants”.
