By Arthur Weinreb
Monday, June 25, 2007
Last Wednesday, Toronto mayor David Miller reversed himself and Toronto City Council voted to allow "Support our Troops" decals to remain on the city's fire trucks and emergency vehicles. Council also voted to allow the decals to be placed on Toronto's police cars. Although a couple of councillors abstained, the actual vote was unanimous. This is not surprising as the council consists of those who sincerely care about our men and women in uniform and those who respectfully ask "how high?" when the mayor yells "jump".
We will never know for certain why the mayor changed his mind. Hours before the vote, we learned that three more Canadian soldiers had been killed when their vehicle was hit by an IED in southern Afghanistan. According to Miller, these three deaths brought home to him the sacrifice that the Canadian troops are making. Apparently the Harvard-educated chief magistrate never caught on to what was happening when the other 57 men and women gave up their lives in the Afghanistan mission.
On the other hand, Mayor Miller was undoubtedly shocked by the outpouring of rage from Canadians over his determination not to allow the decals to remain on city vehicles after they were to be brought in for maintenance in the fall. Unlike other contentious issues, the bulk of criticism came from outside of Toronto; outside of the area where the socialist hordes worship His Worship. It's really hard to believe that the three deaths that morning really affected Miller who had no compunction about getting rid of the decals on the same day that a memorial service was being held for Trooper Darryl Caswell just east of Toronto.
It didn't take long for some in the media to make fun of and criticize those Canadians who display the decals or wear "Support our Troops" ribbons. Writing in the Toronto Star, columnist Jim Coyle denigrated those who wear the ribbons by writing that they can be worn by people "who couldn't find Afghanistan on a map". According to Coyle, wearing a ribbon in support of Canada's forces is simply a branding tool with the following message; "I'm old school, tougher than rhino hide, but with a tender heart. I don't drink lattes, I like Don Cherry and I despise Michael Moore. In other words, anyone who wears or displays a ribbon supporting the troops is a lowlife redneck, certainly not fit to be in the presence of Jim Coyle and his elite friends.
Coyle's column was followed by one written by CFRB's John Moore in the National Post. Like Coyle, Moore characterized the wearing or displaying of "Support our Troops" decals and ribbons as being an "empty gesture". Moore opined that it was an empty gesture because it is a gesture that is made by people who do nothing to actually support the troops.
What is interesting is that the points that were made in these two pieces actually make some sense. Wearing a "Support the Troops" button or displaying a decal does very little other than tell those who see it that the wearer does support the troops, or in Coyle's case sends the message that the person displaying support for the troops wouldn't be caught dead sipping a latte next to a Toronto Star columnist. While the wearing of ribbons might increase morale, a soldier's life will not be spared in Afghanistan because an ambulance in Toronto is displaying a decal. But this is equally true for all other ribbons that people display. The wearing of all ribbons is nothing more than an empty gesture that says "I care". But you'll never catch Coyle or Moore writing a column on December 7 calling the wearing of white ribbons that symbolize violence against women an "empty gesture". That would be really offensive, at least in their circle of friends. But like Don Cherry, the troops and their supporters are fair game. Nor will you ever see them laugh at or make fun of all those people who wear pink ribbons in support of breast cancer. Yet the "gestures" that the wearers of these and other assorted ribbons make are no different than the ones made by those Canadians who show their support for the troops. But supporting the troops is of course different than fighting breast cancer or violence against women; Coyle actually came out and said it – the only people who support the troops are Don Cherry-loving yahoos.
So will Jim Coyle or John Moore ever write about the empty gestures made by those who sport pink or white ribbons? Of course not.
Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2024 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2024 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement