Did you feel it?
Once again, the nation shared a moment of polarization. We were all united in our disdain for the States.
And it all came from a little Fox News commentary show called Red Eye.
The host, Greg Gutfeld, and his panel spent their time insulting Canada and, in particular, our Armed Forces. This was after an announcement that our troops will be leaving Afghanistan in 2011 and likely taking “a break”.
Generally, when the U.S. fires a shot across our bow, we can easily take it in stride, but their comments landed at the same time as we were bringing back four fallen Canadian soldiers.
Bad timing, indeed. Bad taste, absolutely.
Rubbing salt into the wound, the host cheekily posed the question if it was time to invade Canada.
This would be a terrible comment, as well, if it weren’t for a few facts. No Canadian should lose sleep over an invasion from the U.S. as they wouldn’t be able to find us. Plus – I seriously doubt they’d even make it out of Hamilton.
See, we don’t need the military to defend us – not with towns of beer-swilling hosers on our side.
Joking aside, if it weren’t for the unfortunate timing of these comments, all this could have easily been ignored.
The show itself runs at 3 a.m. We’re not talking about a prime time show here. Who exactly watches the news that late at night? I’m just pointing out that it’s certainly no skin off my teeth if a handful of well-informed insomniacs and drunks laugh at Canada’s expense.
To add to the mediocrity of the show, in particular, one of the esteemed guests on the panel was a comedian named Doug Benson. Benson gained some popularity recently for having made the film Super High Me, a pseudo-parody documentary in which he smokes marijuana for 30 days straight.
Take it from someone with experience, a pothead comic is not someone you go to for a discussion on foreign military matters. People need to understand that he wasn’t there for an informed opinion. His job was to riff off of whatever the host was talking about.
You can see, in any other case, this shouldn’t have hit any Canadian’s radar. We’ve always taken great delight in taking potshots at each other. This is woven into the fabric of what makes us North American.
Healthy doses of sibling rivalry have always been par for the course.
Though it’s kind of amusing and telling that while the U.S. has no idea what gets said on This Hour has 22 Minutes, we sure do get all sweaty and excited every time The Daily Show says “Canada”.
But, the Red Eye show and the sad comments in question were posted on YouTube the next day, and the fallout was almost immediate. Angered commentary from all sides of Canada sprouted across the Internet with a force that pushed Gutfeld and pals into a rapid backpedal.
I guess we’re back to ignoring the States in the UN cafeteria.
If anything, the most amusing thing out of this whole insensitive situation is picturing American troops watching this, having a good laugh, but then realizing: “Hey – wait a second – they get to go home …”
