Who wants to discuss Don Cherry today....

[Mr Bret]

Some immigrants wear poppies, some don't.
Some Canadians wear poppies, some don't.

IMHO, rather than "you people", Don should have said "all people in Canada", since we all enjoy the freedom that those we are to remember and honour gave us.
As one other poster pointed out, that freedom extends to being able to choose whether to wear a poppy or not.

Personally, I choose to wear a poppy every year. Have done so since I can remember.
Remembrance Day hits close to home for me. My father and uncles fought in WWII and although they survived, the memories and physical impact stayed with them for the rest of their lives.

 

[whiteshaft]

Well said Mr. Bret!!!

Some immigrants wear poppies, some don't.
Some Canadians wear poppies, some don't.

IMHO, rather than "you people", Don should have said "all people in Canada", since we all enjoy the freedom that those we are to remember and honour gave us.
As one other poster pointed out, that freedom extends to being able to choose whether to wear a poppy or not.

Personally, I choose to wear a poppy every year. Have done so since I can remember.
Remembrance Day hits close to home for me. My father and uncles fought in WWII and although they survived, the memories and physical impact stayed with them for the rest of their lives.

 

[3wire]

The whole point of the poppy, in my estimation, is to remember the people who served and in many cases gave their lives so that we could choose to wear a poppy. Or not. I know Don Cherry served, I just can figure out for whom, based on his uniform. Unless Liberace had a militia.

 

[Gooseifur]

Some immigrants wear poppies, some don't.
Some Canadians wear poppies, some don't.

IMHO, rather than "you people", Don should have said "all people in Canada", since we all enjoy the freedom that those we are to remember and honour gave us.
As one other poster pointed out, that freedom extends to being able to choose whether to wear a poppy or not.

Personally, I choose to wear a poppy every year. Have done so since I can remember.
Remembrance Day hits close to home for me. My father and uncles fought in WWII and although they survived, the memories and physical impact stayed with them for the rest of their lives.

I agree, if he would have said something like "My fellow Canadians and newcomers" then give the story of why it is important, it would have been fine. I have spent a lot of time with veterans and most don't like to talk about what they went through and reliving the horror. I buy a few poppy's every year because I lose a few. To me it's respect for what the men and women who fought and a way of remembering them. The moral police are out to get him now. What they don't realize he is one of the most popular Canadians. If he were to be fired because of this the backlash would be tenfold to what it is now. I have noticed through the years that fewer and fewer people are wearing poppies. I'm hoping it's more out of ignorance than anything else. It's makes me sad when people say I choose not to wear one, "just because" They say that the soldiers fought for my right to wear or not wear one. Yes but to not wear one is disrespectful. It's once ayear to remember the thousands of Canadians and others who gave their lives so we could have the freedoms we have today.

 

[jazzbox]

Don is a tired old douche bag that can only get attention these days by saying inflammatory shit like this. Who cares what he thinks about hockey anymore? I actually think he exploits the whole veterans poppy thing in order to bathe himself in their reflected glory with his yearly diatribes and videos of walking through cemeteries etc. iI is not about you Don...! Of course, his whole life has been about dividing up people and opposing good old red blooded, tough as nails, hockey playing, Canadian boys versus all those other lesser people like those shitty Europeans or immigrants that don't appreciate what those red blooded Canadian boys bequeathed them. Canada is a country of immigrants and has been from the start. The Second World War was fought against people that tried to divide up the world into "authentic" and more deserving nationalities and races. Don never got that memo.

 

[explorerzip]

I agree, if he would have said something like "My fellow Canadians and newcomers" then give the story of why it is important, it would have been fine. I have spent a lot of time with veterans and most don't like to talk about what they went through and reliving the horror. I buy a few poppy's every year because I lose a few. To me it's respect for what the men and women who fought and a way of remembering them. The moral police are out to get him now. What they don't realize he is one of the most popular Canadians. If he were to be fired because of this the backlash would be tenfold to what it is now. I have noticed through the years that fewer and fewer people are wearing poppies. I'm hoping it's more out of ignorance than anything else. It's makes me sad when people say I choose not to wear one, "just because" They say that the soldiers fought for my right to wear or not wear one. Yes but to not wear one is disrespectful. It's once ayear to remember the thousands of Canadians and others who gave their lives so we could have the freedoms we have today.

Far easier for him to berate other people instead of acting in the spirit of Remembrance Day by being calm and reflective. Instead, he uses his pulpit to criticize other people for the choices they make. How about we use the occasion of Remembrance Day not only to respect those that fought for freedom, but also to be more civil to everyone around us?

 

[bandit2238]

I have no issue in what Don had to say.
Walking around a mall this weekend most of "those people" didn't have Poppies on.
People are to afraid to say what they feel anymore in case they offend someone it's sad.

 

[Nathan 88]

I have no issue in what Don had to say.
Walking around a mall this weekend most of "those people" didn't have Poppies on.
People are to afraid to say what they feel anymore in case they offend someone it's sad.

I was also in the mall this weekend. Most of “those people”(WHITE) did not have poppies either.

 

[Gooseifur]

Far easier for him to berate other people instead of acting in the spirit of Remembrance Day by being calm and reflective. Instead, he uses his pulpit to criticize other people for the choices they make. How about we use the occasion of Remembrance Day not only to respect those that fought for freedom, but also to be more civil to everyone around us?

Agreed . He said it the wrong way and the people who fought, fought for the values you mentioned.

 

[Conil]

I was at No Frills yesterday and today, none of the visible minorities had a poppy...

 

[K Douglas]

I walked out this morning for a coffee I'd say about 10% of visible minorities were wearing a poppy. About 40-45% of Caucasians were wearing one. On Remembrance Day. Shameful.

 

[james t kirk]

Don is a tired old douche bag that can only get attention these days by saying inflammatory shit like this. Who cares what he thinks about hockey anymore? I actually think he exploits the whole veterans poppy thing in order to bathe himself in their reflected glory with his yearly diatribes and videos of walking through cemeteries etc. iI is not about you Don...!o.

I'm going to disagree with you there.

Don Cherry has always been a very vocal supporter of the Canadian military and its veterans. I think for him, it's an issue very near and dear to his heart.

 

[Nathan 88]

I was at No Frills yesterday and today, none of the visible minorities had a poppy...

So most people of all stripes do not wear a poppy.
I see thousands of white people every day walking around the city with no poppy on. But it doesn’t look as though they are being criticized.

 

[james t kirk]

As far as what Cherry said, I don't agree with the maximum outrage and of course, labeling Don a "racist". (I guess I'm a little old school in that I think racism is when you HATE someone and wish them harm simply because of their race or ethnic background. I don't think Don's guilty of that.) I think Cherry is right about what he said in a "more often than not" case, but not in totality. I find new immigrants usually are more concerned about what is going on back in the old country than what is going on in Canada and they don't have the connection to Canada in the same way as those who were born here, or have been here for a couple of generations. But that comes with time and with the next generation. I think at the end of the day, old Don said the right thing, but the wrong way because as others have correctly pointed out, there are lots of "old stock Canadians" who are either too cheap to donate to the legion and wear a poppy, or they simply don't care.

The other thing to consider (sadly) is that as time passes by, more and more young people have less of a connection to World War 1 and World War 2. When I was a kid, my father's brothers were all in the war (my father was only 8 when WW2 broke out) and so there was this huge connection, the old photos, the sacrifice. I grew up with that, and of course nonstop WW2 movies. Kids today don't have that, and their movies are all CGI action flicks of super human comic book action figures defying the very laws of physics. In time, WW2 will have about as much relevance to younger generations as the 7 Years War does to us.

I think what got Don going is the fact that he is a very big supporter of the Canadian veterans out there and he notices when people don't wear poppies and he is offended by it.

But it could have been worse, Don could have said, "Quebecers" instead of new immigrants.

 

[bigdickdean]

The reason you see less and less people wearing poppies is they can be hard to get. I live in downtown Toronto (Cabbagetown). Each year in the past, veterans have always been present in numbers at the Eaton Centre selling poppies. Also on the street. I was in the Eaton Centre on three occasions last week and not a veteran to be seen. When I was out buying the Sunday paper yesterday, the guy behind the counter was wearing a poppy. I asked him where he got it. Turns out he got it from the LCBO where they had a box. Tim Hortons also had them he said. I haven't been in the LCBO for some time as I have enough booze at home to open my own bar. Don't go into Timmies much either. So Don should keep in mind the fact you are not wearing a poppy is not a sign of disrespect. As for me, I will be making a donation to the Legion online.

 

[K Douglas]

The reason you see less and less people wearing poppies is they can be hard to get. I live in downtown Toronto (Cabbagetown). Each year in the past, veterans have always been present in numbers at the Eaton Centre selling poppies. Also on the street. I was in the Eaton Centre on three occasions last week and not a veteran to be seen. When I was out buying the Sunday paper yesterday, the guy behind the counter was wearing a poppy. I asked him where he got it. Turns out he got it from the LCBO where they had a box. Tim Hortons also had them he said. I haven't been in the LCBO for some time as I have enough booze at home to open my own bar. Don't go into Timmies much either. So Don should keep in mind the fact you are not wearing a poppy is not a sign of disrespect. As for me, I will be making a donation to the Legion online.

That is an absolute crock. Poppy boxes are in a lot more place than just Timmies and LCBO. You weren't looking hard.

 

[bigdickdean]

You nailed it. I’m guessing this senile, diaper-wearing douchebag doesn’t cross paths with a lot of immigrants in his inner circle, so for him to suggest none wear poppies is dumb. And just because you don’t have one, it means you’re unpatriotic? How asinine is that? Ron MacLean, being the little bitch that he is, gave him the thumbs up. Then the shit hits the fan and now Ronnie is back-peddling faster than Ben Johnson on steroids.

Love your reply. You head the nail on the head on all counts. You should get a Pulitzer prize lol. Poppies are getting harder to find. Did not see a single veteran or Legion member selling them this year.

 

[Conil]

Poll do you agree or disagree with Cherry go here

https://terb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?693813-Do-you-agree-with-Don-Cherry-Poll

 

[explorerzip]

Is the point of Remembrance Day to pause, reflect and be thankful for the people that make huge sacrifices for their country OR is it to catch people not wearing a poppy? If you really need to think about that then you're missing the whole point.

 

[GameBoy27]

I think Don's message was correct, it's his choice of words that has people freaking out. But that's nothing new for Don.

I'd like to know, if you were seriously offended by what Don said, have you seen Chappelle's Netflix special Sticks and Stones? If so, were you just as offended?