N.B. school stops playing 'O Canada' over complaints

[hunter001]

Tboy could you fly to NB and tell these parents to STFU... Two freaking parents can get the national anthem for the entire school. WTF

Story

A small elementary school in a small New Brunswick town is at the centre of a big controversy because of a principal's decision to end the daily ritual of singing O Canada.

Susan Boyd has a daughter at Belleisle Elementary in Upper Belleisle, N.B. and only learned recently that the school stopped singing the national anthem in Sept. 2007.

Her nephew, Pte. David Greenslade, was killed two years ago while serving in Afghanistan and Boyd says she couldn't believe when she heard her daughter Julie, was no longer singing O Canada every day at school.

"With our troops in Kandahar, I just couldn't believe it. I mean right now of all time this is the time they should be supporting them with every breath," Boyd said.

School district Supt. Zoe Watson said the decision was made by principal Erik Millett after two parents complained about their children having to sing the anthem.

...

 

[Aardvark154]

You were beaten to it.
https://terb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=222703

 

[Angela@Mirage]

Tboy could you fly to NB and tell these parents to STFU... Two freaking parents can get the national anthem for the entire school. WTF

Story

A small elementary school in a small New Brunswick town is at the centre of a big controversy because of a principal's decision to end the daily ritual of singing O Canada.

Susan Boyd has a daughter at Belleisle Elementary in Upper Belleisle, N.B. and only learned recently that the school stopped singing the national anthem in Sept. 2007.

Her nephew, Pte. David Greenslade, was killed two years ago while serving in Afghanistan and Boyd says she couldn't believe when she heard her daughter Julie, was no longer singing O Canada every day at school.

"With our troops in Kandahar, I just couldn't believe it. I mean right now of all time this is the time they should be supporting them with every breath," Boyd said.

School district Supt. Zoe Watson said the decision was made by principal Erik Millett after two parents complained about their children having to sing the anthem.

...

Singing O Canada teaches children at a young age to have respect.

 

[Rockslinger]

School district Supt. Zoe Watson said the decision was made by principal Erik Millett after two parents complained about their children having to sing the anthem.

Are those two parents non-white, non-Christians and non-English speaking? What happens if 100 parents want the national anthem restored?

What happens if two other parents think Erik Millett is a complete asshole and should be tossed out on his bum?

 

[hunter001]

Are those two parents non-white, non-Christians and non-English speaking? What happens if 100 parents want the national anthem restored?

What happens if two other parents think Erik Millett is a complete asshole and should be tossed out on his bum?

I don't think they racially profiled the parents. (They didn't mention the "color" of the parents in the article or on the news broadcast that originally caught my attention.)

I am not sure if Erik is a complete or incomplete asshole but I think his decision is wrong.

 

[Hangman]

Does it matter?

Are those two parents non-white, non-Christians and non-English speaking? What happens if 100 parents want the national anthem restored?

What happens if two other parents think Erik Millett is a complete asshole and should be tossed out on his bum?

Does it matter what ethnicity or religion they are? REALLY? If they are not white anglo Christians, are their opinions worth less in this society? You racist ass.

People are ALLOWED to complain in a liberal democracy. You're all so good at it, why do you deny the right to others? I think these parents are wrong, but racistly implying they shouldn't be heard is also wrong.

 

[The Cunning Linguist]

This thread seems to have a more rational discussion going on.

It's my understanding that the line "God keep our land, glorious and free" was the cause of the complaint.

If that's so (playing devil's advocate here), this complaint may have some merit, because there is supposed to be a division between church and state.

Not everyone prays to a "Christian" god. Not everyone even prays to any god.

On a personal note, I recall when I was a public school student in the 1960's, we had three Jehovah's' Witness children at our small rural public school. When it came time to sing O Canada, God Save The Queen, and recite the Lord's Prayer, they just quietly excused themselves, and stood outside the classroom in the hallway till we were finished. No fuss, no muss, and quietly dignified.

 

[The Oracle]

I'll make this simple. If you choose to live in our country you sing our fu#$ing national athem.

 

[oldjones]

The English O Canada I learned as a kid didn't have God in it, just a lot of "stand on guards". But the godsquad just had to get Her in there when they 'improved' the anthemn. It still makes me uncomfortable, so I just lalalala that bit.

And that's why there are atheist bus ads.

 

[Hangman]

Wrong

I'll make this simple. If you choose to live in our country you sing our fu#$ing national athem.

Wrong answer, but thanks for playing. It turns out you don't get to set the rules for other people and make them do the things you think they should.
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It's not just YOUR country. It's my country too (and I'm pretty sure I've done more for this country than most) but I don't insist that other people do what I want, especially singing official government songs and taking loyalty oaths.

 

[JumpingShark]

Does it matter what ethnicity or religion they are? REALLY? If they are not white anglo Christians, are their opinions worth less in this society? You racist ass.

People are ALLOWED to complain in a liberal democracy. You're all so good at it, why do you deny the right to others? I think these parents are wrong, but racistly implying they shouldn't be heard is also wrong.

People are allowed to complain in a democatic society but that doesn't mean we need to actually listen or act on their complaints.

Seriously WTF is wrong with these people! I am not white, not christian etc but I love and will happily sing the national anthem as it is the song of the country I am lucky to be a citizen of.

Anyone else that thinks otherwise need to spend some time in a poor and hopeless country. Then they may realize what it means to be Canadian and sing the anthem.

I wish they could fire this a**hole school admin!

 

[Hangman]

Exactly!!

People are allowed to complain in a democatic society but that doesn't mean we need to actually listen or act on their complaints.

Seriously WTF is wrong with these people! I am not white, not christian etc but I love and will happily sing the national anthem as it is the song of the country I am lucky to be a citizen of.

Anyone else that thinks otherwise need to spend some time in a poor and hopeless country. Then they may realize what it means to be Canadian and sing the anthem.

I wish they could fire this a**hole school admin!

This is exactly my point. Sing, don't sing, be yourself, and do it for your own reasons.

What bugs me is people's insistence on changing the rules for others. Maybe some priveleged people could benefit from understanding true poverty and lack of freedoms. But that's not what's going on here, and its good to see that some people understand this, even if the people in the news story don't.

 

[The Oracle]

People are allowed to complain in a democatic society but that doesn't mean we need to actually listen or act on their complaints.

Seriously WTF is wrong with these people! I am not white, not christian etc but I love and will happily sing the national anthem as it is the song of the country I am lucky to be a citizen of.

Anyone else that thinks otherwise need to spend some time in a poor and hopeless country. Then they may realize what it means to be Canadian and sing the anthem.

I wish they could fire this a**hole school admin!

Exactly. If I choose to live in India and they want me to sing their national anthem. Then guess what. Out of respect for their granting me the priviledge to live there then I'm singing right along. And if don't want to honour their country then why am I there?

 

[Hangman]

Exactly!!

People are allowed to complain in a democatic society but that doesn't mean we need to actually listen or act on their complaints.

Seriously WTF is wrong with these people! I am not white, not christian etc but I love and will happily sing the national anthem as it is the song of the country I am lucky to be a citizen of.

Anyone else that thinks otherwise need to spend some time in a poor and hopeless country. Then they may realize what it means to be Canadian and sing the anthem.

I wish they could fire this a**hole school admin!

This is exactly my point. Sing, don't sing, be yourself, and do it for your own reasons.

What bugs me is people's insistence on changing the rules for others. Maybe some priveleged people could benefit from understanding true poverty and lack of freedoms. But that's not what's going on here, and its good to see that some people understand this, even if the people in the news story don't.

 

[papasmerf]

once you surrender pride in your Country. Surrendering its Anthem is easy.

Maybe treason is the charge to be used??

 

[squash500]

IMHO, this whole political correctness thing has got way out of hand .


For example, you can't say to someone have a Merry Christmas. It now has to be Happy Holidays! When is all this nonsense going to end?


Don't these parents and principal have more important things to worry about? Like the farkin economy---lol?

 

[Rockslinger]

If they are not white anglo Christians, are their opinions worth less in this society?

Hate to say this but some people are quick to play the "race card". Just because someone is not white, Christian or English speaking does NOT make them immune to criticism. Sure, they can criticize others but they should not be immune to criticism themselves. In a free society we have the right to know who is doing the criticism, don't we? If they are not white Anglo Christians is their opinion worth more in our society?

 

[Rockslinger]

Don't these parents and principal have more important things to worry about? Like the farkin economy---lol?

Of course not, what is more important in our lives than the banning of the singing of O Canada? Next, they will ban the singing of O Canada at the ACC because two people complained.

 

[shakenbake]

once you surrender pride in your Country. Surrendering its Anthem is easy.

Maybe treason is the charge to be used??

It may be treasonous in the USA. At the very least, it would make a person very unpopular there. I am a proud Canadian. But, we have something to learn about from our neighbours to the south about national pride.

 

[Hangman]

once you surrender pride in your Country. Surrendering its Anthem is easy.

Maybe treason is the charge to be used??

Absolutely not. Not singing the government's song in a liberal democracy is NOT treason, and it is totalitarian to think that it is. Nothing seems to piss off conservatives more than people exercising their rights.
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I carried arms in the service of this country to defend peoples rights, and I'm damned if some right-wing blowhards who don't like immigrants are going to subject them to loyalty oaths and the like. Unfortunately for your mindset, freedom sometimes means that people will live their lives differently than you, whether that's politically or spiritually.

This has nothing to do with treason.

Here's a definition.

http://m.reference.com/d/search.html?q=treason&o=0&l=dir