Still Dead To Me - Part 2

 

Following up on my previous post about the erstwhile 'Great' One, Number 99 himself, it is clear that the odium he sparked by his appearance in Boston as the ceremonial captain of Team Canada is not subsiding. His alignment with the American cause, his affinity for the man threatening our sovereignty, his obvious disdain for his country of birth, have all become part of the backlash directed against him.

Is traitor too strong a word? The Globe's Cathal Kelly has some thoughts:

It started on social media with news that Mr. Gretzky had been booed in some Canadian bars showing the game. That spread to fringe outlets using words like traitor. Which allowed mainstream outlets to use the word in quotes.

By Saturday, the contagion was airborne. Everybody wanted to talk about it, even people who don’t care about hockey. Being less inclined to cultism, they’d had their suspicions for a while.

Kelly suggests the former hockey player could have avoided all of this by doing a few things differently.

He could’ve traded out the suit jacket for a sweater. Sidney Crosby’s No. 87 would have been a nice touch. Showed he isn’t a me-me-me guy.

 Emphatic gestures to the Canadian team? Sure. At the very least,  don’t be seen encouraging the enemy camp [a reference to the thumbs-up he gave the American team as he walked onto the ice].

Slapped a great, big smile on his face? It gets a bad rap these days, but you can get away with just about anything with a genuine smile. It would have been better than the expression of concentrated neutrality Mr. Gretzky settled on. 

His shoddy performance allowed people to see him as he really is.

He’s an other-direction carpet bagger, a golf world hanger-on and a Mar-a-Lago regular. When you see Mr. Gretzky up close now, the first word that leaps to mind is “louche.”

 Thursday’s appearance sealed an impression of Mr. Gretzky most have had for years, but did not publicly express. That he’s the sort of guy who got out of here as fast as he could, and never comes back unless it’s to make a few bucks or get his tires pumped.

He’ll show up for any gala dinner, but when his best buddy the President is threatening to annex the country? Oh, you wouldn’t believe how busy he is then.

By his actions and inactions, he has destroyed the mythology that he is a good Canadian living in a foreign land.  He has been unconvincing for years, but recent events have sealed his ostracism in the minds of many.

Things were probably irreparable after the first time he was pictured in a MAGA hat, gone full sycophant. But when he would not wear our uniform after wearing theirs, that was truly it.

If you will excuse an uncharacteristic crudeness on my part, Number 99 did a Number 2 on our country. The stench of that act will linger well into the future.

 

 

Still Dead To Me

Almost three years ago, I wrote the following about The 'Great' One.:

Gretzky has been dead to me since his shameful, full-throated endorsement of Stephen Harper in 2015, despite the fact that the retired hockey player does not live in Canada and is not eligible to vote here. Indeed, it left many wondering about the number of concussions he had sustained during his career.

Now, there is new reason to scorn The Addled One: his shameful performance as the honorary captain of  Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off final in Boston the other night.

The Star's Damien Cox offers some observations on The Lost One:

The evidence suggests No. 99 and his family are strong MAGA supporters, and Gretzky certainly hasn’t come out to protest the U.S. president’s suggestion that Canada should become the “51st state” with the pride of Brantford as its “governor.”

Gretzky ... is being characterized as a traitor in some quarters. 

Cox thinks this is unfair in some ways:

... if you’re looking for hockey people to be progressive or loudly anti-Trump when it comes to their views on Canada as a sovereign nation, you might be looking in the wrong place. Gretzky’s apparent right-wing leanings are more consistent with mainstream thinking in the bro culture that dominates the male hockey world than you might want to acknowledge.

Most NHL players are white, aren’t university educated and are more likely to follow social media than read a book. Their business prizes group think rather than individuality. These days, most are also affluent. All of that makes them easy pickings for the tribal MAGA world.

Cox points out that Gretzky is not alone in his disappointing behaviour.

Sure, his silence on Trump’s anti-Canadian comments is disappointing. Just as disappointing as it was when Bobby Orr and Jack Nicklaus came out as pro-Trump. The fact that these revered sportsmen can simply look the other way as forces of hate spread stolen election lies and blame Ukraine for getting invaded is upsetting. 

The shame of Gretzky’s pro-MAGA leanings is that he is apparently unaware of the fear and unease Trump is generating in Canada. He would probably be at a loss to explain why Canadian fans booed “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the 4 Nations tournament.

Like the rest of us, athletes are not paragons of virtue. Nonetheless, when you occupy an exalted position due to past physical prowess, you do have a responsibility, whether your heart is in it or not, to comport yourself with dignity, self-respect, and national pride. By all of these metrics, Wayne Gretzky has failed horribly.

 

Will Life Imitate Art?

Sometimes, when I look at the rapid devolution of democracy in the United States, I wonder if perhaps I am lying in a coma somewhere, and this is just some elaborate fever dream. A related thought is that if all of this were a movie treatment, it would likely never be produced, given the absurdity of the plot.

In the land of so-called make-believe, both novels and cinema have warned us of dystopian futures, sparked by the rise of a 'man of the people.'  There was a 1957 film called A Face in The Crowd, about the meteoric rise of Larry Rhodes, featuring the against-type casting of Andy Griffiths as a demagogue. His character is ultimately brought back down to earth by a "hot-mic." 

In a similar vein, but even more menacing, was Stephen King's The Dead Zone, later made into a movie starring Christopher Walken and Martin Sheen.

One cannot watch either of these films without thinking of Donald Trump.

My friend Gary sent me this last evening. 

Both of these movies have what might be described as happy endings. While the signs are not good, it remains to be seen whether life will ultimately imitate art in contemporary Amerika.

A Calm Voice Of Reason

If you don't know of him, allow me a moment to introduce you to Flavio Volpe. President of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, he was appointed in 2023 as a Member of The Order of Canada. 

Volpe received the honour for advancing Canada’s automotive and technology industries on an international scale as a leading policy expert in national trade and industry competition. Created in 1967, the Order of Canada is one of the country’s highest civilian honours, recognizing people across all sectors who have made extraordinary and sustained contributions to Canada.

Even more importantly, Volpe has emerged as a calm, incisive and wise voice for all Canadians as he offers his views and advice on how to deal with the U.S., a country apparently intent on waging a massive trade war against our country. 

Here is a short clip from a CBC interview which will offer you a measure of the man:

At a time when shrill voices seem to dominate the media, sane perspectives offered by people like Volpe and his analyses of the threats posed to our country by Trump and his henchpeople are much-needed. 

One hopes that the federal government recognizes what he brings to both the negotiating and the policy-formulation table.

Thin Skin

For people who think critically rather than merely listen to the echo chamber of their choice, it should be obvious that having a thin skin is not an attribute. While this affliction can be found in both political polarities, it seems especially endemic in the far right. Those of that ilk, as discussed in a previous post,  tend to be perpetually aggrieved. Consider, for example, the vehemence with which they cite 'restrictions' on freedom of speech, the great cross they must bear throughout their tortured lives. Names like Jordan Peterson, Don Trump, and Pierre Poilievre come readily to mind. (The latter, in an article by David Moscrop, is described as Trump-adjacent, a lovely description, in my view.)

The problem with such people is their arrant hypocrisy. These particular free-speech warriors seem interested only in liberty for their own points of view. Indeed, those of the so-called woke, progressive and pro-Palestinian factions, in fact anyone with contrary perspectives are, to the unbalanced reactionaries, threats to the very fabric of society. 

I don't like perpetual whiners. They lack the fiber to deal with real life, and are manifestly unfit for public office. In the following, former Global News reporter Rachel Gilmore takes them to task for their feckless character. Young PP comes in for particular scrutiny:

A federal election is not far off. Going into it, I can only conclude that angry 'man' Pierre Poilievre is not up to the high office he so hungrily and shrilly aspires to, the reports of faux news sites notwithstanding.

In Ontario, We Are Not A Happy Family

Here in Ontario, it is Family Day, but all is not well. We have an unnecessary election pending, the premier has cloaked himself in his Captain Canada regalia, and he has done everything he can to buy votes, plunging the province into even deeper debt while education, housing and healthcare, to name but three deep, go vastly unnourished.

Yet according to polls, despite his malfeasance, Mr. Ford will be romping to another electoral victory, thanks both to the current crisis with the Amerikans and the fact that the march to the ballot box is in the dead of winter. Apparently, despite all the talk about rising patriotism and supporting our country, voting is not part of the calculus, with pundits predicting a very low turnout.

Come February 27, heedless Ontarians will undoubtedly and, unfortunately, get the government they deserve.

The only bright spot in this morass of indifference is the knowledge that not all are fooled, as evidenced by these letters to the editor:

Well, it seems clear from election polls Premier Doug Ford will be re-elected in a landslide even though most Ontarians were not happy with the early election. He’s done a masterful job. The hat slogan “Canada is not for sale,” $200 cheques before an election and mentioning possibly 500,000 lost jobs likely all contribute to his strong poll numbers. He has rushed to Washington to plead Ontario’s case regarding tariffs with seemingly little success as the U.S. has just announced a 25 per cent tariff on our steel and aluminum. He’s promised billions for infrastructures and a tunnel under Hwy. 401 but has completely forgotten to support our health-care system, end the long wait times in ERs. A four-year mandate to fight tariffs seems to be in the cards. Voters are forgetting his health care and housing failures, feeling he’ll fight for them even though it’s the federal government that has the power to counter the U.S.A.‘s tariff attack.

Peter J. Middlemore Sr., Windsor

I have just seen Premier Doug Ford’s latest campaign ad, and I am livid. The Premier’s Washington, D.C. visit was supposed to be about defending Canada’s interests, but instead it appears Ford’s main focus was creating sparkling footage for a campaign ad. It’s bad enough that the Premiers emerged empty-handed from their meeting with mid-level White House staffers, but Ford’s new campaign ad rubs salt in our collective wounds. In the voice-over for the ad, Ford repeatedly puts America first — “made in the USA” before “made in Canada,” pride in the work of American workers before the work of Canadians, and the push for his Fortress Am-Can. That’s right, even the name of Ford’s economic plan puts America first. Where’s your hat, Doug? Did it blow off while you were busy bending the knee to Trump?

Carol Kroeger, Ottawa

The Cult Of Victimhood

H/t Moudakis

It probably hasn't escaped your notice that extreme right-wingers are never happy. They see enemies everywhere; subversion abounds. The white race is under attack, trans people are on an ungodly mission to upend 'normal' sexual identity, drag queens want your children, sanctuary cities in the U.S. are allowing killers and rapists to sap the Union, Black people want to end the police, etc., etc., ad nauseam.

This cult of victimhood has never been more apparent than under the Don Trump regime. To believe him and his abettors, the American justice system under Biden was weaponized, Canada is screwing the U.S. when it comes to trade - no, wait - make that the entire world that has been exploiting U.S. benevolence, whether through NATO, Ukrainian-Russian wars, digital service taxes, unfair tariffs - you get the picture. The elephant in the room has been kicked around enough, and won't take it anymore.

So much for American mythology.

Closer to home, PP, the leader of the Conservative Party, has, until very recently, preached the same message about Canada. It is broken, we have been told, thanks to the ineptitude of Liberal rule these past 10 years. Only PP and his party can rectify things, so the message has gone, at least until very recently.

Now that the Liberals seem to be gaining polling traction thanks to Don Trump's attacks on our sovereignty,  the Conservatives have altered their message slightly, adopting a Canada First slogan that seems but an anemic echo of the bellicosity coming from the U.S. Indeed, to prove his bona fides as a strong leader, PP has even said we must immediately send troops, helicopters and surveillance to the border, a placatory move that will find no real favour with the southern behemoth. One wonders if PP has ever heard of Neville Chamberlain. 

Additionally, as Craig Wallace writes, the would-be PM 

has promised to build a large military base in the Arctic, funded by cutting foreign aid (sounding like Trump and his MAGA base here) and threatening to jail fentanyl dealers for life (a violation of the Charter of Rights). He still cannot or will not describe in detail how he will “axe the tax,” “build the homes,” “fix the budget” and “stop the crime.” He, in fact, has no answers.

Like his schoolyard taunts ("carbon-tax Carney, carbon tax Freeland"), all of his bromides are simplistic, and, if directed solely to his base, likely satisfying. However, for those of us who choose not to farm out our thinking to a career politician, all that PP says, as the saying goes, is thin gruel indeed. As we move into the next federal election sooner rather than later, all of us need to be engaged and critical in our thinking.

I know that's a tall order, but when the future of Canada is at stake, it is surely not too much to demand.