The gatekeepers of thought

I have to admit I don’t follow hockey. If I’m honest I’ll tell you that hockey doesn’t really interest me. However, when I saw that one of hockey’s longest-running commentators had been fired over something he said, I had to know why.

Up until recently Don Cherry was an 85-year-old hockey commentator on ‘Hockey Night in Canada,’ a sports program on Sportsnet. The network issued a statement saying Cherry “made divisive remarks that do not represent our values and what we stand for.” His partner on the show, Ron MacLean, went even further writing, “Don made comments that were hurtful and prejudiced.” I had to know what he said.

Don Cherry

I read the quote, frowned, scratched my head, then tried to dissect the statement in order to ascertain what was so offensive. This is what he said. “You people that come here, whatever it is—you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that. These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada. These guys paid the biggest price.”

I knew he was talking about immigrants so I thought it might be the poppy part. Was that offensive to Middle Easterners since heroin comes from the opium poppy grown in the Middle East and Asia? No, I was way off. The poppy that Cherry was referring to is a tradition started by the Brits dating back to the first World War. The tradition is to wear a poppy in remembrance of those who died in war. That comes from the poem “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae who was a lieutenant colonel in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. He had just lost a friend in the battle of Flanders, Belgium. On the bloody battlefield thousands of bright red poppies appeared among the carnage. McCrae was so touched by the scene that he memorialized it in verse.

Remembrance Day is observed in the UK and Canada. It’s much like our Memorial Day and falls on our own Veterans Day. A deeper dive into Don Cherry’s remarks reveals he was lamenting the fact that fewer and fewer people are wearing the poppy on Remembrance Day. “Very few people wear the poppy,” he said in the same conversation that got him fired. “Downtown Toronto, forget it. Nobody wears the poppy. Now you go to the small cities. You people that come here, whatever it is—you love our way of life. You love our milk and honey. At least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that. These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada. These guys paid the biggest price for that.”

Okay, I still wasn’t getting it, although I had my suspicions. But that couldn’t be it. Ross Perot was chastised for that way back in 1992 when he spoke to a black group and was forced to apologize. Then I saw a CNN story. That was it. Don Cherry’s horrible offense was he used the term “you people.” OMG.

I’ve spoken to dozens of groups. Women’s groups, black groups, Hispanic groups. I’m almost positive I’ve used “you people” in the course of my speech. “You people do great work” or “You people know exactly what I’m talking about.” We use that term when we’re not part of that group. Oh, but you can’t say that…anymore. It’s offensive.

It’s offensive only to the dim-witted or the speech police. And I don’t know which one’s more dangerous.

Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning talk radio show, The Phil Valentine Show, on SuperTalk 99.7WTN in Nashville. He's also co-host of The PodGOATs podcast.