A Blight On The Social Landscape
One can only wonder what deeply-engrained social malaise can account for an individual looked up to by his community as having lived a successful life - earning him broad recognition from his country - displaying viciously disturbing feet of clay.
Heaven knows, Canada's First Nations people do need modern-day heroes, those whose exploits within the greater society can be pointed to with pride. People whom the younger generation can relate to, as someone whom they would wish to emulate, as someone who brings honour to their community and to garner by their accomplishments, an proud place for themselves in aboriginal society.
It's truly a waste of human capital when one such individual has been so deeply tainted by racial bias, by ignorant discrimination, that he takes to a public stage and vents his disturbing bile, revealing for all within earshot the disease of anti-Semitism. All the more perplexing that from out of the mouth of one who has fought for recognition of the needs of First Nations people, to free them from the stigma of racial bias and pernicious discrimination.
Yet there was former Assembly of First Nations chief David Ahenakew, in a very public forum, a conference sponsored by the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations in Saskatoon, in December of 2002, speaking not of the ongoing struggle for social parity of Canada's aboriginals, delivering a message of solidarity and hope for resolution of outstanding land claims and the betterment of life for Canada's aboriginals.
Instead, what Mr. Ahenakew delivered was a speech rife with unbridled hatred against another historically beleaguered and victimized people: Jews.
His 45-minute speech amounted to an hysterical rant that ended finally with the conclusion that the Second World War was a Jewish conspiracy. The Holocaust a myth. Mr. Ahenakew served in the Canadian Armed Forces during that war, he found himself having much in common with the Germans he spoke with, whose demonization of Jews was handily reflected by his very own feelings.
His audience might have heard him out patiently without a word of his astonishing and reputation-bruising tirade reaching another audience. It was his misfortune, however, that a Saskatoon Star-Phoenix reporter was in the audience. A reporter who later asked to interview Mr. Ahenakew, and whom Mr. Ahenakew was only too happy to oblige. Whereupon he expanded handily on his racist theories about Jews as cockroaches.
"Jews owned the goddam world", he explained to the fascinated journalist. "How do you get rid of a disease like that?" Why by wiping them out, sweeping them off the face of the earth. Constructing cleansing showers where Zyclone B could asphyxiate them, and then they could be handily shovelled into giant super-heated furnaces that would spume their spirits into the atmosphere. But not before ensuring that any gold-filled teeth were first extracted.
Unsurprisingly, in the general furore that resulted as people were focused, aghast at the news, reading of this man's description of an ethnic, religious, historically traditional group, not unlike in a great many areas, that of his own, a hue and cry ensued. Unsurprisingly, the infamous Doug Christie became his lawyer and spokesperson and apologist. Although he was forced by public outrage to utter an apology, it was also clear from what he said that he remained unrepentant, wedded to his blisteringly rabid beliefs.
The man was convicted in provincial court on the charge of wilfully promoting hatred and fined the sum of a thousand dollars. His reputation within Canada was as refuse. He was stripped of his Order of Canada. But in 2006 a Court of Queen's Bench judge overturned his conviction on appeal, ruling that the original trial judge had not properly assessed intent, ordering a new trial. And the Crown appealed.
Prosecutors are firm; the case will go back to trial. His lawyer, well versed in hate crimes, in the commission of racial calumnies, himself a Holocaust denier like his client, complains that his client has been through enough. Truth is, he has shamed himself, with enough venom to kill an elephant. What he stands accused of redounds in the most unfortunate way on himself, and to some degree upon his original audience who permitted his poisonous address to continue without rebuttal, with no demurral.
Deeds and consequences. He most handily defamed himself.
Heaven knows, Canada's First Nations people do need modern-day heroes, those whose exploits within the greater society can be pointed to with pride. People whom the younger generation can relate to, as someone whom they would wish to emulate, as someone who brings honour to their community and to garner by their accomplishments, an proud place for themselves in aboriginal society.
It's truly a waste of human capital when one such individual has been so deeply tainted by racial bias, by ignorant discrimination, that he takes to a public stage and vents his disturbing bile, revealing for all within earshot the disease of anti-Semitism. All the more perplexing that from out of the mouth of one who has fought for recognition of the needs of First Nations people, to free them from the stigma of racial bias and pernicious discrimination.
Yet there was former Assembly of First Nations chief David Ahenakew, in a very public forum, a conference sponsored by the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations in Saskatoon, in December of 2002, speaking not of the ongoing struggle for social parity of Canada's aboriginals, delivering a message of solidarity and hope for resolution of outstanding land claims and the betterment of life for Canada's aboriginals.
Instead, what Mr. Ahenakew delivered was a speech rife with unbridled hatred against another historically beleaguered and victimized people: Jews.
His 45-minute speech amounted to an hysterical rant that ended finally with the conclusion that the Second World War was a Jewish conspiracy. The Holocaust a myth. Mr. Ahenakew served in the Canadian Armed Forces during that war, he found himself having much in common with the Germans he spoke with, whose demonization of Jews was handily reflected by his very own feelings.
His audience might have heard him out patiently without a word of his astonishing and reputation-bruising tirade reaching another audience. It was his misfortune, however, that a Saskatoon Star-Phoenix reporter was in the audience. A reporter who later asked to interview Mr. Ahenakew, and whom Mr. Ahenakew was only too happy to oblige. Whereupon he expanded handily on his racist theories about Jews as cockroaches.
"Jews owned the goddam world", he explained to the fascinated journalist. "How do you get rid of a disease like that?" Why by wiping them out, sweeping them off the face of the earth. Constructing cleansing showers where Zyclone B could asphyxiate them, and then they could be handily shovelled into giant super-heated furnaces that would spume their spirits into the atmosphere. But not before ensuring that any gold-filled teeth were first extracted.
Unsurprisingly, in the general furore that resulted as people were focused, aghast at the news, reading of this man's description of an ethnic, religious, historically traditional group, not unlike in a great many areas, that of his own, a hue and cry ensued. Unsurprisingly, the infamous Doug Christie became his lawyer and spokesperson and apologist. Although he was forced by public outrage to utter an apology, it was also clear from what he said that he remained unrepentant, wedded to his blisteringly rabid beliefs.
The man was convicted in provincial court on the charge of wilfully promoting hatred and fined the sum of a thousand dollars. His reputation within Canada was as refuse. He was stripped of his Order of Canada. But in 2006 a Court of Queen's Bench judge overturned his conviction on appeal, ruling that the original trial judge had not properly assessed intent, ordering a new trial. And the Crown appealed.
Prosecutors are firm; the case will go back to trial. His lawyer, well versed in hate crimes, in the commission of racial calumnies, himself a Holocaust denier like his client, complains that his client has been through enough. Truth is, he has shamed himself, with enough venom to kill an elephant. What he stands accused of redounds in the most unfortunate way on himself, and to some degree upon his original audience who permitted his poisonous address to continue without rebuttal, with no demurral.
Deeds and consequences. He most handily defamed himself.
Labels: Anti-Semitism
posted by Pieface | 5:30 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home