Every once in a while, you read a different article that also makes you pause and think. Except this time, instead of learning something in the process, you realize you've lost brain cells. And you'll probably need a shower.
John Robson wrote this hideously offensive piece, Only one national day, for today's Ottawa Sun to mark Canada's 145th birthday - today! And if I'm being polite, it's some of the most xenophobic, spite-fuelled writing I've read in a while. I'm not entirely surprised, as the "news organization" he works for isn't exactly known as a bastion of journalistic excellence. To be perfectly frank, the standards of Mr. Robson's employers bring shame to all of us who professionally ply the craft every day. But this is no surprise to anyone who picks up a Quebecor-owned paper only to have the cheap newsprint rub off on their fingertips.
This piece plumbs new lows, and suggests someone missed out on the tolerant-Canadian gene when they were handing them out a few years back. I realize my writing about it here only brings more attention to a piece that was obviously crafted more for link-baited traffic generation than cogent political discussion. But to say nothing would allow idiocy like this to persist unchecked. And the Canadian journalist in me just can't allow that to stand.
Happy birthday, Canada. Please ignore the idiots in the peanut gallery who have no idea what they're talking about. They don't represent the best of journalism. And they sure don't represent the best this country has to offer. Far from it.
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6 comments:
Sometimes ya just gotta rant. It's okay.
Happy Canada Day!
I think every now and then the 'morons' have to have their say displayed so that people can see the difference between them and logical folk... Freedom of the press is what it is.. Gotta take the good and the bad and rise above it... after all the 'good' always wins out. :-)
What would life be like without them? Sometimes I think people like that give me fuel to well rant, but also, to stand up and do something positive! Happy Canada Day anyway....and hopefully
I'm still laughing at the title of this post. In five words you have summarized what I've felt time and time again. Rant away!
PKP fired a female quebecois journalist a few months ago when she told a PKP lackie live, on air that his comments were racist and xenophobic.
And the irony is there are still people out there who respect David A. as a journalist.
Alas journalism is becoming punditry. The full out assault on this profession is a sign of where this country is headed.
I guarantee you the numbers of people who think it is about time people made these comments are in direct proportion to the people who are voting for stephen Harper. And the man is going to win another majority.
Don't feel bad. We have our own batch of so-called "journalists" on my side of the border.
They have the right to say what they want but it shouldn't be disguised as news and pawned off as fact.
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