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Don Cherry shouldn’t have said it, but did he have a point?
During his pre-Remembrance Day rant, Don Cheery, as he often does, lamented that not enough people wear poppies.
This year he said, “…you people love, they come here, whoever it is, you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you can pay a couple of bucks for a Poppy or something like that…”
His statements were quickly denounced on social media for demonizing immigrants. If you unpack his statement, he is making two important assertions.
1. Canadians today are less likely to wear poppies than they used to.
2. Immigrants are less likely to wear poppies than Canadians who are born here.
Sportsnet fired him from his Hockey Night in Canada contribution of “Coach’s Corner,” so it’s clear that it was something he shouldn’t have said.
But is he right?
Let’s start with the first point. Fewer Canadians wear a poppy during Remembrance Week than they used to.
I joined the Army Reserves in 1983, and before that, I was in Cadets. So I’ve been participating in Remembrance Day ceremonies for nearly 40 years. I have heard this exact same complaint for all of that time.
