The Hate-America-First Mentality of Vancouverites

This afternoon on CKNW I heard some rather disturbing things heard from callers about Canada's presence in Afghanistan. You can listen to it here (33:18). I got so upset that I wrote the host, Sean Leslie, this e-mail:

Free speech is a good thing but I must admit that hearing open-line callers on 'NW frequently saddens me. "Gary" and the junior members of his choir seem oblivious to the fact that their hatred toward America (and often toward Israel) completely obscures any sense of a reasoned thought process about foreign policy. On every single broadcast day it seems we hear such people calling up to 'NW and blathering on & on about how America & Israel are the Great Satans of the world and are to blame for every problem that now exists in the world.

How terribly short these peoples' memories are. It was just 2 decades ago when Ronald Reagan freed hundreds of millions of people trapped behind the Iron Curtain of the U.S.S.R. Without his determined actions the citizens of these nations would not be enjoying the freedom and democracies they have today. The ending of the Cold War thankfully did not require a shot to be fired but sometimes force is necessary. Have Canadians become so privileged and pampered that now even one death has them running? I often wonder if these critics have any idea of how many Canadians often died in any one battle of World Wars 1 & 2? In their minds, I guess, Canadians "have always been peacekeepers" so therefore never participated in these previous wars.

I absolutely reject the notion that Freedom and Democracy are only "American Neo-Con" concepts. Is the true meaning of "Canadian values" in the New Millennium actually an absence of all values entirely? We cannot help out every country in the world but I will never understand why seemingly so many CKNW listeners don't even want to help out one!!

P.S. I strongly encourage all your listeners to Google "Michael Yon" (the last name is spelled Y-O-N) to learn more about what is really going on in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Canadian Visitors to Hawaii Up 27%

Published!

An abridged version of my recent editorial on Canadians' lack of support for your troops in Afghanistan was published in the National Post today:

Why Vancouverites Frequently Annoy Me

I'm a Vancouverite, born & raised. But I've lived in many other places too. Anyone reading my blog knows that I'm currently in Miami, Florida, finishing up the end of a 2-month working vacation here.

Every day I listen to CKNW online, read the Vancouver Sun, and watch the periodic newscast on the CTV website. Plus I read several blogs from back home, many of which there are links for on the right. So I have not lost track at all with what's going on back home.

I came across a posting in the Vancouver section of Craigslist where the author stated the following about the Vancouver Police Department: "Let me tell you this, they aren't rent a cops, but they are not professional, ethical ones either. What they are is incompetent, deceitful, corrupt and they are the largest criminal organization in this city. And,god help all the citizens of this city based on the fact that they are what we have as our police department."

If there's one thing [some] Vancouverites excel at, it's a self-imposed ignorance of the larger world around them and an Academy Award winning talent for playing the role of the proverbial victim. We have so much in Canada, especially in Vancouver, not the least of which are boundless opportunities to better our own lives. Yet people like this writer, anti-poverty "activists" (read "anarchists"), and environmental zealots would have the world believe that we're living in a totalitarian police state. Remember what I said about ignorance?

While I've been in Miami I've had the opportunity to talk with dozens upon dozens of people from all over the world, especially from many countries in the Caribbean and South America. Some specific conversations with Cuban & Haitian refugees and newcomers from Colombia & Argentina & Venezuela have provided me with extremely unpleasant first hand stories that will forever be imprinted in my brain.

You think you have it bad in Vancouver? Get a grip! Get a fracking grip!! You don't even know the meaning of the words: oppression, corruption, hunger, poverty, and hopelessness.

I'm flying home next week. Looking forward to it. But I know it won't be too long before the ignorant "permanent victims" of Vancouver vividly and constantly remind me of how incredibly selfish and ungrateful so many Canadians are.

The next time you see one of these folks outraged about this or that, just picture a spoiled little brat throwing a tantrum in public, complaining to his mother that he's not happy with the silver spoon in his mouth and wants a gold one instead!