Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...And Trust Me, This is Small Stuff

I'm sure it won't come as a total surprise that I am writing about this, however I feel it is worthy of comment.

This was first brought to my attention on the way home this evening while listening to 680 News. I was not completely in the know until I managed to stumble across it in a way I cannot currently remember. Take the time to watch it first before reading on so that you can be completely in the know.

Okay, so what do we have here? It really depends who you ask. According to the majority of the 11,000+ comments on the video, it is just another typical demonstration of "American ignorance" towards Canada, and just another reason why Fox is the asshole of American news networks. And they're right to an extent.

Since this has been aired, the host Greg Gutfeld has issued an apology, and Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay and his department accepted it after contacting Fox Networks earlier in the day to demand one. Gutfeld also had this to say on his Twitter:

"My apologies to the Canadian military, they probably could at least beat the Belgians"

His official apology came off as being more sincere...

It is completely understandable why so many people are outraged about this, given the fact that four Canadian soldiers just travelled down the Highway of Heroes today. It would be an untruth for me to say that I was not offended by this video. I found it to be completely distasteful, disrespectful towards the sacrifices of our soldiers and their families, and most of all saturated in ignorance. My heart goes out to the families of these soldiers and others who have no doubt been exposed to this as a result of the attention it is receiving (it was covered on the 11pm edition of Global National News).

There are some things you do not poke fun at, and the military of a country engaged in active war is one of those things in my books. Despite your sentiments and thoughts regarding the legitimacy and merit of the war in Afghanistan, I think it is safe to say that all Canadians found this to be a shot below the belt. This goes for any country and any war - soldiers are sacrificing their lives, some without a choice in the matter, and that is something to be respected or at the very least civilly acknowledged. You do not need to agree with their position, but I feel it is necessary to respectfully acknowledge their willingness to sacrifice their lives on behalf of their country.

But before everyone flies off the handle, let's take a step back and look at this for what it really is: a show we'd previously never knew existed comprised of a panel of American nobodys who did nothing but make complete fools of themselves.

Red Eye is aired at 3am on weekdays, and it is aired at that time for a reason: it is not a quality show. It is intended to be a satirical news program, much like The Daily Show or The Colbert Report only with more suck, featuring a panel of individuals who make off the cuff remarks on the subject at hand. Immediately we know that nothing said on this show is meant to be taken seriously, but it goes without saying that this does not excuse their targetting and off-hand remarks regarding Canadian soldiers. Especially because it is impossible for this topic to have been chosen without any knowledge of the number of good Canadian soldiers that have been lost in Afghanistan.

Let's look further at the panel featured on this episode: who in fact are these people?

Greg Gutfeld graduated from UC Berkeley, and has been a writer for Prevention and Men's Health magazines. He went on to become editor-in-chief of Men's Health and most notably Maxim UK. He was once a contributor to The Huffington Post and now runs his own blog entitled The Daily Gut. He has also published two books: The Scorecard at Work: The Official Point System for Keeping Score in the Relationship Game and Lessons from the Land of Pork Scratchings.

Doug Benson is a stand-up comedian who was recently a contestant on Last Comic Standing. He is known for doing his comedy bits high, and was named "Stoner of the Year" in 2006 by High Times Magazine.

Bill Schulz is a regular writer and panelist on Red Eye, and an All-American. He is a direct descendant of William Dawes Jr., who rode with Paul Revere to warn the colonial minutemen about the advancement of the British. He has this to say on his Twitter:

"To all canadians that keep emailing me: R u really from the land of SCTV and jim carrey? Lighten the fuck up. ."

Monica Crowley has a BA in Political Science from Colgate University and a PhD in International Relations from Columbia University. She acted as Foreign Policy Assistant to former President Richard Nixon from 1990-1994. She has a radio show entitled The Monica Crowley Show and has appeared in a number of Fox Network shows. She is best known for allegations of plagiarism and off-colour remarks about President Barack Obama during the Democrat Presidential Primary.

Most of us likely did not know who any of these people were prior to seeing this video, and there is a good reason for that: these are not notable Americans. They are not prominently in the public spotlight, and frankly are not known for much. To put it into perspective, they're appearing as panelists on a show that comes on at 3am. So why do we care so much about what they have to say? What makes their remarks and opinions regarding the Canadian military worth the fuss we're making over it?

They don't matter. If they were based on an ounce of fact, then perhaps the outcry would be worth it, but there is no fact. If there were, there would not be references to outdated ideals of Manifest Destiny or to the stereotypes of the RCMP. Let's not forget that many RCMP officers have been lost in the line of duty as well, and they deserve just as much respect as our soldiers do.

Lines such as "Is it not the perfect time to invade this ridiculous country?" courtesy of Mr. Gutfeld and "This is not a smart culture." from Mr. Schulz definitely are not taken kindly, but remember who these people are. They're nobody of importance to anyone in Canada, and so it's not worth investing so much disdain in the ignorance that so unfortunately leaves their mouth. But it is furthermore important to remember that these people do not represent all Americans - in fact, far from it. It makes no sense to generalize your dislike of the videos to all Americans, as this is not demonstrable of "American ignorance" or of the "American perception of Canada". The only people they have had the misfortune in representing is themselves, and their remarks only reflect poorly on them - no one else.

This primarily goes out to everyone who has taken the time to write a comment on the video, and the many people who have likely created accounts with YouTube in order to do so - you are no better than those panelists when you start to misdirect your ill feelings towards Americans as a whole. Be the better people here, and take out your frustrations on those who created it only.

Peter MacKay had the right idea when he said:

"I don't think we should dignify this with more commentary other than to say it's highly regrettable..."

It's happened, and it's time to move on. It just isn't worth fretting about such a blatant display of stupidity.

But there is one positive to come out of this. Look at the huge display of Canadian patriotism that's happening as a result! There is plenty to be said about that, but that is a topic for another post...

Images retrieved from google image search.