Although the program on which this situation took place is satirical (satire being defined as "A literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit."), these individuals crossed the line between funny and controversial. It is one thing to poke fun at something, however, it is unacceptable to ignorantly attack an entire nation. The people on the show obviously forgot to do their homework as they were entirely wrong and misguided on a number of things they spoke about.
The first bizarre thing they did was make fun of the Lieutenant-General's name, stating that it was an "unusual name for a man". The Lieutenant-Generals name is Andrew Leslie. What is so strange about that? In fact, the name Andrew was the 11th most popular baby name in the United States in 2006. If they were ridiculing Andrew Leslie because they thought that both names were his first name, they should stop being so ignorant. If you are going to do a show on international television, shouldn't you do your research and get all the facts straight? Besides, even if they were making fun of "Leslie" being a first name, they are forgetting that Leslie is also a male name. Examples include Leslie Roberts, Leslie Nielsen, Leslie Moonves and Bob Hope (who's birth name is Leslie).The second unintelligent point they joked about was in regards to Canada needing to take a military break. They joked that "the Canadian military wants to take a breather to do some yoga, paint landscapes, run on the beach in gorgeous white Capri pants". Although it is not clearly stated, the host could have been implying homosexual related behaviour. By stating that the Canadian military personnel are "gay" (not that Homosexuality is a bad thing.), it is a very unintelligent thing to say. It is obvious that not every person in the Canadian Military is gay and even if they were, why would that be funny? Homosexuals have just as much right to do as they want as Heterosexuals. We don't laugh when people are playing football or watching a fight on TV and so why do we laugh at Yoga or painting?
A third uncalled for statement that occurred on the show was that the host, Greg Gutfeld, asked if Canada would get away with taking a military break if they didn't share a border with the United States. It is a stupid question to ask as Canada chose to take part and aid in the war, therefore they are also able to decide when they need to leave the war. Canada is a free country and is perfectly capable of making their own decisions.
A fourth ignorant comment made in the video involved a guest talking about the Canadian Police force. It was ignorant to begin with as the segment was about the Canadian military, not the Police force. However, the ignorance did not end there. The guest then goes on to state that all the police in Canada ride around on horses. Horses in the Canadian police force (The RCMP or "Mounties specifically) are traditional and are used currently in parades and ceremonies. Canada has police cars too. They also go on to boast about how they have bulletproof vests while Canadian Police members wear red jackets (the ones associated with the Mounted Police). Once again, these coats are traditional to the RCMP and not all police officers in Canada wear them. Canadians have also had the technology known as "the bullet proof vest" for approximately the same amount of time as Americans.
A final unintelligent comment was made by the female guest on "Red Eye". She goes on to make the stereotypical joke that all of Canada is cold. Honestly? Does it really take a professional to come up with that? Why are people like that getting paid to say these childish, ignorant things. People make such lame jokes about Canada when they are in kindergarden and in fact, parts of Canada are more southern than certain parts of America. These previous examples were only a few examples taken out of a handful of ignorant, primitive and childish things the host and guests said on the show. What is society coming to when people such as they are getting the privilage to say whatever they want on international television? With people saying irrational comments on television, they only create further controversy. Such controversy will in turn only lead to more problems in the world that then need to be added to a long list of "things to fix in this world".
References:
"100 Most Popular Baby Names of 2006"Babycenter.com.5 April 2009.
"Leslie"Wikipedia.com.5 April 2009. 30 March 2009
"RCMP"RCMP.ca. 5 April 2009. 3 March 2009
"Canadian Stereotypes, a Weblist Inspired by Ridgewalker"Rateitall.com 5 April 2009. 3 April 2007
"Red Eye" No Date. Online Image. Hulu.com. 5 April 2009.
"Non-Horse Riding/Mountie Police Officers" No Date. Online Image. Wikipedia.com 5 April 2009.
"Leslie Nielsen" No Date. Online Image. LazyKracker.com. 5 April 2009.
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