What a disgraceful image. This vile man is engaged in desecrating the Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa. He is simultaneously desecrating the American flag by sprawling it on the ground like a beach towel. Americans and Canadians have fought side by side for freedom and liberty all over the world. The question is: do the people who live in freedom — because of the sacrifices made by the people remembered at the memorials — even know what they mean and stand for? What do you think?
These jackasses are the reason US democracy is in trouble. They believe their misguided views on EVERYTHING is “patriotism” when in reality it’s just narcissistic selfishness on a scale that renders them incapable of seeing beyond the fog of their own delusion.
Steve you hit the nail on the head with your question: "... do the people who live in freedom — because of the sacrifices made by the people remembered at the memorials — even know what they mean and stand for?" The paucity of historical knowledge, the absence of thoughtful self-reflection and the lack of a proper sense of decorum which is on display in this photo clearly demonstrates the answer is a resounding NO, they do not even know what these Memorials mean and stand for.
The right wing in this country has co-opted the American flag. I’ll am old enough to remember when they cried “desecration” when hippies wore American flag bandanas, bras, capes, etc. Now, it’s okay to do anything you want with a flag (or the elements of the flag) so long as you advocate the right point of view. Hey, this flag is my flag too.
That said, wow what massive disrespect to Canadians! This monument is dedicated to the Canadian soldiers and draping an American flag over the tomb is both shameful and thoughtless.
This is PRECISELY the sort of abject stupidity that continues to drive the value of the American brand to zero here in Canada. We have had enough of the crap that passes for 1st Amendment expression by the congenitally uneducated living to the south.
Regardless of what this asshat's nationality actually is, the source and inspiration for his utterly disgraceful behaviour is clearly derived from the dumpster fire that has become our once vaunted south neighbour.
Enough is enough. Our brave men and women fought - and died - bravely, selflessly and in disproportionate numbers in defence of something far bigger than most Americans (and a shockingly growing number of similarly uneducated - too often white - Canadians) can even comprehend.
Any American with any remaining shred of decency should be horrified to see this display. Any Canadian that was present for this demonstration of ignorance should have clocked this loser.
PS Convoys are for followers. Not leaders. Convoys are the safe space for the profoundly uncurious and ignorant. May their houses be vexed with endless plagues.
He has an intellect rivaled only by garden tools but I've been desensitized to this ghoulish behavior for at least 5 years now. Trump poked the sleeping bear when he came down that escalator--and now all the school bullies you hated in grade school have suddenly appeared like cockroaches in a dark kitchen. This guy is one of them.
I don’t know. During Trump’s first impeachment trial I wrote to certain Republican senators and told them about my grandfather who fought in WW2.
He was a corpsman in the Pacific theater. I told them my grandfather enlisted and was honored to serve bc it was his “duty”. I explained that he lived but the war shattered his emotional well-being for remainder of life. I asked them to remember him,those like him, and vote to remove Trump from office. I keep thinking about those troops,kids really,that fought for us and how corrupt and shameful the Republican Party is now. It is a group of depraved people (with few exceptions) who throw away truth, decorum and lack any sense of gratitude for the power they’ve been given.
Some of these Senators had veteran parents,or family members. And they know better- they know what they are doing to our country. I wonder how Elise Stefanik will define honesty and honor to her children some day.
I think it is a disgraceful thing to do to a Canadian memorial - that belongs to the Canadian people. I hope the Canadian police arrested him & hauled him off for a night in the slammer & then a nice fine. Even if the 2 countries fought together this behavior is inappropriate & disrespectful of a partner in wartime ! How would he react to someone from another country putting their flag on a US memorial ?
The so-called Freedom Convoy was actually an occupation of thugs. I live in Ottawa and they paralyzed the city for three weeks last winter, until the various levels of government finally got their act together and send them packing. They descrated the National War Memorial and danced on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier then ... and now this. This is Trumpism on the rise in Canada, and as of Sept. 10 it's face will be a man named Pierre Poilievre, who will be elected leader of Canada's Conservative Party on that date. I hope you write about him at some point. His links to the America First sympathizers run deep. Small fact: The first American politician to endorse Poilievre publicly when he announced his candidacy was Paul Gosar of Arizona, and he's going to win his party's leadership in a landslide, a measure of how much Trumpism has already migrated north of border.
Ok...wait Freedom convoy wtf is that? Is that the ridiculous trucker convoy to protest wearing a mask? If it is omg we have sunk to the lowest low. How embarrassing regardless. Our idiocy is showing, Yikes
No, the vast majority of Americans toss around words like 'freedom', 'liberty', and 'democracy' like toys. Even witnessing Ukrainians laying their bodies on the line to preserve these concepts makes barely a dent in the self-absorbed, narcissistic American culture. Ideas of sacrifice, working collectively towards a greater good, short-term hardship for long-term gain...these are all alien concepts to most Americans. So if the baseline American is so far removed from the values held by the silent generation, it's hardly surprising that radicalism has led to a perversion of words and concepts we once cherished. Here's another word/concept that Americans use but don't understand: fascism. Great swaths of the country have absolutely no concept of what it means to live under a fascist regime. Many are in denial, many are ignorant of history. The MAGA base believe they understand the tradeoff...they believe that winning the culture wars is worth losing certain rights....until it affects their lives. Unfortunately, it's the likely way this will all end...
Over the weekend Pope Francis arrived in Alberta on a mission of forgiveness. In the press photo the Pope was on bended knee kissing the hand of an indigenous elder while the chief had his hand on the back of the elder while looking down at the Pope. I stared at the photo for a long time and imagined what was going on in each individuals mind. The long awaited acknowledgment and confession of quilt of the Catholic Church for their role in the death of so many native children dragged from their families into their cruel school system. The photo said so much and was such a humble moment. There was so much that was said in that one photo. The photo of this “protester”? Has little or no meaning other than a sad display of callous thoughtlessness.
Too many Americans are ignorant of the history of this great nation and the sacrifices made in service to our country. Rather than honor their memory by upholding democratic norms and institutions, they cheer Orange doofus when he disgraces POWs like the late John McCain. One of our founding fathers noted it takes a well informed citizenry to make democracy work. That is the sad part of our current state of affairs, low information voters perpetuate the march to fascism as demonstrated by the Republican media such as Fox et al.
Elderly woman here who remembers FDR and WWII. My two much older brothers are now buried in National Cemetaries. They served in WWII, as did 4 cousins and 3 in-laws. There was a significant collection of Purple Hearts and Bronze stars among them. Half of them fought in Europe, half in the Pacific. This “Freedom Convoy” is anything but courageous and sacrificing. They have no clue what true sacrifice is, their pretense is an offense to anyone who has actually done so. The kids in my kindergarten class sacrificed more for this country than these clowns have. I’m all for freedom of expression, but a National Monument of this sort should be reserved for quiet contemplation, learning, researching, teaching.
Let the clown perform in a different arena, and wherever he does it, make him get his behind off the flag.
That man is a disgrace. If he is a U.S. citizen, get a good look as he apt to be an elected official in the U.S. or, if God forbid Trump gets back in the White House, the next U.S. ambassador to Canada.
For the first time in years I have not hung my Canadian flag from my front porch. After watching the assortment of protestors wrapping themselves in our flag or draping it across the front grill of their trucks as they honked their way down the streets of Ottawa this spring, its value for me has, sadly, diminished. I am so disappointed to think that people in Canada feel they have lost freedoms, when they only have to look at the news to see people in other countries desperately fighting to hold onto their free country as well as their homes and lives. These Freedom Convoy people are not patriots, more like idiots. Meanwhile, the American flag which once represented freedom is now being used as a weapon. To me, Freedom Convoy is code for white supremacy and seeing the American flag draped on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier turns my stomach.
When I watched the Trump mob storm the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the thing that sickened me the most was when one of Trump's zombies climbed out on a balcony of the Capitol, removed an American flag and replaced it with a Trump flag. The thought of that event still makes me sick.
That Ottawa image seems like the same twisted mindset at work.
It is truly a shame in this me first universe that you have another selfish person displaying how far society has fallen since the great generations of the past. This is what happens when personal freedom is touted over societal norms. Disgraceful is the only adjective that describes this action. Respect for Service, respect for life has been gutted from society by the those who believe their life is more important than anyone else. Sad
What IS his message??? Is it that the USA is responsible for the deaths of heroic Canadian soldiers? Is it that the USA honors fallen Canadian soldiers? Is it that the USA governs Canada? Etc etc…And like Julie asks, wtf is Freedom convoy? He’s uneducated, uninformed and making a dirty mess as he scorns and mocks those who have fought for his rights and freedom.
This person of whatever nationality represents the viral effect of American white nationalism that infects all current and previously majority Caucasian nations. Since the Astroturf Tea-Party grievance movement began (under the nose and with the benign consent of all you “normal Republicans”) your former party has been selling its soul for votes. Minority theocratic rule was always the goal. The Republicans used Trump to execute their first move towards a theocracy and now you “normals” are aghast that you’re having trouble getting rid of him!?!?
I blame your American “Exceptional” ignorance. The utter conceit of that myth sickens me. You strive for a “more perfect union” all the while descending to immoral depths of fascism. You’re just people who started to improve the British democratic system. You’re not so exceptional. It was done all over the British Empire to varying degrees of success.
You forgot the most important virtue of any democracy, compromise. The best tool to ensure compromise IMHO is a multiple party political system i.e. NOT BINARY!! The potential of a minority government that can survive only through compromise has, so far, made Canadian politics less susceptible to the type of freakshow. Why aren’t you and the rest of your buds forming the Normal Repuplican Party. Get the PAC system of graft working for the common good. Bleed the radical Trump-ists (Pence-ists, DeSantis-ists, Cruz-ists) of just enough votes to hopefully restore sanity. Hi-jack the Libertarians if need be. Get on it man!!
The question is: do the people who live in freedom even know what the memorials mean and stand for? I was born at the beginning of the baby boom to a young couple who met at a USO in 1944 and married a year later. As a university student in 1943 my dad had joined the Enlisted Reserve Corps hoping he would be able to graduate before being activated. Instead, his journey w the Army took him to Indiana where he met my mother. My dad’s battlefield experience (wounded, captured, MIA, imprisoned in German stalags) and maybe also his awards garnered sufficient points that he did not have to go to Korea after returning to the States in June 1945. He discharged from active duty in Nov ‘45, but continued in the USArmy reserve, where he was commissioned and finally discharged in 1956. I grew up in the 50s, came of age in the 60s, and knew NOTHING about what my parents experienced during their coming of age in the thick of a world war. I never saw my dad in uniform. He would not speak about or answer questions about his service. Everyone knew he’d been wounded and was a POW. End of conversation. If my parents were political animals I never saw any evidence— but they were staunch Republicans who voted for Nixon & Goldwater. At dinner we spoke about school and grades, never world events, never. I believe I was sheltered from the evening news. In high school I vaguely knew something was happening in Viet Nam and hoped it would be over before any of my friends were old enough to be drafted. In college I was an art major. My friends were politically active on campus but I was pretty much clueless; we sat in the student union as lottery numbers were called— what a weird moment. Until the GWBush presidency I existed in a secure and only-slightly-aware bubble as a stay-at-home mom. The 9/11 attacks changed that; in Nov 2001 Bush said he had enough votes to go to war w Iraq and I became political and started pushing back against his admin’s hyperbole. W’s statement “… after all that guy tried to kill my dad…” was not sufficient justification to take the nation to war. I scheduled appts to see my elected reps (2 senators & a congressman) to make clear my position against invasion. I was received by interns, one took notes and two said: “Sen X supports the President” none acknowledged the reason for my visit. It is easy to love being a US citizen, but it takes time to fully understand and appreciate the ‘who, what, and how’ that gets us to today. I am finally painfully aware of what the memorials mean, what they stand for, and do whatever I can to communicate meaningfully, to enlighten or guide the thinking of those who are distracted, unmoved, uninformed, or not paying attention. ‘Distracted, unmoved, uninformed, not paying attention’ describes my earlier years, probably ‘privileged’ applies. It’s taken my lifetime for this to permeate my being. I think it’s not just me.
The answer to the question, “Do they know...?” is “No!” It is the consequence of the combined weaknesses in our society, one in our education system and the other in our family lives. We need to bring civics back into the classroom (though at this point in time, it woud probably be hard to get political agreement on just what constitutes civics) and we need to stop encouraging willful blindness. This latter is the harder nut to crack. I’m reading the essays of James Baldwin-- which I highly recommend to anyone who is concerned about the current state of America since he describes it’s roots-- and he repeatedly points out that white society in the U.S. has been lying to itself for centuries because it is afraid to come to grips with its fear of the other. In other words, we have encouraged willful blindness for a long, long time and are now reaping the crop we have sown. A crop, by the way, that Baldwin predicted we would have to deal with one day. In this vein, I’m also going to recommend a book due to be published in October of this year: poet and essayist, Wendell Berry’s “The Need To Be Whole: Patriotism and the History of Prejudice”. Here’s a preview by John Fea: https://currentpub.com/2022/07/18/wendell-berrys-forthcoming-book-will-offend-most-everyone/
I’m feeling sick about this image. I live in Minnesota—one of dear Canadian’s border neighbors. Our state has had a traditionally respectful and amiable relationship with Canada!
Why denigrate a monument and a flag? What is inside this man that motivates him to do such a thing?
I’m also a proud, retired, public high school teacher. Loved my work. There has been a slow “dumbing down” of our kids being taught civics, history, political science, and the humanities.
There has also been an ignorant arrogance around this. Disturbing.
Rural and small town America has increasingly felt alienated and forgotten. Hence, what I believe, was the reason why Trump got so much of the vote from this faction of America. He was a brilliant marketer; he sensed what many Americans needed to hear. And he used language in a way to hypnotize them into believing his lies and vote for him. Simple, repetitive statements.
Lastly, America has no great vision guiding it right now! Nothing to inspire us, nothing to “pull us together.” Great leaders—great Presidents do that!
Everyone needs a reason to get out of bed every morning.
I’m sad that the word ‘patriot’ has been hijacked by the dummies and bullies on the right. Their national pride is nothing more than an elitist lop-sided view of what it means to be American. I can’t even fly my flag anymore. It’s sad and tragic
Irreverence is a scourge upon the human race, exacerbated by useless wars, no respect for the preservation of human life. Death, starving, homeless, become commonplace-because the joy of living is stolen.
"They" believe they are "right" - they do not know what lack of freedom is. "They" also want their beliefs to be "free" (no masks, guns, etc.) - while imposing their beliefs on others ( no abortion rights, no same sex marriage, no contraception, etc. ) - those things are not seen as restricting freedom
I have always read a lot of history and various forms of government through the ages. The more I learned, the more I understood real freedom/democratic forms of government. Genuine freedom has always been aspirational for America. But people who think they were born knowing it all definitely do not understand freedom, and consequently, abuse the freedoms paid for in blood and treasure.
I think the Canadian government should revoke this moron’s visa, permanently ban him from entry into Canada, make a huge public statement of condemnation making an example of him to the Canadian people and to the U.S. Each of us represents our country whenever we travel, there must be accountability for such disgusting acts..
This image is abhorrent. Whoever this is needs to be arrested. My deepest apologies to our Dear Canadian Neighbors up North.
I am so deeply distressed and fraught with concerns over the desecration of this tomb. No question, in my mind, has ever been answered to behavior like this. The trolls are alive and no amount of shame can stop them.
He should be in jail for a couple of reasons and prosecuted over television to educate the citizens of both countries about the obligations of citizenship in a democracy. We have so much work to do. :-((
His performance is his fifteen minutes of fame. By taking history in his hands and, snap!, breaking it into two uneven parts. By tossing one into the fires and the other, a brute's interpretation, held close and tightly in his arms. To give Freedom life in his own fan(T)a(S)tical image. To a roar from a crowd in the making. The Trump Syndrome of our time, warped by Kushnerian Privilege of the worst kind. And Ivankan Partnerships. The chimeric desire to access the 1%-ers at the top. Those financiers within, of brutalities against the will of majorities. This image is an assault by privilege against the testament that lives on sacred grounds, the tributes to the fallen in wars. The Monuments To The Unknown Soldier. And The Statues Above Come To Life. They, tearfully, can not understand why the American Flag serves as stagecraft in their Freeland.
There is now a belief that a White Christian Nation is true Patriotism. That is what is being sold and the disenfranchised, racist low information are all in. All in the Hitler playbook. Republicans will stay in this game if they can remain in power. We see there is no character or morality among them. Even the ones who testified will continue their support just as they sat in silence while all these attacks on our Democracy were in full play in real time, out in the open.
These jackasses are the reason US democracy is in trouble. They believe their misguided views on EVERYTHING is “patriotism” when in reality it’s just narcissistic selfishness on a scale that renders them incapable of seeing beyond the fog of their own delusion.
Steve you hit the nail on the head with your question: "... do the people who live in freedom — because of the sacrifices made by the people remembered at the memorials — even know what they mean and stand for?" The paucity of historical knowledge, the absence of thoughtful self-reflection and the lack of a proper sense of decorum which is on display in this photo clearly demonstrates the answer is a resounding NO, they do not even know what these Memorials mean and stand for.
The right wing in this country has co-opted the American flag. I’ll am old enough to remember when they cried “desecration” when hippies wore American flag bandanas, bras, capes, etc. Now, it’s okay to do anything you want with a flag (or the elements of the flag) so long as you advocate the right point of view. Hey, this flag is my flag too.
That said, wow what massive disrespect to Canadians! This monument is dedicated to the Canadian soldiers and draping an American flag over the tomb is both shameful and thoughtless.
This is PRECISELY the sort of abject stupidity that continues to drive the value of the American brand to zero here in Canada. We have had enough of the crap that passes for 1st Amendment expression by the congenitally uneducated living to the south.
Regardless of what this asshat's nationality actually is, the source and inspiration for his utterly disgraceful behaviour is clearly derived from the dumpster fire that has become our once vaunted south neighbour.
Enough is enough. Our brave men and women fought - and died - bravely, selflessly and in disproportionate numbers in defence of something far bigger than most Americans (and a shockingly growing number of similarly uneducated - too often white - Canadians) can even comprehend.
Any American with any remaining shred of decency should be horrified to see this display. Any Canadian that was present for this demonstration of ignorance should have clocked this loser.
PS Convoys are for followers. Not leaders. Convoys are the safe space for the profoundly uncurious and ignorant. May their houses be vexed with endless plagues.
He has an intellect rivaled only by garden tools but I've been desensitized to this ghoulish behavior for at least 5 years now. Trump poked the sleeping bear when he came down that escalator--and now all the school bullies you hated in grade school have suddenly appeared like cockroaches in a dark kitchen. This guy is one of them.
I don’t know. During Trump’s first impeachment trial I wrote to certain Republican senators and told them about my grandfather who fought in WW2.
He was a corpsman in the Pacific theater. I told them my grandfather enlisted and was honored to serve bc it was his “duty”. I explained that he lived but the war shattered his emotional well-being for remainder of life. I asked them to remember him,those like him, and vote to remove Trump from office. I keep thinking about those troops,kids really,that fought for us and how corrupt and shameful the Republican Party is now. It is a group of depraved people (with few exceptions) who throw away truth, decorum and lack any sense of gratitude for the power they’ve been given.
Some of these Senators had veteran parents,or family members. And they know better- they know what they are doing to our country. I wonder how Elise Stefanik will define honesty and honor to her children some day.
I apologize, citizens of Canada, for this disgusting and abhorrent misrepresentation of the American flag.
I think it is a disgraceful thing to do to a Canadian memorial - that belongs to the Canadian people. I hope the Canadian police arrested him & hauled him off for a night in the slammer & then a nice fine. Even if the 2 countries fought together this behavior is inappropriate & disrespectful of a partner in wartime ! How would he react to someone from another country putting their flag on a US memorial ?
The conceit and arrogance of this bastard to not respect the sacrifices of our Canadian brothers in arms embarrasses everyone.
Allow the brave Canadians their space. More proof old glory is being coopted by a crowd of rude dummies.
The so-called Freedom Convoy was actually an occupation of thugs. I live in Ottawa and they paralyzed the city for three weeks last winter, until the various levels of government finally got their act together and send them packing. They descrated the National War Memorial and danced on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier then ... and now this. This is Trumpism on the rise in Canada, and as of Sept. 10 it's face will be a man named Pierre Poilievre, who will be elected leader of Canada's Conservative Party on that date. I hope you write about him at some point. His links to the America First sympathizers run deep. Small fact: The first American politician to endorse Poilievre publicly when he announced his candidacy was Paul Gosar of Arizona, and he's going to win his party's leadership in a landslide, a measure of how much Trumpism has already migrated north of border.
Ok...wait Freedom convoy wtf is that? Is that the ridiculous trucker convoy to protest wearing a mask? If it is omg we have sunk to the lowest low. How embarrassing regardless. Our idiocy is showing, Yikes
No, the vast majority of Americans toss around words like 'freedom', 'liberty', and 'democracy' like toys. Even witnessing Ukrainians laying their bodies on the line to preserve these concepts makes barely a dent in the self-absorbed, narcissistic American culture. Ideas of sacrifice, working collectively towards a greater good, short-term hardship for long-term gain...these are all alien concepts to most Americans. So if the baseline American is so far removed from the values held by the silent generation, it's hardly surprising that radicalism has led to a perversion of words and concepts we once cherished. Here's another word/concept that Americans use but don't understand: fascism. Great swaths of the country have absolutely no concept of what it means to live under a fascist regime. Many are in denial, many are ignorant of history. The MAGA base believe they understand the tradeoff...they believe that winning the culture wars is worth losing certain rights....until it affects their lives. Unfortunately, it's the likely way this will all end...
Over the weekend Pope Francis arrived in Alberta on a mission of forgiveness. In the press photo the Pope was on bended knee kissing the hand of an indigenous elder while the chief had his hand on the back of the elder while looking down at the Pope. I stared at the photo for a long time and imagined what was going on in each individuals mind. The long awaited acknowledgment and confession of quilt of the Catholic Church for their role in the death of so many native children dragged from their families into their cruel school system. The photo said so much and was such a humble moment. There was so much that was said in that one photo. The photo of this “protester”? Has little or no meaning other than a sad display of callous thoughtlessness.
Too many Americans are ignorant of the history of this great nation and the sacrifices made in service to our country. Rather than honor their memory by upholding democratic norms and institutions, they cheer Orange doofus when he disgraces POWs like the late John McCain. One of our founding fathers noted it takes a well informed citizenry to make democracy work. That is the sad part of our current state of affairs, low information voters perpetuate the march to fascism as demonstrated by the Republican media such as Fox et al.
Elderly woman here who remembers FDR and WWII. My two much older brothers are now buried in National Cemetaries. They served in WWII, as did 4 cousins and 3 in-laws. There was a significant collection of Purple Hearts and Bronze stars among them. Half of them fought in Europe, half in the Pacific. This “Freedom Convoy” is anything but courageous and sacrificing. They have no clue what true sacrifice is, their pretense is an offense to anyone who has actually done so. The kids in my kindergarten class sacrificed more for this country than these clowns have. I’m all for freedom of expression, but a National Monument of this sort should be reserved for quiet contemplation, learning, researching, teaching.
Let the clown perform in a different arena, and wherever he does it, make him get his behind off the flag.
That man is a disgrace. If he is a U.S. citizen, get a good look as he apt to be an elected official in the U.S. or, if God forbid Trump gets back in the White House, the next U.S. ambassador to Canada.
The man is a confused jerk. Unclear what the message is supposed to be. But he should keep the U.S. flag south of the 48th Parallel.
Send this idiot back to the US.
Canadians Please Forgive The desecration of the unknown soldiers grave in your country by this disgraceful American He
Belongs in prison for dishonoring the memory..,As an American I’m grieving and sorrowful !!! Just when I think the far right
Cannot get lower they do :( please please
Stop this horrible behavior Let us Heal from
This debravity! Marsha
Another sick American. Probably a Trump supporter what appalling behavior
This is disgraceful.
Guys like this make me wish COVID had a mortality rate similar to Ebola. And that he'd catch it since he isn't vaxxed.
Maybe he should go check out Ukraine for a reality check
For the first time in years I have not hung my Canadian flag from my front porch. After watching the assortment of protestors wrapping themselves in our flag or draping it across the front grill of their trucks as they honked their way down the streets of Ottawa this spring, its value for me has, sadly, diminished. I am so disappointed to think that people in Canada feel they have lost freedoms, when they only have to look at the news to see people in other countries desperately fighting to hold onto their free country as well as their homes and lives. These Freedom Convoy people are not patriots, more like idiots. Meanwhile, the American flag which once represented freedom is now being used as a weapon. To me, Freedom Convoy is code for white supremacy and seeing the American flag draped on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier turns my stomach.
When I watched the Trump mob storm the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the thing that sickened me the most was when one of Trump's zombies climbed out on a balcony of the Capitol, removed an American flag and replaced it with a Trump flag. The thought of that event still makes me sick.
That Ottawa image seems like the same twisted mindset at work.
Disgusting.
It is truly a shame in this me first universe that you have another selfish person displaying how far society has fallen since the great generations of the past. This is what happens when personal freedom is touted over societal norms. Disgraceful is the only adjective that describes this action. Respect for Service, respect for life has been gutted from society by the those who believe their life is more important than anyone else. Sad
What IS his message??? Is it that the USA is responsible for the deaths of heroic Canadian soldiers? Is it that the USA honors fallen Canadian soldiers? Is it that the USA governs Canada? Etc etc…And like Julie asks, wtf is Freedom convoy? He’s uneducated, uninformed and making a dirty mess as he scorns and mocks those who have fought for his rights and freedom.
I am a Canadian and I want my flag back.
This person of whatever nationality represents the viral effect of American white nationalism that infects all current and previously majority Caucasian nations. Since the Astroturf Tea-Party grievance movement began (under the nose and with the benign consent of all you “normal Republicans”) your former party has been selling its soul for votes. Minority theocratic rule was always the goal. The Republicans used Trump to execute their first move towards a theocracy and now you “normals” are aghast that you’re having trouble getting rid of him!?!?
I blame your American “Exceptional” ignorance. The utter conceit of that myth sickens me. You strive for a “more perfect union” all the while descending to immoral depths of fascism. You’re just people who started to improve the British democratic system. You’re not so exceptional. It was done all over the British Empire to varying degrees of success.
You forgot the most important virtue of any democracy, compromise. The best tool to ensure compromise IMHO is a multiple party political system i.e. NOT BINARY!! The potential of a minority government that can survive only through compromise has, so far, made Canadian politics less susceptible to the type of freakshow. Why aren’t you and the rest of your buds forming the Normal Repuplican Party. Get the PAC system of graft working for the common good. Bleed the radical Trump-ists (Pence-ists, DeSantis-ists, Cruz-ists) of just enough votes to hopefully restore sanity. Hi-jack the Libertarians if need be. Get on it man!!
The question is: do the people who live in freedom even know what the memorials mean and stand for? I was born at the beginning of the baby boom to a young couple who met at a USO in 1944 and married a year later. As a university student in 1943 my dad had joined the Enlisted Reserve Corps hoping he would be able to graduate before being activated. Instead, his journey w the Army took him to Indiana where he met my mother. My dad’s battlefield experience (wounded, captured, MIA, imprisoned in German stalags) and maybe also his awards garnered sufficient points that he did not have to go to Korea after returning to the States in June 1945. He discharged from active duty in Nov ‘45, but continued in the USArmy reserve, where he was commissioned and finally discharged in 1956. I grew up in the 50s, came of age in the 60s, and knew NOTHING about what my parents experienced during their coming of age in the thick of a world war. I never saw my dad in uniform. He would not speak about or answer questions about his service. Everyone knew he’d been wounded and was a POW. End of conversation. If my parents were political animals I never saw any evidence— but they were staunch Republicans who voted for Nixon & Goldwater. At dinner we spoke about school and grades, never world events, never. I believe I was sheltered from the evening news. In high school I vaguely knew something was happening in Viet Nam and hoped it would be over before any of my friends were old enough to be drafted. In college I was an art major. My friends were politically active on campus but I was pretty much clueless; we sat in the student union as lottery numbers were called— what a weird moment. Until the GWBush presidency I existed in a secure and only-slightly-aware bubble as a stay-at-home mom. The 9/11 attacks changed that; in Nov 2001 Bush said he had enough votes to go to war w Iraq and I became political and started pushing back against his admin’s hyperbole. W’s statement “… after all that guy tried to kill my dad…” was not sufficient justification to take the nation to war. I scheduled appts to see my elected reps (2 senators & a congressman) to make clear my position against invasion. I was received by interns, one took notes and two said: “Sen X supports the President” none acknowledged the reason for my visit. It is easy to love being a US citizen, but it takes time to fully understand and appreciate the ‘who, what, and how’ that gets us to today. I am finally painfully aware of what the memorials mean, what they stand for, and do whatever I can to communicate meaningfully, to enlighten or guide the thinking of those who are distracted, unmoved, uninformed, or not paying attention. ‘Distracted, unmoved, uninformed, not paying attention’ describes my earlier years, probably ‘privileged’ applies. It’s taken my lifetime for this to permeate my being. I think it’s not just me.
The answer to the question, “Do they know...?” is “No!” It is the consequence of the combined weaknesses in our society, one in our education system and the other in our family lives. We need to bring civics back into the classroom (though at this point in time, it woud probably be hard to get political agreement on just what constitutes civics) and we need to stop encouraging willful blindness. This latter is the harder nut to crack. I’m reading the essays of James Baldwin-- which I highly recommend to anyone who is concerned about the current state of America since he describes it’s roots-- and he repeatedly points out that white society in the U.S. has been lying to itself for centuries because it is afraid to come to grips with its fear of the other. In other words, we have encouraged willful blindness for a long, long time and are now reaping the crop we have sown. A crop, by the way, that Baldwin predicted we would have to deal with one day. In this vein, I’m also going to recommend a book due to be published in October of this year: poet and essayist, Wendell Berry’s “The Need To Be Whole: Patriotism and the History of Prejudice”. Here’s a preview by John Fea: https://currentpub.com/2022/07/18/wendell-berrys-forthcoming-book-will-offend-most-everyone/
Seriously disgusting! Probably one of those delusional anti-mask truckers. Make me ill.....
Disgusting
I’m feeling sick about this image. I live in Minnesota—one of dear Canadian’s border neighbors. Our state has had a traditionally respectful and amiable relationship with Canada!
Why denigrate a monument and a flag? What is inside this man that motivates him to do such a thing?
I’m also a proud, retired, public high school teacher. Loved my work. There has been a slow “dumbing down” of our kids being taught civics, history, political science, and the humanities.
There has also been an ignorant arrogance around this. Disturbing.
Rural and small town America has increasingly felt alienated and forgotten. Hence, what I believe, was the reason why Trump got so much of the vote from this faction of America. He was a brilliant marketer; he sensed what many Americans needed to hear. And he used language in a way to hypnotize them into believing his lies and vote for him. Simple, repetitive statements.
Lastly, America has no great vision guiding it right now! Nothing to inspire us, nothing to “pull us together.” Great leaders—great Presidents do that!
Everyone needs a reason to get out of bed every morning.
And countries do, too.
I’m sad that the word ‘patriot’ has been hijacked by the dummies and bullies on the right. Their national pride is nothing more than an elitist lop-sided view of what it means to be American. I can’t even fly my flag anymore. It’s sad and tragic
I believed GOP would be on scrap pile of history in June 2016…they haven’t hit bottom yet, and they are happy as long as they can rule in minority.
Irreverence is a scourge upon the human race, exacerbated by useless wars, no respect for the preservation of human life. Death, starving, homeless, become commonplace-because the joy of living is stolen.
The world is full of jerks - unfortunately, we all get our share.
"They" believe they are "right" - they do not know what lack of freedom is. "They" also want their beliefs to be "free" (no masks, guns, etc.) - while imposing their beliefs on others ( no abortion rights, no same sex marriage, no contraception, etc. ) - those things are not seen as restricting freedom
I have always read a lot of history and various forms of government through the ages. The more I learned, the more I understood real freedom/democratic forms of government. Genuine freedom has always been aspirational for America. But people who think they were born knowing it all definitely do not understand freedom, and consequently, abuse the freedoms paid for in blood and treasure.
I think the Canadian government should revoke this moron’s visa, permanently ban him from entry into Canada, make a huge public statement of condemnation making an example of him to the Canadian people and to the U.S. Each of us represents our country whenever we travel, there must be accountability for such disgusting acts..
This image is abhorrent. Whoever this is needs to be arrested. My deepest apologies to our Dear Canadian Neighbors up North.
I am so deeply distressed and fraught with concerns over the desecration of this tomb. No question, in my mind, has ever been answered to behavior like this. The trolls are alive and no amount of shame can stop them.
sigh... We're sorry.
No. I think they are proudly ignorant, and don’t care to have facts skew their views.
Fools names and Fools faces
Even show in Foreign places.
The Ugly American has no borders
He should be in jail for a couple of reasons and prosecuted over television to educate the citizens of both countries about the obligations of citizenship in a democracy. We have so much work to do. :-((
His performance is his fifteen minutes of fame. By taking history in his hands and, snap!, breaking it into two uneven parts. By tossing one into the fires and the other, a brute's interpretation, held close and tightly in his arms. To give Freedom life in his own fan(T)a(S)tical image. To a roar from a crowd in the making. The Trump Syndrome of our time, warped by Kushnerian Privilege of the worst kind. And Ivankan Partnerships. The chimeric desire to access the 1%-ers at the top. Those financiers within, of brutalities against the will of majorities. This image is an assault by privilege against the testament that lives on sacred grounds, the tributes to the fallen in wars. The Monuments To The Unknown Soldier. And The Statues Above Come To Life. They, tearfully, can not understand why the American Flag serves as stagecraft in their Freeland.
I don't understand what this jerk is trying to accomplish. What is the message he's trying to convey? I must be slow.
I think that wearing the American flag as clothing is as disrespectful as is dragging the flag on the ground.
There is now a belief that a White Christian Nation is true Patriotism. That is what is being sold and the disenfranchised, racist low information are all in. All in the Hitler playbook. Republicans will stay in this game if they can remain in power. We see there is no character or morality among them. Even the ones who testified will continue their support just as they sat in silence while all these attacks on our Democracy were in full play in real time, out in the open.