Under the title "We SHOULD be concerned", Agent 89 has forwarded "We Are Proud Canadians", a.k.a. "We'll reap what we've sown if we don't nip this in the bud." It purports to be a rant by Bruce Allen, a prominent BC radio personality and a director of the Vancouver Olympic Committee (VANOC), decrying a proposal that "O Canada" be sung in Hind (!) at next year's Winter Olympics. Here's the text...
Bruce Allen is on the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Committee and new Canadians (specifically Hindis/Indians) want him fired for his recent comments outlined below:
I am sorry, but after hearing they want to sing the National Anthem in Hindi at the 2010 Olympics -- enough is enough. Nowhere or at no other time in our Nation's history, did they sing it in Italian, Japanese, Polish, Irish (Celtic), German, Portuguese, Greek, or any other language because of immigration. It was written in English, adapted into French, and should be sung word for word the way it was written.The news broadcasts even gave the Hindi version translation, which was not even close to our National Anthem. I am not the least bit sorry if this offends ANYONE, this is MY COUNTRY!My Grand Dad served in the military, other family members also served, as well as my wife & I served a combined total of 56 years between us. We made many sacrifices for our country and do not feel we should feel obligated to allow invited people we've welcomed with open arms to influence & change our society to better resemble the one they chose to leave to come here!IF YOU AGREE ABOUT THIS GREAT COUNTRY, SPEAK UP BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE -- please pass this along.I am not against immigration. In fact I believe we need more, my ancestors were immigrants -- just come through like everyone else. Get a sponsor; a place to lay your head; have a job; pay your taxes, live by the Rules AND LEARN THE LANGUAGE as all other immigrants have in the past -- and LONG LIVE CANADA!It's time we all get behind Bruce Allen, and scrap this Political Correctness. His comments were anything but racist, however, there are far too many overly sensitive 'New Canadians' that are attempting to change everything we hold dear.Are YOU part of the problem? Think about this: If you don't want to forward this for fear of offending someone, will we still be the Country of Choice and still be CANADA if we continue to make the changes forced on us by the people from other countries who have come to live in CANADA because it is the Country of Choice? Think about it!IMMIGRANTS, NOT CANADIANS, MUST ADAPT.It's time for CANADIANS to speak up.
If you agree, pass this along. If you don't agree?Delete it and reap what you sow because of your complacency!Now here's the interesting thing... Not long ago Walt received a similar FWD from Agent 17, who lives about 1200 miles away from Agent 89. Having dutifully passed it along, I was taken to task by an old friend for perpetuating a "hoax"!
Dear readers, it's
not a hoax. But what you've read is not what Bruce Allen said. This rant has been around before.
According to snopes.com, the latest version has been circulating since 2007, and is an adaptation of an earlier rant condemning a proposal that the U.S. anthem be sung in Spanish.
It should be noted too that whoever wrote the Canadianized version is either ignorant or a typical tête carrée (perhaps an Albertan?) who doesn't know or doesn't want to know that O Canada was originally written in French. The English lyrics, which are not a translation of the French (because the French version is soooo Catholic!) were written almost 30 years later. Details are in the Snopes article.
Also worth reading are
Bruce Allen's comments in his own defence, published in September 2007.
Now let us ask ourselves why this "racist, anti-immigrant rant" is being so widely circulated on the Internet.
(You mean it's gone viral? ed.) I believe it's because it strikes a chord with the majority of Canadians and Americans, including millions of immigrants from Europe who tried to adapt to our culture, rather than forcing us to adapt to theirs.
Only a few years after WWII, our community opened its gates and its arms to a wave of immigrants from countries which had been overrun by the Germans (or, in the aftermath of the war, the Communists). They were called "displaced persons", not "refugees".
Walt's mother (RIP) was a high school English teacher. The local school board, in a fit of enlightenment remarkable for the time, set up ESL classes for the "DPs", who came in astonishing numbers to avail themselves of the opportunity to learn the language and culture of their host country. My mother, who had the typical Anglo mistrust of foreigners, was impressed forever after by the positive attitude of these (literally) poor people.
One of the first things they wanted to learn was the words to the national anthem. They did not demand that it be translated into their languages. They wanted to learn not just how things should be said, in Canada, but how they should be done. But that was over 50 years ago...
Will we still be the Country of Choice and still be CANADA if we continue to make the changes forced on us by the people from other countries who have come to live in CANADA because it is the Country of Choice?Walt agrees. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
Poor Len here, celebrating the arrival (at last) of hockey season. Fans of the sport know that every game must start with the singing of the national anthem(s), which can be inspring, entertaining or just plain dreadful. Sometimes strange things happen. The sound system fails. The singer forgets the words -- especially Americans made to sing "O Canada" -- or the lights go out. It's an ideal situation for the observance of Murphy's law.
