Caledonia Native Protest

This rant will be quick, but I have to get this off my chest. I don't yet know all the details of the aboriginal people that are protesting. I think the thrust of it is that there is land that a developer believes that he owns, and the First Nations people dispute that this land was surrendered. There is some discussion about the language and that they claim that the land was merely leased whereas the Government says it was surrendered.

With all this in mind I will say that I would have a lot more sympathy for the aboriginal's cause if they didn't hang the Canadian flag upside down. I am very patriotic, (see my profile) and I love Canada so the instant I see someone living in this great country be that disrespectful I, and many other Canadians, stop listening.

Here is some free advice. Whether you are in the right or not, and whether the government/police/world has treated you unfairly or not, acting like an idiot does not help your cause. Did Martin Luther King Jr smash windows and burn things and hang flags upside down? Did Ghandi break into show homes or burn bridges? No. Were they successful in advancing the causes that they fought for? I would say yes.

My Mom is a great lady and she taught me a revolutionary idea that you should buy into. "Two wrongs don't make a right" Ever heard of it?

Lets assume for a moment that you are in the right and the Canadian Government is wrong. Would you like to have the Canadian public agree with you and press the government to correct the situation? Or do you want the public to think you are radical criminals that need to be removed and ignored?

My fear in this instance is that the mentality that pervades large groups in tense situations, often leads to tragic consequences. The shadow of the Ipperwash incident hangs heavy in Ontario and leadership on both sides needs to take responsibility to avoid tragic consequences. We don't need another Oka crisis. Hanging our national flag upside down is precisely the type of inflammatory behaviour that leads to riots. The media pounces on things like this and that enrages the public which adds pressure to an already tense situation.

If this escalates and turns ugly I lay the blame squarely at the feet of the protesters. I don't care how you spin it. Even Phil Fontaine agrees this is not the answer. Protest all you want but tone down the theatrics or people will get hurt.