Last week for many, it was a story that you could actually ignore. I will admit that when I heard about the man dressed in a KKK (Klu Klux Klan) hooded costume leading a black (shoe polished) faced man with a rope at a Halloween party, I chaulked it up to misguided ignorance. But when you learned that this party was being held at a Royal Canadian Legion and that the two party animals won first prize by the organizers, it left me stunned.
In the age of electronics, photos of these party animals hit social networking sites on the web, along with video clips, faster than than a seal grazing at a sushi bar. This quickly converted a semi-private party into a national fiasco. The Royal Canadian Legion under the microscope is located in Campbellford, Ont., which decided to close its doors after the press got the story. The coverage garnered anger from many Canadians, snickers from Americans, and indifference from the self-proclaimed enlightened twenty-somethings.
When asked why he would dress in a KKK hood and tow a faux black slave around by a rope, Blair Crowley stated, “that stuff (slavery) has been gone for years and years and years. I don’t see why the reaction is the way it is. That’s so past tense. It’s a piece of history from long ago. I’m sure it was probably in bad taste after the fact. But there was no disrespect by it. People need to worry about something other than that.”
What we do know about Crowley and his unnamed roped serf is that neither of them are members of a Royal Canadian Legion. They were just guests allowed to join in on the Halloween fun. So until these two men were awarded first prize for the most original costume, the offense was not shared by anyone. Unfortunately, it was the special reward given to Crowley and 'slave' that allowed the Campbellford Royal Canadian Legion to share the shame in this incident.
It is natural for anyone to be annoyed, ashamed, offended or even surprised by the costumed display of a 'KKK member' and a 'slave' being towed around in a place that represents soldiers that gave their lives to fight against racial dominance, slavery and genocide.
What is more perplexing are some of the comments I found on the web by self-proclaimed enlightened people such as, “ What the hell is the difference between freedom of expression and freedom of speech? Any differences are purely semantics. Yes, people are equally free to criticize, just like these guys are equally free to wear those costumes. And how do I not understand the argument? If anything you don't understand the argument as you are saying freedom of speech/expression is null and void in this case. The only cases where freedom of speech/expression are null and void is when they start affecting the freedoms of others, which is not the case here.”
Freedom of speech and freedom of expression provide no license to just “go for the gusto” or “if it feels good, do it.” With the freedom afforded by a free democratic society there are strings attached. That string is called “responsibility”.
It would be easy and self-enlightened to take the position that these two 'wanna-be rednecks' did no wrong, but what they did do was not only to offend, but more importantly, painted a black mark on one of Canada's most important organizations.
The Royal Canadian Legion is an organization that was founded on lofty principals brought together by like minded people with high standards. These standards were forged originally on the battlefield, solidified by comradeship and delivered for a purpose. Comradeship that only sacrifice and dedication to all Canadians could motivate.
The argument that these hairless-apes were only dressed for a Halloween party and that everyone else should “lighten-up” does not hold water here. For, if these two men and those who organized the party had common sense and a little discretion they would have exercised a quality of good judgment with the ability of make a responsible decision and this would not have been a dark moment for that organization.
Although Crowley had apologized for his actions, his qualified response clearly show that he lacks a gift of discernment. As a result, his apology is empty.
The President of Campbellford Royal Canadian Legion expressed his regret by stating, “As president of Branch 103 Campbellford, of the Royal Canadian Legion, I humbly apologize to all those offended by the events that took place at our Halloween Party”.
With this now behind us, and Remembrance Day upon us, let us hope that we remember not only the men and woman who have served Canada proudly in our armed forces, but we allow the Royal Canadian Legion to get past the shallow actions of a few, and continue their mission that was set 85 years ago.
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