Don Cherry Archives

Many of my blog posts here are inspired by things that happen in my daily life. For example, yesterday I was reminded, by my 21-month-old granddaughter no less, how actions speak louder than words.

She loves to sit at my desk where I keep track of the paper part of my gardening business. You know, a computer, files, pens, receipts, articles for new ideas, and elastics, lots of elastics. You see elastics are perfect for organizing the receipts from the plants I purchased for clients. These receipts are important for warranty and income tax purposes.

Back to the elastics and how they apply to the actions speak louder than words theory. You may remember from pictures of my son’s wedding that my daughter-in-law has the most beautiful, long, thick, and wavy hair. Well, she often wears this glorious hair tied up in a ponytail, bun, or braids. What she may not realize is that when she does wear it down, she often gathers it up and twists or knots it. Sometimes she secures the tie-up, sometimes she just lets it fall back down. She always seems to have an emergency elastic on her wrist for this tie-up purpose. Well, guess who picked up on that habit? You got it, my granddaughter, the elastics she found on my desk immediately went around her wrist. Then she pulled one off her wrist and tried to put it in her hair. The cutest part was she does not (yet) have the volume of hair her mother does, so the elastic just wouldn’t stay put. A fact that I just couldn’t explain (to her) with words.

Another, not so cute, example of how actions speak louder than words is the fiasco with Don Cherry and Hockey Night in Canada. Everyone (well apparently there are a few people that are not aware) knows that Don Cherry’s actions over the years prove that he is a caring, kind, and compassionate man both in and out of hockey arenas. Yet, a few unscripted words were his downfall last week. His lifetime of actions should have spoken louder than his ill-fated words. In no way should he be labeled as a racist. Maybe an old man, incapable of getting his point across in the (overly) politically correct environment we find ourselves in these days, but not a racist.

Many people, believing Cherry’s comments to be inappropriate and racist, were quick however to defend and forgive our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his inappropriate and racist actions over the years. Why is that? Because Trudeau has apologized profusely for every and any action he has offended anyone with and then some, just in case he missed anyone. The problem (in my opinion) is that one can only apologize so many times before the apologies become hollow and insincere. Words can be cheap, glossed over, and forgotten; actions are much more lasting.

Actions speak louder than words, good and bad!

Anyone in Canada and hockey lovers elsewhere in the world know who Don Cherry is. By now you have probably heard that he was fired from his Coaches’ Corner role in Hockey Night in Canada by Sportsnet for his comments during last Saturday night’s NHL game.

The Rant

The rant went like this…“You people … you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that. These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada, these guys paid the biggest price.”

Many people found the comments discriminatory, divisive, racist, and over the top. Even though he never said the word “immigrants” that’s who it was assumed he was referring to. To me, the people offended by the so-called racist remarks are the worst racists. If Cherry had backtracked, confessing to merely defending veterans and what they stand for, his rant might have been swallowed more smoothly. Instead, he stuck by his words.

Defending Veterans

Others (those with thicker skin who are harder to offend) feel that he was indeed just defending veterans and voicing his opinion. We do live in a nation where freedom of speech is accepted don’t we? Don Cherry has always been (on and off the show) supportive of veterans, even visiting them overseas. Although his cohort Ron McLean gave a thumbs up at the end of Cherry’s rant, McLean was quick to apologize when the complaints started piling in, some say throwing Cherry under the bus.

We should remember too that Don Cherry is 85 years old. It is not unfathomable that Canadians (and others around the world) of that era might be more sensitive to the sacrifices veterans made (and current soldiers continue to make) for their country.

I was not directly affected by war. I do have vague memories of older relatives and heard stories of ancestors that were though. My children and grandchildren don’t have these memories though. We try to explain the horrific times, especially around Remembrance Day, but I have to admit the memories are just not there and so hard to envision. That doesn’t mean we don’t wear a poppy every November or don’t respect those that have “paid the price” as Don Cherry said. My parents taught me otherwise. Like Don Cherry, they had the memories. Some people never had that respect instilled into them.

Freedom of Speech

Although speaking his mind is Cherry’s claim to fame, especially in the hockey world, it appears that these days (especially in some media, CBC in particular) you have to choose your words very carefully. Reprimanded for his choice of words many times recently, some claim that was his charm on Coach’s Corner. Once again I think that goes with advanced age. The older we get the less we care what others think of us and our opinions. Unless we need the paycheck. In that case, we turn the thumbs up to thumbs down and apologize to those we (possibly may have) offended.

No Apologies

The fact that he never apologized for the wording of this rant was his (final) downfall. After all, one politician, in particular, often makes insensitive, foolish, politically incorrect errors in judgment. But he gets away with it because he apologizes (charmingly and sheepishly) when called on his actions, regardless of how he really feels. Don Cherry does not have the acting skills necessary to do that. Nor does he care to or should he have to!

So much for freedom of speech!