2015-02-10

The Moderation Game

My original comment on this post:

Cherry was, naturally, just mocking MacLean using the persona of the easily offended anti-seal tree-hugger. Being called “savage” is about 90% of the vitriol directed at Cherry from the left on a daily basis, is it really too unrealistic that he would be relishing the chance to turn around and attack his more liberal co-host — from the left — using the hot button language that comes to mind?

“Hey kids, Ron eats baby seals” was the smirking message to the camera Cherry was delivering with barely contained glee. Baby seals, clubbed to death against the cultured sensitivities of the Euro-left that abhor such savage barbarism devoted to cute little big-eyed animals. All the words that, don’t kid yourself, would have been used on Rabble.ca as we speak to denounce Cherry if he talked in favour of the seal hunt last night.

So Don’s apology, which I agree with you was badly written, is highly unlikely to apologize for Residential Schools or whatever other crimes hotels in Beaumont have to do with Cherry pretending to childishly assault MacLean’s lunchtime menu over. He certainly won’t be apologizing for making fun of Ron’s “other-ness”, seeing as how hilariously poking fun at that “other-ness” was precisely the point of their original banter in the first place. Which is why he isn’t willing to abandon it (even out-of-“character”, in the sense) in the apology: and why he’s talking about how weird in his world it would be to have a seal burger (served by a celebrity chef in a 4-star restaurant).
Apologies in advance to Emily Stockley if she accepts it, but when dealing with the sort of people who think the Residential Schools on a whole were a bad idea, it's my policy to assume a censorious attitude.