Many years ago, I recall attending a contest at an indoor driving range where some photos of government officials were set up as targets. Our then-premier was one of those with his photo out there. If you managed to hit the premier's photo with your golf ball you were awarded 12 free golf-balls. The premier was in attendance and tried as hard as the rest of us to hit the targets. It was all done in fun, and everyone had a good time.
But that was then and this is now! With the recent murder of British Labour MP Jo Cox and the Orlando nightclub carnage in just the past week or so, among other events lately have changed what folks find as funny. We are much more serious now, and interpret things in actions such as this which were never intended.
The golf tournament was entertaining some petroleum businessmen and was probably meant to poke fun at Alberta's new government and its carbon tax. It obviously took on a much more sinister meaning to some.
The organizers of the event should have realized that times have changed. This sort of thing is not funny, any more! Not even slightly! I sincerely hope that those offended by this stunt will accept the organizer's apology and be assured this kind of thing will likely never happen again. Let's all move on now!
To me this is a huge problem now. Not the fact that they did it but the fact that because someone was offended that they now have to apologize. Being offended is a choice that a person makes. You can look at it and laugh, you can ignore it, or you can be offended.
ReplyDeleteIf they had staked the Premier out there and started hitting her with golf balls, that is wrong. Nothing to do with being offended, just wrong. Having a big picture out there was the choice of the organizers and it was not hurting anyone. People made a choice to be offended with something that was really none of their business.
If it was a large picture of a snowman they were aiming at, then all the Frosty lovers would be offended and someone would have to apologize. If it was a tree they were aiming at then all the environmentalists would be up in arms because they were hurting the tree. There is no end to it.
There is far too much political correctness in this day and age for no other reason than people are too worried about offending someone. Freedom of speech is being quashed by political correctness, and yes there is a point where it goes from freedom of speech to hate and at that point it needs to be curtailed.
Just look at the recent change in the National anthem for no other reason than someones idea of political correctness. Most women I know had no problems at all with the wording of the anthem.
This really has nothing at all to do with the horrible things that are happening elsewhere in the world. It's a picture in a field.
On this one Ray I have to disagree with you and because free speech is not totally dead in Canada I am free to say that, and you are free to have your opinion as well and we can agree to disagree. That's one of the things that makes our country so great.