True North Strong and Free
Hi.
I’m Nicholas. I am Canadian. I can list off and refute a bunch of Canadian stereotypes and acknowledge ones that I identify and am proud of, but I think a gross majority of the Canadian population did that for me already.
With the Winter Olympics having come and gone in Vancouver, Canadian patriotism has been at an all time high. We wore the gear gear and the Canadian Olympic Committee and media built as much hype as was humanly possible. The COC began the games with an opening ceremonies that wasn’t bad — except for that beat poet they found on YouTube The Canadian version of Rick Rawse (Bawse!) emphatically disagreed with stereotypes and gave a great statement of what Canada really is. But, like so many others, it boiled down to “Hi, I’m Canadian, that means I’m not X, I’m Y.”
Fast forward to the last couple days of the Olympics. Legally blind Brian McKeever was to be the first athlete to compete in Olympics and Paralympics in the same year. Ski Canada/COC paraded around the feel good story, tugging on the heart strings of Canadians. A day before the competition, McKeever’s dreams were cut short – his coach decided he was not one of Canada’s four team members that would compete in the final race. It turns out McKeever had qualified for the Olympics, but each country only gets to field four competitors in the final race. A victim of his teammates’ success, McKeever was cut. Predictably, there was outrage over the decision. Unfortunately, much of the outrage was (wrongly) directed at the McKeever’s coaches and teammates. The teammates did what they were supposed to do and compete at their highest level; the coaches chose the best athletes to compete.
The blame and outrage should have been directed at Ski Canada/COC and the media for parading around the story before it was certain. Worst of all, it was somehow “un-Canadian” to not let McKeever ski. And then some thought that the teammates who competed weren’t “Canadian” if they didn’t pull a Rudy and withdraw from the race. While you can debate whether McKeever had more technical merit as a competitor, there is no debate strictly based on his disability. Since when was it Canadian to give the nod to someone else strictly on the fact that they’re disabled? McKeever earned his place on the team without special accommodation. Canadians most of all strive for the best. Giving McKeever the nod strictly because of his disability is not the best and would set a poor example going forward. Letting McKeever compete for being disabled would be the “un-Canadian” thing to do, not the other way around.
To my fellow Canadians, look inside to see what you think defines you as a Canadian.
Healthcare, cultural mosaic, how you pronounce “Z,” kilometers, igloos and manners are all associated with Canada in some way or another, but it’s more than a list of superficial (or slightly-less-than-superficial) characteristics.
Please, look deeper. What defines Canada is not what we do or what other people think of us, so please stop bringing up misconceptions. Canada has been defined by an set of circumstances that has resulted in a rich set of values and principles. These principles manifest themselves through various manners and are what truly define us. Look inside and find it. It’s different here; recognize that.
That’s who we really are. So stop worrying about what other people think about us. The True North Strong and Free.
