Friday, December 24, 2004

Fighting Symbolism With Symbolism

The Canadian flag isn't flying in the province of Newfoudland and Labrador at the moment, and it won't be flying there soon, according to this story from the CBC.

Premier Danny Williams has removed the Maple Leaf from the flagpoles in his province, in protest over the way Newfoundland and Labrador have been treated by the federal government. It's a dispute that's been going on for a long time now, and as I understand it, Newfoundland is getting hit with the short end of the stick. Again.

I applaud the action taken today by Danny Williams. We'll probably hear all kinds of bellyaching from the feds; they've already started whining about how Williams has shown disrespect for a national symbol. But this isn't the first time Newfoundland has been screwed by Ottawa, and it does my heart a world of good to see Williams fighting symbolism with symbolism. It's a great tactic, isn't it? The statement is made loud and clear, in a way that cannot fail to garner national attention, and meanwhile nobody has been hurt. Those Maritimers are so darned clever!

Are you listening, Blue states?