Canadian Youth Taught America is Evil?
An American hockey fan brought up Bill O'Reilly's recent interview with Rudyard Griffiths who wrote in the Globe and Mail about his poll that stated 64% of Quebec youth described the US as evil. He said "I think Bill did a fair job to try and get across the message of how good Americans are pissed off at the 64% and how the liberal Canadian gov't. isn't doing more to stop the groundswell of hate. (of course, Bill is just miffed that he can't be seen in Canada.. but still). I think resonable citizens on both countries can realize that neither country represents evil."
Here are a couple of good parts of the interview:
BILL O'REILLY, HOST: On July 6th, I reported that a poll taken in Canada found that 40 percent of teenagers there thought America was a force for evil in the world. The number rose to 64 percent among French-Canadian teenagers. On July 16th, one of the guys who took the poll, Rudyard Griffiths, wrote in the Toronto Globe and Mail this, quote: "The first sign that the Drudge Report mention was whipping up a tempest in a teapot came in the form of a screed by a Canadian baiter and top-rated Fox News personality, Bill O'Reilly."
Joining us now from Toronto is Mr. Griffiths, who is the director of the Dominion Institute. All right, where am I going wrong here, sir?
RUDYARD GRIFFITHS, DOMINION INSTITUTE: Well, what I really took exception to is your comment that America's got the franchise on liberty and that you said, straight to the record, that Canada was equivalent to France, the Canadians had freed nobody, whereas Americans had freed hundreds of millions of people across the world.
O'REILLY: Right.
GRIFFITHS: That's just straight out wrong and it's a statement that I resent and that a lot of Canadians resent.
O'REILLY: OK.
GRIFFITHS: The truth is, we fought together in the First World War. We went into that war three years before you did, by the way.
O'REILLY: Right.
GRIFFITHS: We fought together in the Second World War (search). We went into that war about two years before you did. You know, about 10,000 Canadians served in Vietnam (search), and you sent about 16,000 draft dodgers up here. You know, in Bosnia, in Afghanistan (search), you name it, we've stood shoulder to shoulder with Americans, we've bled with Americans for the ideals of democracy and freedom, yet...
O'Reilly gives some good shots in the middle part of the interview:
O'REILLY: Look, they're negative if you put them in that kind of a context. Certainly, no American wants anybody else killed in Iraq. But if you give a balanced presentation, which the CBC does not, the Toronto Globe and Mail does not, and say to your children, "Look, this is a rough war. This is a tough thing. But a brutal dictator who killed hundreds of thousands of people is out of office, 56 million Iraqis, or whatever it is, 36 million, have a chance at self determination."
So it's not black and white. America is not the bad guy in Iraq. It might have been a mistake, but we're not the bad guy, Mr. Griffiths, and we are being portrayed in your country as such.
GRIFFITHS: No, you're not. Public opinion in Canada was pretty divided going into that war.
O'REILLY: When you've got 64 percent of French-Canadian teenagers saying America's a force for evil, you've got a problem in the media and education up there.
GRIFFITHS: Look, I think this is a temporary problem, but it's a problem for Americans and it's a problem with this current president that you've got.
O'REILLY: Not a problem for America. We have a balanced media here. You don't.
And, of course, the Canadian ends by bringing up the "yeah, but our beer is better" arguement:
GRIFFITHS: Well, you know, two years ago when I appeared on your show and had the privilege, I invited you up here for a Canadian beer. I think you turned me down. Come on up...
O'REILLY: I didn't turn you down. It's just a matter of whether I can get up there or not.
GRIFFITHS: Some great ale, (UNINTELLIGIBLE)... you know, it's not getting south of the border because of mad cow...
O'REILLY: Look, Toronto is a great town. I'm going to have to come to Toronto...
GRIFFITHS: Please do.
O'REILLY: And I'm going to have to straighten you guys out.
GRIFFITHS: We'll roll out the red carpet for you.
O'REILLY: I'm going to have to come up there because you won't take the Fox News Channel, because your government is afraid of it.
GRIFFITHS: We watch it on the Internet.
O'REILLY: So I'm going to have to come in person to do it. Tell your government to take us so then you can watch us every night and then the kids would get a fair shot.
GRIFFITHS: OK, you're on record, you're coming up to Toronto.
O'REILLY: All right, Mr. Griffiths, thank you very much, we appreciate it. Give the kids the fair shot.
Here are a couple of good parts of the interview:
BILL O'REILLY, HOST: On July 6th, I reported that a poll taken in Canada found that 40 percent of teenagers there thought America was a force for evil in the world. The number rose to 64 percent among French-Canadian teenagers. On July 16th, one of the guys who took the poll, Rudyard Griffiths, wrote in the Toronto Globe and Mail this, quote: "The first sign that the Drudge Report mention was whipping up a tempest in a teapot came in the form of a screed by a Canadian baiter and top-rated Fox News personality, Bill O'Reilly."
Joining us now from Toronto is Mr. Griffiths, who is the director of the Dominion Institute. All right, where am I going wrong here, sir?
RUDYARD GRIFFITHS, DOMINION INSTITUTE: Well, what I really took exception to is your comment that America's got the franchise on liberty and that you said, straight to the record, that Canada was equivalent to France, the Canadians had freed nobody, whereas Americans had freed hundreds of millions of people across the world.
O'REILLY: Right.
GRIFFITHS: That's just straight out wrong and it's a statement that I resent and that a lot of Canadians resent.
O'REILLY: OK.
GRIFFITHS: The truth is, we fought together in the First World War. We went into that war three years before you did, by the way.
O'REILLY: Right.
GRIFFITHS: We fought together in the Second World War (search). We went into that war about two years before you did. You know, about 10,000 Canadians served in Vietnam (search), and you sent about 16,000 draft dodgers up here. You know, in Bosnia, in Afghanistan (search), you name it, we've stood shoulder to shoulder with Americans, we've bled with Americans for the ideals of democracy and freedom, yet...
O'Reilly gives some good shots in the middle part of the interview:
O'REILLY: Look, they're negative if you put them in that kind of a context. Certainly, no American wants anybody else killed in Iraq. But if you give a balanced presentation, which the CBC does not, the Toronto Globe and Mail does not, and say to your children, "Look, this is a rough war. This is a tough thing. But a brutal dictator who killed hundreds of thousands of people is out of office, 56 million Iraqis, or whatever it is, 36 million, have a chance at self determination."
So it's not black and white. America is not the bad guy in Iraq. It might have been a mistake, but we're not the bad guy, Mr. Griffiths, and we are being portrayed in your country as such.
GRIFFITHS: No, you're not. Public opinion in Canada was pretty divided going into that war.
O'REILLY: When you've got 64 percent of French-Canadian teenagers saying America's a force for evil, you've got a problem in the media and education up there.
GRIFFITHS: Look, I think this is a temporary problem, but it's a problem for Americans and it's a problem with this current president that you've got.
O'REILLY: Not a problem for America. We have a balanced media here. You don't.
And, of course, the Canadian ends by bringing up the "yeah, but our beer is better" arguement:
GRIFFITHS: Well, you know, two years ago when I appeared on your show and had the privilege, I invited you up here for a Canadian beer. I think you turned me down. Come on up...
O'REILLY: I didn't turn you down. It's just a matter of whether I can get up there or not.
GRIFFITHS: Some great ale, (UNINTELLIGIBLE)... you know, it's not getting south of the border because of mad cow...
O'REILLY: Look, Toronto is a great town. I'm going to have to come to Toronto...
GRIFFITHS: Please do.
O'REILLY: And I'm going to have to straighten you guys out.
GRIFFITHS: We'll roll out the red carpet for you.
O'REILLY: I'm going to have to come up there because you won't take the Fox News Channel, because your government is afraid of it.
GRIFFITHS: We watch it on the Internet.
O'REILLY: So I'm going to have to come in person to do it. Tell your government to take us so then you can watch us every night and then the kids would get a fair shot.
GRIFFITHS: OK, you're on record, you're coming up to Toronto.
O'REILLY: All right, Mr. Griffiths, thank you very much, we appreciate it. Give the kids the fair shot.
