So, why is this guy with the funny hat trying to get into the legion, who does he think he is, he isn't even Canadian, doesn't he know we have traditions here. These guys who don't want him in, they're old soldiers, they have the right to refuse, they are only asking for respect for their traditions, they certainly aren't racist.
Sadly, there is racism behind that decision, but it isn't unique, it exists in every society on earth, but it doesn't have to in this ours. It is the responsibility of every thinking Canadian to oppose racism wherever it arises. Unfortunately, that is the problem, people don't think, they don't think objectively or logically. They have often trapped themselves in a distorted view of the world and its history, leading to wild and inaccurate views of any situation.
I'm afraid there are a quite a few inaccuracies in my opening that need to be addressed, I'm going to try to correct some of them since I want the country my children are growing up in to be united in peace and harmony. My country.
So, why is this guy trying to get into the legion. He's trying to get in because he believes this is a country of equal opportunity and access for all its citizens, as guaranteed in the charter of rights. Yes, he is a citizen whether he was born here or is a recent immigrant. Both have the same rights; it can't work otherwise. Just try to imagine a two-class society, it's not hard, think of south Africa till recently. Anyway, even if he does wear a strange piece of headgear, it does not mean he just arrived from elsewhere, he may still be third or fourth generation Canadian.
Some would argue that our traditions are being stripped away, which traditions? Oh, I know, the one about this country being founded on Christian beliefs. Hardly, don't get me wrong, I have respect for Christianity and all other religions too. Certainly, most early settlers of this country were Christian, but as for the idea that the country was founded on Christianity doesn't quite hold water when you examine it closely. I suppose it depends on what you mean by "founded on".
If you mean the government, I'm afraid you're wrong, our form of government (democracy) traces its roots back to ancient Greece, long before Christianity. Our laws stem from english common law, established during the reign of king john culminating in the signing of the magna carta in 1215, not a particularly Christian document, even though there may have been references to God. The magna carta was a deal made between three competing factions, the king, the barons, and the bishops. And we all know what robin hood thought of king john. So much for law. What about the people who founded this country, not the Indians of course, they never counted. No, the movers and shakers, people like General Cornwallis, governor of now New Brunswick, a good Christian who put a bounty on the heads of the native people. Not the god-fearing farmers but the power brokers who stitched this country together with a railroad. Mostly British and American investors looking for a return on their money, church going of course but the same kind of people Jesus would have crossed the street to avoid.
There was little Christianity in those people beyond their immediate families. You only must look at the way the workers laying railroad track were treated, especially the Chinese, oh yes, they were here back then too, they died by the hundreds building the railroad, yet their great grandchildren are still often considered- not quite Canadians.
Yes, Christians have made tremendous contributions to this country, but so have many, many others; which brings me back to our friend in the funny hat, who does he think he is? Well, for starters he thinks he's Canadian, which he is he also thinks he's a veteran, which is why he wants into the legion, to pay his respects. He also thinks he's a Sikh, which is what? Something that is not as scary as it sounds. In fact, the basics of Sikhism, like other major religions are not that far removed from Christianity, although it is a comparative newcomer, founded in the fifteenth century. What do Sikhs believe? They stress unity, equality, truth, and a personal god to whom they surrender their will. Loyalty and justice are admired, and smoking and drinking are forbidden. Not really that different from any other mainstream religion.
This is what a Sikh is, but where do they come from? From the Punjab, a rich farming area in northern India. They are here because they followed the thin red line of the old British empire as it colonised its way around the world. At the time early settlements were taking shape along the st Lawrence, mostly french of course, we won't get into that now except to make a note of it, for future references to the founding of Canada.
Meanwhile, large British trading companies like the East India Trading Company were busy stripping the Indian sub-continent of its riches, with the British adopting their usual colonial attitudes for subjugating the natives; encourage one group to kill off another group, all good Christians remember. To do this more efficiently the British recruited the fiercest and the most loyal soldiers, Sikhs, farmers with a strong warrior tradition in defending their lands and their faith. The British soon had them trained and armed and were always happy to enter battles where they would fight to the last Sikh. In fact, during the sepoy mutiny of 1857, it was loyal Sikhs who saved the day and a large part of the empire.
Right through from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, whilst Canada as a nation was just forming, the Sikhs went wherever the British army went, even here to fight those troublesome french. By the time, the first world war rolled around the Sikhs were in the trenches with other commonwealth troops fighting alongside Canadian soldiers, all brothers in arms under the same British command.
Ah yes, the first world war, I’ve often tried to imagine what those battlefields were like for the common soldier, but it's impossible. The horrifying conditions of trench warfare. The mud, the blood, lice, rats, rotten food and rotting corpses. Endless artillery barrages, till that moment just before dawn when the guns fall silent, and the officer arrives with pistol in hand, not for shooting the enemy. He blows his whistle and shouts — over the top lads. And over the top they went — including — not excluding, the Sikhs. Wearing their turbans of course. They weren't asked to take them off, they were shot off and blown off just like everything else. Almost forty million casualties including eight and a half million dead. And it all began because someone felt he wasn't getting respect for his traditions.
My grandfather fought in that war. He had a wife and five children. In 1918 he became one of those eight and a half million dead. He was gassed, mustard gas, a slow lingering death. His lungs destroyed. I suppose in a sense he is one of those for whom the legion is demanding respect. He can't tell us what he would say about this issue, but I think I have the right to speak for him.
I don't believe he would consider a Sikh disrespectful by refusing to remove his turban in the legion hall. Given their history I would suggest it's more likely the reverse if they did. For a Sikh to remove his turban, which is not a hat, would be a betrayal of his religion, which would really be showing a tremendous lack of respect. I think my grandfather would be happy to know someone wanted to pay their respects as a brother in arms.
Are those demanding the removal of turbans being racist? In some cases, yes, combined with simple ignorance. Unfortunately, symbols become exploited by those with ulterior motives, and millions end up dying for reasons long forgotten. Except we shouldn't forget because there is only one reason behind most conflicts in the world. From Bosnia to Belfast, from Rwanda to the middle east. That one reason — racism, racism based on religion, on colour and on sex, it's that simple. We must prevent that from happening here, by putting aside traditions that divide, and create new ones that unite.
Let's maintain Canada as a land of peace and harmony which continues to welcome people from every part of the world. People who are just like you and me. If we could only see past the differences, and see that it's not what's on the head, or even what colour it is, but what's in it. Then maybe we could celebrate the things we have in common, and respect others, like the legionnaires, the Sikhs, and my grandfather, simply old soldiers.
June 6, 1994 David M. Hobson
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