Father's Day Stuff
Jun. 9th, 2003 11:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mbarrick
Yesterday I was in bustling downtown Ladner with Elaine. Since we will be in New York next week this was an early Father's Day thing for her dad. We met her parents at the Legion and I did something I've been meaning to do for years. I brought a copy of my father's discharge papers along with me and signed up. I am now an associate member of the Royal Canadian Legion. What does this mean? I have signed to the effect that I am not a communist (sorry, Dave, guess you can't join), a fascist, or an anarchist. It means I stand for Canadian unity, Canadian sovereignty, and Canada's rôle as a peacekeeper. Most of all though, it means I can get $2.50 pints and play pool for 50¢ ;-).
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no subject
Date: 2003-06-09 01:09 pm (UTC)The very bar that helped my father with the delusion that he was not in fact a raging alcoholic but an upper class social drinker.
He would get all dressed up in his blazier sport coat with his LEGION coat of arms/crest sewn on and proceed to go down to this place to get absolutely shit-faced and drink away $30,000
leaving no money for food. 1/2 the time I wanted to eat that
damn blue blazier becuse it would have tasted better than the
nuclear survival food we were forced to consume instead of
food.
Sorry ,I have no problems with veterens or Canadian patriots
for they all deserve a place to drink and reminice. But the
name of the ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION just brings the horrible taste
of Soy-protein "beef" to my mouth.
good times... good times...
Legion
Date: 2003-06-10 01:59 am (UTC)Supposedly now, one does not have to be an actual (former) member of the armed forces.
I've actually been to the one in Ladner many, many years ago.
Re: Legion
Date: 2003-06-10 07:02 am (UTC)That's been true for a very long time. Since the 60's the children of veterans could join (that's my in) as voting members. More recently though that has been extended to grandchildren. One can also be sponsored by a voting member to become a non-voting associate member.
But the reason I singled you out is because it actually specifically says on the membership form that one is forbidden to be a communist, fascist or anarchist.
Alarm! Red Scare! Goddamn Frickin' Commies!
Date: 2003-06-10 08:16 am (UTC)I doubt it'd ever become an issue however, because I can't see many reasons why a card-carrying Red (which I'm not, consequently) would join up - except maybe the cheap beer... Most would probably just rather go to The Railway Club instead.
I suppose a 'fascist' (and I wonder how they define this one...) might fit in and enjoy all the marching around and uniform swagger - but then they'd find themselves on the wrong side of the fence come Nov.11.
Anarchists are probably kept out because they're "long-haired rebels with all their rockin' and a rollin' music..."
Alarm! Red Scare! Goddamn Frickin' Commies!
Date: 2003-06-10 09:53 am (UTC)to the whole turban thing. The rules are quite simple
- No hats out of respect for the War dead. Simple
Respect those who have given their life and made the
sacrifice for what THEY though was the freedoms of Canadians
There are Sihk temples where people must remove their shoes
and are forbidden to sit on chairs Everyone else conforms to their rules. Why can't they do the same. Religious limitations ?
Too fricken bad , Its called religious sacrifices , Jews can't eat pork , Muslims can't drink - should we force bars to stop selling alcohol becuse it offends visiting Muslims.
The ONLY exception I see to the Legions rules should be to Sihks who SERVED in Canadian wars... Who risked their life for the country.
But I also think it goes beyond that - why does EVERYONE complain when clubs don't let them join. Maybe EVERYTHING wasn't made for you. Maybe you DON'T have a right to join every club, buy everything you see on the commercials. Why is it your RIGHT to have a say or a place in everything.
If a club doesn't accept you - perhaps there is a reason and instead of whinning about it - make your own club or do your own thing and stop raining on their parade.
Re: Alarm! Red Scare! Goddamn Frickin' Commies!
Date: 2003-06-10 10:22 am (UTC)Exactly, and I think this was the case in Surrey - it wasn't just some Sikh off the street, it was someone who served in the armed forces. As far as the logic of it, if the turban can be part of their uniform, then they should be allowed in.
RE:Why is it your RIGHT to have a say or a place in everything.
So why is it their RIGHT to exclusion?
Doesn't freedom of assembly also include one's right to the freedom to join that assembly?
And at what point is the law drawn? - because someone certainly could not get away with forming a social club that specifically excludes lesbians, and/or wheelchair people, and/or people from the Musqueam Indian Reservation? It's the same with one's political association - especially if that political association is legally recognised by the Federal Government (who also sidetracks $$$ to the legions through Veteren Affairs).
I agree with you about the Sikh Temples, but then that's because I support anything the crushes religious belief. I'd love nothing more than to see their gender segregation declared unlawful and forced integrate.
Relics Of The Empire
Date: 2003-06-10 10:31 am (UTC)LMAO! My old man, a former British marine commando in the late 1940s, has resisted all attempts to join the Legion over the years. He says most of the old wartimers are nothing more now than a bunch of alcoholic "Relics of the Empire"...
"Freedom"
Date: 2003-06-10 12:52 pm (UTC)Freedom of assembly does not automatically grant anyone the right to join any assembly. For example you cannot be a card-carrying Convervative and a card-carrying Liberal at the same time, both political orgainizations preclude members from simultaneously being members of other parties. Freedom of assembly simply means one is free to start up ones own club.
Part of freedom is the freedom to say "no".
Sovietnimrod's Social Club For Anti-Freemason Straight White Male Socialist Lacrosse Players
Date: 2003-06-10 01:16 pm (UTC)This is probably because they are both competing political organisations; much like how someone cannot play for the Canucks and Oilers at the same time. But I don't think there's anything in da' rulz of either organisation saying that one cannot join them on account of one's beliefs.
Hmmm, I'm going to have to seriously rethink my yearly attendance at cenotapth ceremonies at Victory Square every Nov.11 - as well as the usual $10 in change that I give to the poppy Legionnaire at the liquor store. After all, if they don't like communists in the organisation, then they probably should not be taking my communist money...
no subject
Date: 2003-06-10 02:26 pm (UTC)I support the aims and principles of the PC Party of Canada
From their constitution:
3. PRINCIPLES
3.1 The principles of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada are:
3.1.1 A belief in loyalty to a sovereign and united Canada governed in accordance with the Constitution of Canada, the supremacy of democratic parliamentary institutions and the rule of law;
3.1.2 A belief in the equality of all Canadians;
3.1.3 A belief in the freedoms of the individual, including freedom of speech, worship and assembly;
3.1.4 A belief in our constitutional monarchy, the institutions of Parliament and the democratic process;
3.1.5 A belief in the federal system of government as the best expression of the diversity of our country, and in the desirability of strong provincial and territorial governments;
3.1.6 A belief that the best guarantors of the prosperity and well‑being of the people of Canada are:
3.1.6.1 the freedom of individual Canadians to pursue their enlightened and legitimate self‑interest within a competitive economy;
3.1.6.2 the freedom of individual Canadians to enjoy the fruits of their labour to the greatest possible extent; and
3.1.6.3 the right to own property.
3.1.7 A belief that a responsible government must be fiscally prudent and should be limited to those responsibilities which cannot be discharged reasonably by the individual or others;
3.1.8 A belief that it is the responsibility of individuals to provide for themselves, their families and their dependents, while recognizing that government must respond to those who require assistance and compassion;
3.1.9 A belief that the purpose of Canada as a nation state and its government, guided by reflective and prudent leadership, is to create a climate wherein individual initiative is rewarded, excellence is pursued, security and privacy of the individual is provided and prosperity is from a free competitive market economy;
3.1.10 A belief that ...
3.1.11 A belief that ...
3.1.12 A belief that ...
...
5. MEMBERS
5.1 Every person who:
5.1.1 is a citizen or permanent resident of Canada,
5.1.2 has attained the age of fourteen (14) years, and
5.1.3 actively supports the Aims and Principles of the Party,
is eligible for membership in the Party
> I'm going to have to seriously rethink my yearly attendance at cenotapth ceremonies at Victory Square every Nov.11 - as well as the usual $10 in change that I give to the poppy Legionnaire at the liquor store
That's not very communist of you... "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs."
Great Patriotic War
Date: 2003-06-10 03:23 pm (UTC)Hell, the USSR probably saved the West's bacon until the Western Allies got off their duff and opened the second front in Normandy.
* * *
WOW! And I never realised that the PC party has no room for republicanism (anti-monarchists). That and Clause 3.1.6.3 would prevent me from morally joining them...
no subject
Date: 2003-06-10 03:26 pm (UTC)Well, there is always that handy convenient counter-clause of: "Those that do not work shall not eat..."
Re: Great Patriotic War
Date: 2003-06-10 03:41 pm (UTC)Hell, the USSR probably saved the West's bacon
Excellent counter-point! touché!
Frankly, I'm willing to bet that clause got added during the McCathy era and really refers to post-war Stalinism. It's peculiar to say the least, which is why I made a point of it in the first place.
Cage Match: St. Paul vs. Marx
Date: 2003-06-10 03:58 pm (UTC)Re: Great Patriotic War
Date: 2003-06-10 04:03 pm (UTC)(And no - this isn't me sporting one of my Hallowe'en costumes)
* * *
Yeah, I was thinking McCarthyism as well for the origin of those 'requirements' - it just could be well that no one's made a huge fuss or bothered to enforce them in recent years.
Mind you, in specific regards to keeping out all the Reds, this *might* even hark back to WW1 and the 1919 Red Scare of the OBU in Winnipeg. "Fascists" and "anarchists" (mind you, which strikes me as being an odd thing to single out...) could have been added later.
Re: Cage Match: St. Paul vs. Marx
Date: 2003-06-10 04:08 pm (UTC)To pass my boredom when it's REALLY slow at work, I've set out to construct my own language...
Re: Great Patriotic War
Date: 2003-06-10 05:00 pm (UTC)But, yeah, one way or the other I doubt these things are enforced.
GWVA in 1920
Date: 2003-06-10 05:21 pm (UTC)During my lacrosse research, I came across a couple of clubs in Vancouver and New Westminster that were sponsered (or possibly manned) by veterans associations in ca.1920 - such as the Great War Veterans Association... they must have been local outfits.
Lacrosse and Legions
Date: 2003-06-10 05:25 pm (UTC)I've always been half-tempted to find a way in there and see if they have any memorabillia relating to that championship up on their walls, etc.
Re: Alarm! Red Scare! Goddamn Frickin' Commies!
Date: 2003-06-10 10:23 pm (UTC)Their club , their rules
"Doesn't freedom of assembly also include one's right to the freedom to join that assembly? "
On that logic a Nazi or a pedophile should also be allowed to join with any organization they choose and no-one in the orgainzation can say shit if they had a mouth full of it.
It is not my RIGHT to join a womens book club
It is not my RIGHT to join an Asian ESL group meeting It is not my RIGHT to crash a private party and force everyone to be my friend.
"the Federal Government (who also sidetracks $$$ to the legions through Veteren Affairs"
That's because a lot of vets are MEMBERS of the legion and donate their resources to the club that they belong to
The federal government pays a welfare cheque - and on welfare wednesday - a lot of people drink at the HO with their cheque - does that mean that the HO is sponsored by the federal government. Is it your RIGHT to drink (and hold meetings at the Ho?) Do the proprietors of the Ho have a social responsibility to provide resources for the general public?
Re: Alarm! Red Scare! Goddamn Frickin' Commies!
Date: 2003-06-10 10:59 pm (UTC)If someone isn't breaking any laws, then there shouldn't be any reason why someone can join (and this should apply to other organisations as well, not just the Legion).
Pedophiles are breaking the law in Canada, so on that basis alone they can and should be excluded.
I'm not quite sure just what legal rights Nazis in Canada do and don't have - but as for communists, they're no longer 'banned'. In fact, the two main parties in Canada are fully registered with Elections Canada and are thus recognised by the Federal Government. Legally, being a member of the CPC or CPC(ML) is no different than being a member of the the PC or NDP. They all abide by the same rules and none are breaking the law.