By David Farrell
Political comedy that takes on a taboo subject
Jonathan Pie is a fictional UK political correspondent created and portrayed by English comedian Tom Walker who has created a wildly successful YouTube series where he rants and rolls with a sharp stick about current affairs. His most recent edition takes on the civil outcry over racism in the US. From that video: “I was disgusted and appalled… but it’s not a competition. Black Lives Matter is not a competition to see who can be the most affected by the issues surrounding black people. It’s not about who’s the most woke, it’s not about white people demonstrating their bravery by having a good cry about their white privilege because doing that makes it about you. It’s not about you, or me and it’s also not about going on Twitter and bullying comedians into apologising for tasteless jokes that haven’t aged well…”
Wendy Mesley sidelined for use of a “word that should never be used”
What that word was remains a mystery, and the context in which it was spoken during preparations for last Sunday’s episode about Black Lives Matter and the media’s coverage of racism isn’t known. But media coverage has been swift in tarnishing her name and, for now, she is suspended from her usual hosting duties while the CBC investigates.
Canadaland has the story and a quote from Mesley apologizing for poor judgement and the use of a word that should never be used.
History of racism in Canada downplayed
Many accounts of racism and slavery in Canada fly under the radar, says El Jones, a poet and professor at the University of King's College in Halifax., pointing to the "reverse" Underground Railroad, where enslaved people left this country for the northern U.S. She says that the first recorded race riots in North America took place in Shelburne, N.S., in 1784.
"White settlers burned out their Black neighbours in an act of racial violence and segregation that persisted in Nova Scotia until 1966 and the last segregated school closed in 1983," she told the CBC this week.
Maple Leaf stories
Celebrating Radio's 100th anniversary in Canada with Stories from some of Canada's iconic broadcasters and music makers. This episode includes Rob Braide, Cliff Dumas, Bernie Finkelstein, Keith Hampshire, Alexander Mair, Shirley McQueen, Joanne Wilson (Dusty Shannon) Terry David Mulligan, Doug Thompson, Bob Roper, and Earl Jive. This episode is co-hosted by Eric Rothschild & Don Shafer. To listen, place your cursor over the embedded link in the headline above.
