FOX Slanders the Canadian Military

It is not a secret that late night talk shows are meant to be humorous and sometimes cross the invisible line of what is generally accepted and what is not. That is what makes them funny. One of the many talk shows on cable television is Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld, aired on the Fox News Channel on weekdays at 3a.m. This particular example has a host (Greg Gutfeld) and a round table of panelists (Doug Benson, Bill Schulz, Monica Crowley, etc)  that have simply gone too far. 

On March 17th, 2009, the above mentioned host and panelists had a 5-minute discussion entirely dedicated to the mockery of the Canadian Forces. This discussion was influenced by the following statement: "In the mid-term, and beginning in July 2011, we will have to explore the possibility of taking a short operational break, that is well-organized and synchronized, of at least one year," said Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie(1). Leslie continued to explain that this break was due to the necessary refurbishing of the weapons that were breaking and becoming worn down because of their use in Afghanistan. 

Host Gutfeld began the discussion by interpreting the statement as “the Canadian military wants to take a breather”. He also added they might take this breather to “do some yoga, paint landscapes, to run on the beach in gorgeous white capri pants”. He must of forgotten the 116 fallen soldiers and an approximate 2,500 soldiers who are currently in Afghanistan. His co-panelist Doug Benson must of forgotten as well because he stated:  "I didn't even know they were in the war. I thought that's where you go when you don't want to fight - go chill in Canada". One minute into the video, not only have the Canadian Forces been bashed but Canada itself as a country. 

The pair continues to flat-out insult the Canadian Army by making false remarks and creating ridiculous stereotypes. Next, Bill Schulz takes his turn to slander the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in comparison to the United States’ police force. He bluntly compares our two allied countries and comes to this conclusion: “This is not a smart culture”.

Not only is this group of clowns hurting the families of the fallen soldiers, they are promoting false stereotypes to an astounding 285,000 daily viewers. 

Soon after this discussion was aired and the video uploaded, Greg Gutfeld made a public apology. In my opinion, this apology is meaningless. I have lost count of the number of times FOX News has apologized for their long list of mistakes (airing nudity, spreading false information and/or stereotypes, etc). It is always easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission. 

Here is the video so you can see for yourself:

(1) Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie's statement: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090310/afghanistan_break_090310/20090310/