News from the Mississippi of Ontario

It’s entirely appropriate this time of year to reflect on the sacrifices of the thousands of young men and women who have given their lives in the service of their country, defending the rights and freedoms of all — including, one supposes, the right of two, um, men to dress respectively in a KKK hood and sheet and in blackface for a Hallowe’en dance. At the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 103 in Campbellford, Ontario.*

We at Sister Sage note several astonishing things about this story, and make an observation.

The first is out of the 200 people at the dance, only one person objected to the costume and left — a real black resident of Campbellford.

The second is that the get-up, which featured the behooded KKK member sportting the Stars and Bars leading the “black” man on string, won First Prize for best costume. This sort of thing goes over well in Campbellford, we guess.

The third is that that the Hooded Clown allowed to the Peterborough Examiner that he “may have been a bad choice” to dress in in such a manner. Of course, he added that — wait for it — his best friend is black, so it’s really okay. “That stuff (slavery),” he said, “has been gone for years and years and years. I don’t see why the reaction is the way it is. That’s so past tense. It’s a piece of history from long ago.” Another attendee wondered what the fuss was about.  ”It’s Halloween, though, that’s what I thought,” she said about the costumes. “I’m sad to hear all this crap’s going on, especially at poppy time.”

We wonder now if Northumberland County, where Campbellford is located, might do well to be rebranded as the Mississippi of the North. They certainly have the yahoos and racists to make it plausible.

__________

*Not surprisingly.the Campbellford Legion’s Facebook has been pulled.