An Orange & Black Striped Ribbon

May 8 is an important day in world history. For those who are unaware, this date is also known as Victory in Europe Day, or VE Day. May 8, 1945 is when Germany surrendered.

Cue the next round of Remembrance Education. No matter how much I know, I'm always learning more. What more could I possibly learn about VE Day? Well, if you're unfamiliar with Russian history, quite a bit, actually.

My wonderful boyfriend is Russian, and though he and his parents will wear a poppy for November 11, May 9 they wear a ribbon of orange and black stripes. Depending on the amount of time required for news of Germany's surrender to travel in 1945, VE Day falls on May 8, while Russia acknowledges this German defeat on May 9. In honour of this, they wear what is known as the St. George ribbon.

If I remember my history classes correctly, along with what Artem has told me, nearly 10 million Russian soldiers were killed in WW2. Need context? That's roughly a third of Canada's current population.

This past May, I celebrated Victory Day. With Artem's family, I made celebratory dumplings, toasted the Soviet's fallen, and they told me about the impact that WW2 directly had on every Russian family.

November 11 will always be important to me.. Now I know how much May 9 matters too.

For more: https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/russia/victory-day

"Enlist you Newfoundlanders, and come follow me..."

I catered to my pin hoard today, buying three more pins, and an oversized poppy.

I cherish every single one that I purchase, as I'm certain you're all aware, but there was one that stood out for me this time. It's my Beaumont-Hamel pin, in honour of Newfoundland's Blue Puttees.

At the time of the First World War, Newfoundland was still only a Dominion, and any men who wanted to volunteer to go to the front lines had to enlist with either the British or Canadian military. 

On July 1, 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, the Blue Puttees advanced at Beaumont-Hamel. Over 800 men went into battle. At roll call the next morning, only 68 responded (as per the information with my pin).

I always take a moment to talk to the people behind the Legion table. Today I learned that Newfoundland treats July 1 as a day of remembrance instead of a day of celebration, honouring the memory of those men lost in WW1, especially those Blue Puttees lost at Beaumont-Hamel.

This pin caused a song to emerge in my memory. A Great Big Sea song. It's called "The Recruiting Sergeant," and is about the Blue Puttees. The part that stands out for me is "at roll call next morning, only a handful survived." I can't help but wonder if this is in reference to Beaumont-Hamel.

"...enlist you Newfoundlanders, and come follow me..."

For more on the Blue Puttees, refer to this website: http://www.heritage.nf.ca/first-world-war/articles/recruiting-the-newfoundland-regiment.php

History in the Hoard

Those who know me are well aware of my poppy hoarding. For the month of November, proof of this worthwhile addiction is sprawled across the top of my Facebook page in the form of my cover photo:

Well, in the years since that photo was taken, I've purchased more pins, was gifted a coin commemorating the 100th Anniversary of "In Flander's Fields" by John McCrae, but most important, I own a part of a British art project.

A couple of years ago, I wrote a post about this project, called "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red" (name of both the post and project). In it, I talked about the installment, its goals, and that I purchased poppies. However, I realize two years later that I never did show you the unaltered beauty of these poppies:

Our lives were in the hands of over 888 thousand people between the years 1914-1918. Now I hold the memory of one of them in mine.

Sought Out the Devil

I must apologize that my miniseries is off to a late start this year. I'm in my final university term, so life is a bit hectic. But, better late than not at all to get this going, right?

I thought I would start off this year's series with an essay I wrote for a Canadian history class I took in the summer. If you've noticed the title of this post, then you just might know what my essay was inspired by: The book Shake Hands with the Devil by Lt. Gen Romeo Dallaire.

He was the Canadian general heading the peacekeeping mission in Rwanda back in the early nineties, a mission that was set up to fail before he was even given the command. My essay, which I have copied below for you, is about this man, this mission, and the bureaucratic attitudes that led to the massacre of nearly one million people. Dallaire shook hands with the devil... I sought the devil out.

Sought out the Devil: Canadian Peacekeeping Efforts in Rwanda, Focusing on Major-General Roméo Dallaire and the UNAMIR Task Force

“...cut down the tall trees...”[1]  

            Canada has long held a reputation as being keepers of the peace in areas that are rife with turmoil. However, in Rwanda, Canada was set to learn that it would never be able to keep the peace if the areas in conflict did not want it themselves. This mission in Rwanda, which Canadian peacekeepers entered with the United Nations in 1993, was destined to end badly, as Canada’s Major-General Roméo Dallaire was unfortunately set to learn. Despite this mission quickly going to Hell in a hand basket, the failure to secure peace in Rwanda is not a negative mark against our country’s peacekeeping efforts. Instead, we might view the mission as a lesson of what happens when the odds and allies are against those commanding the mission, an education that Major-General Dallaire with his UNAMIR task force was set to gain. The aftermath of this mission still lingers with Dallaire, while changing Canada’s attitudes and outlooks on peacekeeping efforts in hostile areas. The “Pearson Age” of peacekeeping as Canada knew it, no longer exists.

            I was six-years-old when Canadian peacekeepers joined the United Nations efforts in Rwanda. I was old enough that I have a few memories of the situation being discussed, but I was still too young to actually grasp the gravity of what was going on. Twenty years later, the blanks are slowly filling in, with the results being equal parts infuriating and disheartening. Multiple parts came together to make up the perfect storm that led to the Rwandan genocide, which Dallaire, with UNAMIR, tried desperately to prevent. Four major factors contributed to this perfect storm, as sourced from the Government of Canada’s Veteran’s Affairs, various areas of the United Nations, a 1999 Independent Inquiry, the American Society of International Law, and from Dallaire himself through his publications, along with other academic journals. Every source adds crucial information to each of the four points. First, a look into Rwanda’s background is necessary as a means to understand what led the Hutu and Tutsi tribes to civil war. Like many other facets in life, a power struggle between these two tribes was at the core of the massacre. Second, looking at the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) is crucial, because it was the task force sent into the combat zone in the midst of an already-raging civil war. UNAMIR was also under the command of two Canadians. Major-General Roméo Dallaire held command from 1993-1994, while Major-General Guy Tousignant was the UNAMIR commander from 1994-1995. Though Major-General Tousignant worked with the Rwandan government to facilitate safe return for thousands of refugees[2], most of the focus will be surrounding Dallaire’s time in Rwanda. Dallaire himself is the third area of focus. Despite having a military career that had a span of three decades, he was still fresh to peacekeeping, which leads into the fourth point. Not only did Major-General Dallaire face challenges as a peacekeeper, but he also struggled with nearly a thousand UNAMIR soldiers and UN officials showing disrespect toward him and his role as commander. These four factors were what caused a Canadian-led peacekeeping mission to fight an already-losing battle.

            Rwanda, a small rural nation in Central Africa with a population of approximately 8 million, was mostly made up of two tribes. These were the Hutus and the Tutsis. The Tutsis were the minority tribe, however, they held the bulk of the power in the country, especially with politics and the economy. In 1960, the Hutus, who were displeased with this situation, rose up, and forced the Tutsis and their king out of Rwanda toward Uganda.[3] From 1918 to 1962, Rwanda had been under Belgian trusteeship, but once they gained their independence in 1962, the Tutsis chose to rebel. This led the Tutsis to create the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF). Come October 1990, fighting broke out along the border of Rwanda and Uganda between the RPF, and Government Armed Forces, which was led by the Hutus. The two tribes eventually agreed to a cease-fire, but by February 1993, the hostilities and fighting resumed.[4] However, a plane crash on April 6, 1994 that killed the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi was the spark that started the mass-murder spree in Rwanda. Militants and civilians alike were killed by shooting, rockets and grenades, hacked apart by machete, and were buried or burned alive. Even churches were unable to escape unscathed, being disrespected as places of refuge.[5] With that plane crash, the Tutsi genocide had begun. To this day, the country is still devastated, and continues to experience a lack of stability, along with violent outbreaks.[6]

                   In 1993, the United Nations became involved in the Rwandan civil-unrest. Their task, initially, was to keep the Rwanda-Uganda border from being used for military purposes by the RPF. This led to the formation of the United Nations Observer Mission Uganda-Rwanda (UNOMUR) in June 1993 on Uganda’s side of the border.[7] The UNOMUR eventually led to the formation of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), which was also the UN’s largest mission. Both of these task forces had spent time under the command of Canadian Major-General Roméo Dallaire, who was in Rwanda leading the force during the genocide.[8] More than 400 Canadians served on these task forces between 1993-1996 in an attempt to bring peace to Rwanda, and end the violence.[9] The UNAMIR mission was supposed to last for a six-month period, and would be extended for 90 days only upon review. On November 5, 1993, a Status of Forces Agreement was signed, with the mission actually being granted a 90-day extension on April 5, 1994- one day before the plane crash that ignited the genocide.[10] Despite being strongly outnumbered by Hutu militants, Canadians and other UNAMIR peacekeepers did what they could in attempts to help the country regain some control. Though the chaos between the Hutus and Tutsi RPF was more than the peacekeepers could handle, they still believed in giving humanitarian aid, clearing the land of underground mines, and resettling refugees as best they could.[11] UNAMIR also focused its efforts on ceasefires and political negotiations, but unfortunately, Government Forces and the RPF had zero interest in a ceasefire. There was no desire for peace. The UNAMIR, despite its best efforts, was forced to pull out of Rwanda in 1996.[12] During the task force’s three-year mission, 27 peacekeepers were killed in action.[13] Of the 27, one was Canadian.[14] I do not know the Canadian’s name, despite searching for it.

            Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire, who was a Major-General at the time of the mission, was the key Canadian figure in Rwanda from 1993-1994. On October 22, 1993, Major-General Dallaire, who referred to himself as “the least experienced member on [the] UN team,” despite a having a 30-year career with the Canadian Forces,[15] took command of the UNAMIR task force, with an additional 21 military personnel to follow on October 27.[16] When Major-General Dallaire was called upon to serve as the UNAMIR commander, he thought he was going to be leading a straightforward peacekeeping mission.[17] Despite putting forth every effort he could muster, Major-General Dallaire was forced to take on challenges and scenarios that were beyond his scope of expertise. Major-General Dalliare, having an idea as to what the mission in Rwanda would entail, requested that the UN provide him with 4500 soldiers, though he had serious doubts that he could get that many. The United States, feeling lackadaisical about the situation facing the commander, only wanted give him 500 troops. He was eventually given 2548 soldiers.[18] Another challenge that Major-General Dallaire faced was that he was not given a briefing on what was actually going on in Rwanda. He was also left unaware of a report from the Commission on Human Rights claiming that genocide was imminent if immediate action wasn’t taken.[19] Major-General Dallaire would also regularly receive conflicting advice from various diplomats who thought they knew best just how to keep the peace.[20] Yet, despite the aforementioned issues, they were not as horrific as the one problem that he would not be able to prevent. Major-General Dallaire was the commander who witnessed the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda.[21] The UN allowed this to happen.

            Apart from witnessing the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children, Major-General Dallaire was faced with other issues that may have either prevented the genocide, or led to fewer killings. According to a report done by the American Society of International Law, the UN headquarters would often receive cables from the UNAMIR task force relaying crucial information that could have prevented the genocide. Though the report states that, “the lack of determined action to deal with the Dallaire cable,” after the April 6, 1994 plane crash, the UN instructed Major-General Dallaire to leave in the midst of the genocide, and help the French evacuate the few foreign nationals who were in the vicinity of the plane crash.[22] This gave the impression that few Western lives were more important than the throngs of African ones that were being ruthlessly wiped out, and brought forth other questions surrounding human rights. Of course, he and his soldiers were unable to do much good in fighting against those committing genocide as they lacked equipment; not even the minimal amount of necessary gear to take on such a task was issued to him and his troops. Major-General Dallaire was also unable to have confidential conversations with all parties involved. He was denied a translator from the UN, and therefore had to rely on locals who would later leak information to the media, specifically anything sent back to government officials at the UNAMIR headquarters.[23] Major-General Dallaire, trying to do what those who wear the Maple Leaf were known for, was set up for failure from the beginning.

            Post-command, Major-General Dallaire was still faced with an abundance of problems, even though he had already returned to Canada. While in command of the UNAMIR force, he was constantly faced with disrespect of his role from 424 Belgian and 564 Bangladeshi soldiers. They refused to take orders from him, regardless of Major-General Dallaire’s rank and role. The Belgians and Bangladeshi would only listen to those of their own nationality.[24] In total, under Major-General Dallaire’s command, ten Belgian soldiers were killed, and the Belgian government had decided that their deaths were either his fault, or that he was at the very least an accomplice in their deaths.[25] He had unwillingly become their scapegoat. In his publications, Lieutenant-General Dallaire also speaks of the struggles of understanding what he calls a peacekeeper’s “moral minefield.”[26] He has said of his role as a peacekeeping commander, “the hardest demand on a commander is to send men on tasks that may take their lives, and then the next day to send others to face possibly similar fates. Losing a soldier is the hardest memory to live with. Such decisions and actions are the ultimate responsibility of command.”[27] This Canadian’s post-peacekeeping moral minefield has caused him to ask one crucial question: “Are all humans human? Or... Are some humans more human than others?”[28]

            This mission in Rwanda has definitely changed how people view peacekeeping, something that has long been a source of Canadian pride, compliments of former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. Jennie Ruby, who reviewed Samantha Power’s A Problem from Hell, speaks strongly of Major-General Dallaire and his desperate requests to the United Nations to give him more soldiers to try to put an end to the genocide, only to be ordered to leave and let the killing continue.[29] Such an act makes a person wonder why a peacekeeping mission, especially one of Rwanda’s calibre, would even be established if it’s going only going to be disregarded and disrespected anyway. Yet, we Canadians still feel a certain national pride surrounding this role. Sean M. Maloney wrote a book titled Canada and UN Peacekeeping: Cold War by Other Means, which was reviewed by Desmond Morton in The International History Review. In the review, Morton informs the reader on Maloney’s interpretations and ideas surrounding Canada’s roles as peacekeepers. To coincide with the idea that Canadians are welcomed and adored everywhere, he states that there was a, “widespread belief that peacekeeping is Canada’s only legitimate military role” to be conducted under the guidance of the United Nations.[30] Peacekeeping was seen as safe, easy, and not “real soldiering,” like what those who belonged to NATO would encounter.[31] As this form of military service was perceived as lesser and more cute, understanding why UNAMIR’s Canadian commanders in Rwanda were constantly undercut and disrespected becomes clear. According to Maloney, in Morton’s review, Canada’s peacekeepers were highly skilled, professional, and had a far-reaching respect and reputation, but with a little help from Pierre Trudeau’s government, plus a romanticized mythology surrounding the Canadian peacekeeper, they were de-skilled, disarmed, and downgraded.[32] With an attitude like this, it is no wonder that Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire was disrespected, disregarded, and discouraged from doing what was right in Rwanada. His own government, with its romanticized ideals, contributed to his and UNAMIR’s failure, which Lieutenant-General Dallaire still carries as his personal burden to this day.

            Canada’s military role, especially where issues of peacekeeping are involved, has changed since Rwanda. Canadian Forces serving on missions in Afghanistan, as a more recent venture, makes for a worthwhile comparison. Media, teachers, peers, family, all of them would have opinions on whether Canada ought to get involved in the Middle East, and many of them had a solid knowledge and understanding of what happened in Rwanda. Should we throw our hat into the ring, as the saying goes, or should we adopt an attitude similar to the United Nations regarding Rwanda, and stick with fighting the concepts of war over issues of human rights?[33] Many opinions were against Canada going to Afghanistan; Afghan problems aren’t our problems, so why should we get ourselves involved? On the other hand, one of my peers, who is an infantry officer with the Canadian Forces, served in Afghanistan, because he believes in peace and freedom.

            As for peace and freedom, Lieutenant-General Dallaire still battles his own personal Hell every single day as the result of what he had experienced in Rwanda. He, like many others who have seen humanity at its worst, suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.[34] Yet he still pushes forward, writing Shake Hands with the Devil in 2003, recounting his experience in Rwanda so that others may be aware of what actually happened, and why the Canadian-led UNAMIR task force was never going to be able to bring peace to the torn African nation. Though he carries the failure in Rwanda with him, the now-retired Lieutenant-General used the experience to bring good back into the world by founding the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and Other Crimes against Humanity.[35] He believes that “the genocide in Rwanda was a failure of humanity that could easily happen again,”[36] but through his humanitarian organization, and his book, he aims to educate the public as a means of preventing history from repeating itself. Lieutenant-General Dallaire’s career with the military and as a Canadian peacekeeper with the United Nations may be over, but in his own way, the now-Senator is still finding other ways to bring people a form of peace. As for this Canadian? I still believe in our Blue Berets, and I refuse to let the peacekeeping failure in Rwanda tarnish anything that they have ever stood for.  

---

[1] Samuel P. Oliner and Jeffrey R. Gunn, “Manifestations of Radical Evil: Structure and Social Psycology,” Humbolt Journal of Social Relations Vol. 30, No. 1 (2006): 134

[2] “Veterans Affairs Canada,” last modified December 8, 2014, www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/candian-armed-forces/rwanda.

[3] Veterans Affairs Canada.

[4] “UNAMIR: International Tribunal for Rwanda,” accessed May 13, 2016, www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/past/unamirS.htm

[5] UNAMIR: International Tribunal for Rwanda.

[6] UNAMIR: International Tribunal for Rwanda.

[7] UNAMIR: International Tribunal for Rwanda.

[8] Veterans Affairs Canada.

[9] Veterans Affairs Canada.

[10] UNAMIR: International Tribunal for Rwanda.

[11] Veterans Affairs Canada.

[12] UNAMIR: International Tribunal for Rwanda.

[13] UNAMIR: International Tribunal for Rwanda.

[14] Veterans Affairs Canada.

[15] “International Panel of Eminent Personalities (IPEP): Report on the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda and Surrounding Events (Selected Sections),” International Legal Materials 40 (2001): 181.

[16] UNAMIR: International Tribunal for Rwanda.

[17] “Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire,” last modified 2003, www.romeodallaire.com.

[18] IPEP

[19] IPEP

[20] IPEP

[21] “Lt. Gen. Romé Dallaire.”

[22] IPEP

[23] IPEP

[24] IPEP

[25] Lt. Gen Roméo Dallaire, Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda (Toronto: Random House, 2003), xi-xii.

[26] Lt. General Roméo Dallaire

[27] Lt. General Dallaire, Shake Hands with the Devil, xv-xvi.

[28] Lt. General Roméo Dallaire

[29] Jennie Ruby, “Review: “A Problem from Hell” America and the Age of Genocide,” Off Our Backs Vol. 35, No. ¾ (2005): 60.

[30] Desmond Morton, “Reviewed Work: Canada and UN Peacekeeping: Cold War by Other Means, 1945-1970,” The International History Review Vol. 25, No. 1 (2003): 200.

[31] Morton, “Reviewed Work,” 200-202.

[32] Morton, “Reviewed Work,” 200-202

[33] IPEP

[34] Lt. General Dallaire, Shake Hands with the Devil, 5.

[35] Lt. General Roméo Dallaire.

[36] Lt. General Dallaire, Shake Hands with the Devil, xviii.

Bibliography

Dallaire, Roméo Lt. General. Last modified 2013.

            www.romeodallaire.com

Dallaire, Roméo Lt. General. Shake hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in       Rwanda. Toronto: Random House, 2003.

“International Panel of Eminent Personalities (IPEP): Report of the 1994 Genocide in    Rwanda and Surrounding Events (Selected Sections).” 2001. International Legal            Materials 40 (1). American Society of International Law: 141-236).   http://jstor.org/stable/20694080

Morton, Desmond. “Reviewed Work: Canadan and UN Peacekeeping: Cold War by         Other Means, 1945-1970.” The International History Review Vol. 25, No, 1   (2003): 200-202. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40110331

Oliner, Samuel P., and Gunn, Jeffrey R., “Manifestations of Radical Evil: Structure and Social Psychology.” Humbolt Journal of Social Relations 30, No. 1 (2006): 108      -143. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23263208

Ruby, Jennie. “”A Problem from Hell” America and the Age of Genocide.” Off Our Backs 35, No. 314 (2005): 60-62. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20838329

Rwanda: UNAMIR Background. Date accessed May 14, 2016.

            http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/past/unamirFT.htm

UNAMIR: International Tribunal for Rwanda. 1999 Independent Inquiry. Last modified   2001.

 www.un.org.en/peacekeeping/missions/past/unamirS.htm

Veterans Affairs Canada. Date modified 2014/12/08.            www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/canadian-armed-forces/rwanda

            

11 Days of Remembrance: Maus

Back in the summer, I took a Genre Fiction course for my degree where we studied biographies and memoirs in the form of comic books and graphic novels. I was never really a person who read comics, but by the end of the class, I had a new appreciation for them. One of the graphic novels we read was Maus by Art Spiegelman. It blew my mind.

Maus is a biography in two parts, the first being "My Father Bleeds History," and the second, "And Here My Troubles Began." Using the comic book form, Spiegelman tells the story of his father Vladek, a Polish Jew who tried to escape the Holocaust, and ended up spending the last year or so of the war in Auschwitz. Why I say year or so is because Vladek never knew how much time he actually spent in the camp. Spiegelman also learns about a brother who died as a child, tries to find answers about his mother- a survivor who later committed suicide, and makes the reader ponder the idea of Art Spiegelman also being a survivor- how to survive in a family that has lived a nightmare, micromanages, and feel like he'll never live up to who his deceased brother could have been.

There could be concerns that using the comic book form as a means to share such a story is inappropriate, but in this instance, it works. The characters are all depicted as animals, and the animals of choice are highly appropriate. The Jews are portrayed as mice, Nazis are cats, and you can really get a sense of symbolism, and what each animal truly portrays. We had discussed the use of animals in place of people in class. What we concluded is that if Spiegelman had drawn people, the readers would have a harder time connecting, because there's no way he could have drawn expressions to properly capture the agony and torture. But, with animals, you can insert yourself into the story more, and use your mind to enhance the images -and expressions- on the page.

If you've never been of the comic book ilk, at least read  Maus I and II. Not only will you change your mind about the genre, but you'll see the Holocaust, and its effects on the survivors, in a new way.

11 Days of Remembrance: Overwhelmed With Lessons

It's no secret that I'm working on an English degree. What might not be known is that I'm working on a minor in history, with a particular fascination for military history. This last year, I've learned so much on that subject that I truly want to share many of the lessons, but I simply do not know where to start. So, to try to combat the overflow of knowledge, I've decided to give a list of the Top Five things I've learned so far. No thing is more important than the other, they just happen to be the bits and pieces that have stuck out to me the most.

1) Neville Chamberlain didn't understand Hitler. He thought that appeasement would keep the Nazi leader at bay and prevent a war, but unfortunately, the former British Prime Minister learned the hard way that some people will never be satisfied until they obtain absolute power and control over a nation, continent, and (hopefully) the world.

2) Had the Allies lost the Battle of the Atlantic, WWII would have had a very different outcome. This battle was arguably the most important of the Second World War because everything from lives to trade routes were on the line.

3) Operation Barbarossa (July 10, 1941) took Stalin and the Soviets completely by surprise. Stalin had signed a pact with Hitler, as a means of keeping him at bay, but it sadly meant nothing. Stalin had anticipated a war with Germany, but he thought that it would have come in 1943, not 1941.

4) ENIGMA. This piece of code-making genius has received a lot of attention lately. However, while the Allies were celebrating breaking the ENIGMA codes, the Nazis managed to get its hands on British Naval Codes, and made to use them to the same advantage.

5) WWII in the west is what we always remember, but it was the war in the East that brought the Allies to victory. Germany kept trying to use the Soviet as Liebensraum (living space for the Aryans), and the Russians were too damn stubborn to let the Nazis get their way. Sure, the Red Army suffered greater losses (in the millions) than the Germans (lesser millions), but they had more reinforcements handy at all times. Actually, the total number of deaths that occurred with the fighting between Germany and the Soviet can rival, and arguably surpass, the number of Jews who were killed.

11 Days of Remembrance: Priorities in Order

Anyone who knows me is well aware that around this time every year, I pitch a fit over Christmas consumerism taking priority over Remembrance Day. That's about to change. For once, one sect within the wonderful world of retail got its priorities in order, and is holding off on the candy canes and carols until November 12. The link to an article is below. I'd just like to say thank you to that retailer for doing the right thing, and putting poppies first. So for the first time in 28 years, I'll put a smile on my face regarding consumerism.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2315824/lest-we-forget-manitoba-store-holds-holds-back-on-christmas-retail-until-after-remembrance-day/