[DrCaleb]

billypilgrim billypilgrim:

well, i'm sure that Louis will be so appreciative, and that all relevant ghosts of the rebellion will be...whatever...redeemed?

the ndp is subscribing to a pathetic, ass-kissing style of atavism that has no value in the here and now.

I kind of agree with this.

Louis Riel did what he did, knowing it was treason and he'd probably be hanged. Forgiving him for his big brass balls diminishes his efforts.

He succeeded in accomplishing his goals, at the cost of his life. We should recognize that instead.

[Mustang1]

Thanos Thanos:

By the standards of the time, Riel WAS a rebel, a traitor, and a murderer. Even by the standards of today, those labels still accurately apply to him. As such, there's no way that some posthumous rehabilitation of Riel, accompanied by an obvious white-washing of his real history, should be forced on the rest of the country. It's just be morally and factually wrong, unforgivably so IMO, to do so.

Yep, yep and yep.

[kenmore]

Tman1 Tman1:

First of all, I don't believe in the concept of 'Metis'. I don't know why these people think their so special or should be privileged, one only needs to look at the mixed culture of South America. I don't see apologies and land treaties there.

Second, the concept of Riel is something of a East and West thing. Obviously Easterners would view somebody living out west going against the government as 'traitorous'. Fine. I view him as a religious nutjob who wanted equality with french and english in Manitoba, although if he had his way he most likely would have eventually eradicated english. The West was a vast frontier, barely colonized. Traitor? Hardly. SHould he have been punished for his crimes? MOst certainly. Other than a big piece of Canadian history, I don't see him as a hero or a martyr. As soon as he started hearing voices of 'god' that's when he went down hill and lost all credibility to be a hero.

Why are you special one would ask

[Curtman]

martin14 martin14:

Curtman Curtman:

I don't think there's much to worry about, but I thought I'd inform you guys of what's happening in my part of the world.

But I gotta ask, .. why ?


Whats the push to do this, please keep in mind I think most politicians do very little
"for the good of the country"


So whats the deal ?


Votes ?

Money ?

Trying to rehabilitate his own family ?


Or is it because things are so great where you are; lots of jobs, no crime,
roads ok, they truly have nothing better to do ?


There has to be a reason why he keeps pushing this, any idea why ?

I think it has to do with getting votes primarily. There's definitely crime here, Pat Martin's riding of Winnipeg Center is home to the second poorest postal code in Canada, and to an area known locally as "murder's half acre". There is a lot of support of this motion here, so it's easy points for Pat. We have a statue of him in front of the Manitoba Legislature. To be quite honest, I wasn't aware that many people saw him as anything but a hero until we discussed it here a long long time ago.

I think I probably disagree with this. Like Jean Teillet says in the Globe article I linked to:

$1:

His pardon would not be an act of mercy or corrective justice. The justice of a death penalty cannot be corrected after the fact. If he were innocent or justified in his actions, a pardon for something he was not guilty of rather goes against the grain. So a pardon for Riel would serve only one purpose: It would be politically expedient.
...
Jean Teillet, is a great-grandniece of Louis Riel.

It's pretty hard to argue against that.

[kenmore]

Riel was not a traitor. He should be recognized as a founding father. I think he should be on a denomination of our currency.

[PublicAnimalNo9]

kenmore kenmore:

Riel was not a traitor. He should be recognized as a founding father. I think he should be on a denomination of our currency.

Man, I'm really hopin' that was sarcasm

[raydan]

I can't remember what side of the coin I was taught when I went to school.
Strangely enough, if I remember correctly, he was presented as a hero.

[martin14]

PublicAnimalNo9 PublicAnimalNo9:

kenmore kenmore:

Riel was not a traitor. He should be recognized as a founding father. I think he should be on a denomination of our currency.

Man, I'm really hopin' that was sarcasm

Meh, consider the source.


Thanks for the extra info Curt

[PublicAnimalNo9]

raydan raydan:

I can't remember what side of the coin I was taught when I went to school.
Strangely enough, if I remember correctly, he was presented as a hero.

My history teacher was excellent. Instead of teaching the standard line, we discussed Riel's actions and were permitted to draw our own conclusions.
As he put it, "It's not history's job to tell us what to think."

[2Cdo]

kenmore kenmore:

Riel was not a traitor. He should be recognized as a founding father. I think he should be on a denomination of our currency.

Oh, you were serious. Thanks again for exposing your ignorance.

[Mustang1]

2Cdo 2Cdo:

kenmore kenmore:

Riel was not a traitor. He should be recognized as a founding father. I think he should be on a denomination of our currency.

Oh, you were serious. Thanks again for exposing your ignorance.

Oh...he meant that? Wow. Thankfully, calmer, more enlightened heads will prevail.

[fifeboy]

Johnny_H Johnny_H:

I am just well enough aware that there are people who do hold Riel in high regard. I am not in a position to tell them that they aren't entitled to that. Riel did after all stand up for a people he felt needed standing up for.

Most Metis I have met, and I have met quite a few, do hold Riel in high regard, but also consider him to have been a major nut case. The guy they really like was this dude. I can understand why.


We seem to go through this crap every year. What good does it do except give the haters a chance to hate.

[Mustang1]

fifeboy fifeboy:

We seem to go through this crap every year. What good does it do except give the haters a chance to hate.

Or the educated a chance to educate?

[fifeboy]

Mustang1 Mustang1:

fifeboy fifeboy:

We seem to go through this crap every year. What good does it do except give the haters a chance to hate.

Or the educated a chance to educate?

What do you suggest?

[Curtman]

fifeboy fifeboy:

We seem to go through this crap every year. What good does it do except give the haters a chance to hate.

Maybe Manitoba just does it out of tradition now. I don't know.

$1:

While a fugitive, he was elected three times to the Canadian House of Commons, although he never assumed his seat.