Quote:
Originally Posted by Monahammer
Is Canada one of the only nations that still glorifies a vaunted symbol of colonial oppression as one of its prized national symbols?
The mounties look impressive because they're colonial era relics that were used to put down rebellion in one of the Empire's frontier territories, they were designed to look oppressive and imposing (and even then, slightly less so than their Redcoat cousins). It is actually kind of strange that we continue to champion them as peak Canadiana. They represent the exact times we otherwise try to collectively ignore/forget about.
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This isn't even true.
The NWP was created in response to not just Riel's rebellions, but primarily the 1873 Cypress Hills massacre. They were basically a frontier militia trying to maintain order in the newly acquired Rupert's Land from American whiskey traders and hunters who's skirmishes with Indigenous groups were a threat to Canadian national security because they could be used as an pretext for an American invasion. Their initial mission was not to oppress Indigenous groups, they relied on first nations scouts for survival, and they fought like hell to keep alcohol out of the territories because of the destruction it wrought on both settler and Indigenous communities.
The idea they designed to look oppressive is nonsense.