Canadian lawmakers vote to make national anthem gender neutral

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by sharkov

I don't think anyone had issues with the old anthem. Why change it?

The proposal at today's outcome proves that you were mistaken.

Originally Posted by underGRADFlame

Waste of time and tax payers money.

Originally Posted by dino7c

waste of time and money as usual

I disagree. This is the progression that society is taking and it is inevitable. No reason to postpone it and be behind the sociocultural curve.

Time and cost is irrelevant when it would have been done at some point in the near future regardless.

Originally Posted by dino7c

it was a waste of time and money all those times too...look around at the ####ing world around us right now, an anthem that offended nobody until they were told to be offended is the least of our worries.

Originally Posted by DomeFoam

Pretty stupid and unnecessary imo. Not the principle of gender equality, but just the fact they decided to do it all. Isn't their more pressing issues at hand?

There is no need for a false dichotomy argument. The legislature works and discusses many more issues that do not make it into the daily news.

I assure you, through common sense alone, this was not done at the expense of another pressing or important issue.

Originally Posted by Ashasx

Maybe I'm a biased white male, but I don't really get this.

It's like the word "mankind". Do people really get confused or upset when the human race is referred to as "mankind"? Should we say man- and womankind as instead, to be politically correct? These terms are not used to isolate genders, but to unify them under one term.

Were people really upset about this?

Humanity or humankind is probably less cumbersome while appeasing developing societal norms.

I would not say that people were necessarily upset by it in the traditional sense of the sentiment. I think more that it was a proactive measure to line up with modern social attitudes favoring inclusiveness.

[Mr.Coffee]

Hey Justin, get the #### to work.

Extend and delay review for major economy projects, begin working hard on lyrics to anthem.

Awesome.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Hey Justin, get the #### to work.

Extend and delay review for major economy projects, begin working hard on lyrics to anthem.

Awesome.

How hard has he worked on this so far, exactly? And what specific work has he pushed to the side?

[peter12]

It was obviously a pretty unnecessary, harmless gesture. Dying wish. Whatever. Doesn't really matter either way.

[calgaryblood]

Love it when old white men tell us things don't matter.

[rubecube]

Yeah, I kind of think anyone who gets this worked up about the anthem on either side needs to reexamine their priorities. As long as I don't have to stand up there and call myself a kitten-sodomizer or something, I really couldn't give a #### what's in the anthem.

[To Be Quite Honest]

I only sing the anthem ironically anyway.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Hey Justin, get the #### to work.

Even people who oppose Liberal policy should be able to see that they are doing work, like the assisted dying bill.

You might also note that this was a private member's bill. Our parliamentary procedure reserves time for such bills.

You might further note that the Liberals actually expedited the passage of this bill so that the dying MP who introduced it could see it passed, and that the opposition protested that.

[Barnet Flame]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Yeah, I kind of think anyone who gets this worked up about the anthem on either side needs to reexamine their priorities. As long as I don't have to stand up there and call myself a kitten-sodomizer or something, I really couldn't give a #### what's in the anthem.

That made me laugh out loud. Then I sought to rationalise your point and have concluded that even though not explicitly mentioned, kitten sodomizers are covered by the new wording. So you're ok there.

Perhaps someone with a legal mind could confirm this one way or another.

[DiracSpike]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

Love it when old white men tell us things don't matter.

I love it when people's opinions get completely discounted because of who they are.

[Fuzz]

Can we take God out of it now?

[llwhiteoutll]

Originally Posted by SebC

Even people who oppose Liberal policy should be able to see that they are doing work, like the assisted dying bill.

You might also note that this was a private member's bill. Our parliamentary procedure reserves time for such bills.

You might further note that the Liberals actually expedited the passage of this bill so that the dying MP who introduced it could see it passed, and that the opposition protested that.

The reason they didn't support it was because when the opposition tried this, there wasn't public support for it. I never saw one poll this time around that had a lot of support for the change.

[habernac]

If the government is working on this as a priority, we must be officially out of problems.

[CliffFletcher]

I expect the references to God will soon be removed. And eventually, no doubt, the term 'stand on guard' will be deemed too martial. Probably replaced with something like "pledge our hearts to thee."

Not sure why anyone cares one way or another. People never sing the anthem anymore. It's not like we still sing it in school every morning. Patriotism itself doesn't really jibe with modern sensibilities. Our grandkids will probably shake their heads at the very notion of an anthem as mindless jingoism. Once you come to believe the past is an era of unrelenting ignorance and folly, it's inevitable these historical relics are abandoned.

[habernac]

My kids sing it in class every morning.

[Mister Yamoto]

Change sons to suns. That is what I used to think it was anyways.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I expect the references to God will soon be removed. And eventually, no doubt, the term 'stand on guard' will be deemed too martial. Probably replaced with something like "pledge our hearts to thee."

"Strong and free" and "true patriot love" are too American, so those lines have to go too.


Ultimately, this is a pointless change and a waste of time. It's the government equivalent of surfing CP at work, really. Meh.

[Atodaso]

If people can get this worked up about changing a term focusing on gender, I can only imagine all the religious folk crying foul when any references to God gets removed.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

https://www.change.org/p/paul-ryan-c...-black-sabbath

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Hey Justin, get the #### to work.

Extend and delay review for major economy projects, begin working hard on lyrics to anthem.

Awesome.

How dare they try to pass a bill before the author is unable to attend Parliament due to his rapid onset ALS? The nerve of some people...