Apology Unaccepted, Mr Gutfeld

When I got an email the other day from Bill Graham – not the former Canadian Defense Minister Bill Graham, but one at the Canadian Forces Base in Edmonton – asking “can anything be done?” about “comedian” Greg Gutfeld’s witticism on Fox News about the Canadian military, I didn’t know what he was talking about.

I’d never heard of Gutfeld, much less been exposed to him on TV.

But Graham’s outrage was infectious: “We have four of our lads coming in today who have given the ultimate sacrifice, and this pea brain says things like that.”

Well, I’ve since seen the segment that got not only Bill Graham upset, but the whole country. In yesterday’s Toronto Sun, Joe Warmington more or less took the guy apart, while in an editorial Lorrie Goldstein administered the coup de grace by spelling out the difference between a political satirist “and being an ignorant little twerp.”

Gutfeld holds forth on Fox News’ Red Eye talk show at 3 a.m. – which I suspect is as close as he’ll ever get to prime time.

Frankly, I was more disgusted at Gutfeld’s three ignorant guests than I was at him. Their ignorance verged on pathological, matched only by their smugness.

One thing we Canadians should realize when comedians sound off about us: Their goal is to cause a reaction, to provoke outrage.

It’s not about being funny or witty, it’s about being noticed. Wit without an audience is a waste. Again – it’s not the humour but the attention it gets. And on this occasion, Gutfeld got attention.

Invariably when a fuss is raised, bad-taste comedians apologize as Gutfeld has done, claiming he was “misunderstood” and meant no disrespect to “the brave men and women and families of the Canadian military.”

Politicians do the same thing – as President Barack Obama had to do when he inadvertently compared his bowling skills to Special Olympics, thereby offending a considerable portion of Americans. The difference is that his gaffe wasn’t scripted or intended to hurt.

What was disappointing in the Gutfeld show was unawareness of the panelists of Canada’s role in Afghanistan – and especially one guy who didn’t know our soldiers were even in Afghanistan, much less fighting there.

“I didn’t even know that Canada was in the war. I thought that’s where you go if you don’t want to fight it,” said this guy, in response to Gutfeld’s remark that Canada is “a ridiculous country without an army.”

Sadly, that’s par for American knowledge of us.

Then there are Americans like retired Col. Austin Bay, military analyst for the Washington Times who says, man-for-man, Canadian soldiers are the best in the world. (“I have yet to meet or serve with a Canadian soldier who failed to impress me with his professionalism and discipline.”)

On YouTube.com, Greg Gutfeld’s programs usually get 2,000 hits. His slamming of the Canadian military had 27,000 hits – not much for YouTube, but more than Gutfeld usually gets.

Fox News, which boasts it is “fair and balanced,” can’t be pleased with Gutfeld’s impact, but for certain he is. He’s got a whole country indignant at him. We’ve taken the bait, even though he didn’t mean his Red Eye show as “bait.” We are paying attention to him – perhaps for the first time in his career. That’s success. For the moment.

By mocking our soldiers, Gutfeld is also mocking American soldiers who, in Afghanistan, are very aware of the quality of their Canadian allies.

Anyway who cares what a 3 a.m. talk show host says – even if he knew what he’s talking about.