The same CBC discussion also talked about the rather rash decision of one of the popular Canadian pop-opera group The Tenors at last night's baseball All-Star Game to change the words of the Canadian national anthem and insert his own version, riffing on the currently toxic phrase "all lives matter".
Remigio Pereira unilaterally changed the lines, "With glowing hearts, we see thee rise, the True North, strong and free" to the rather awkward, "We're all brothers and sisters, all lives matter to the Great", and flashed an "All Lives Matter" placard, much to the discomfiture of the other Tenors.
I'm sure his heart was in the right place, and maybe it seemed like a good idea at the time. He later tweeted, somewhat naively, "I've been so moved lately by the tragic loss of life. I hoped for a positive statement that would bring us ALL together". But, predictably enough, there has been an uproar. "All Lives Matter" is interpreted by many as a deliberate denial of the Black Lives Matter campaign against police brutality against black people. Only a complete political ingénue could have not been aware of that.
The other Tenors quickly distanced themselves from Pereira after this unprecedented doctoring of a national anthem at a major sporting event, calling him a "lone wolf". Pereira, who has always been something of a political maverick and has strong views on what he calls "forced vaccinations" and (possibly) a flat Earth (I kid you not), has apparently not been fired outright, but "won't be performing with The Tenors until further notice". Right...
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