Last night we took advantage of the firm’s skybox at Rexall Place to watch the Oilers get soundly trounced by the Minnesota Wild. Not the best hockey I’ve ever watched, and the first time in ten years that I’ve been to a live game. I was quite surprised by the level of ‘commercialization’ at the game: the car and boat that were driven onto the ice between periods; the almost non-stop games and competitions (random draw to move two fans to a position immediately behind the home team bench, trivia, on-ice dash not unlike musical chairs, roulette wheel); the video shots of the crowd; shameless promotion of the souvenir stand. And what I missed most was the organ. They used music clips instead. For me, part of the magic seems to have gone away from the game…

The private box, on the other hand, was a real treat! There was food, booze, and a place where you could close the patio door so that you could carry on a decent conversation. And the conversation was brilliant. Imagine being in the middle of two ex-patriate Serbs arguing about how Canada should maintain the ‘Canadianism of Canada’ through immigration policy development and application. Both gentlemen are Canadian citizens. Both left Yugoslavia as it was beginning to tear itself apart. One of them actually served in the Yugoslav army and (reputedly) was part of one of the last units to withdraw from Sarajevo as the Croats (did I get that right? I still don’t understand Serbs, Croats, Balkans) were rolling in. And they love Canada and what it stands for, and are desperately afraid of that the ‘Balkanization‘ of the country is already underway.

In a nutshell… One gentleman believes that policy development and enforcement is the key. The other gentleman strongly believes that there is something inherent in the mindset of the people who are here, and who come here that provides its own limitations to the fragmentation of Canadian society.

Both gentlemen are concerned about the plan in Toronto (where? None of us are sure!) to create an all Black school… the further ghettoizing of a population. What are those fools in Toronto thinking?!?!? That’s a ‘John Tory’ kind of move… Sure let’s set up religious schools, and racially exclusive schools. How else can we foment ethnic civil war without them? For crying out fucking loud, aren’t the Middle East and the Balkans example enough of what happens? And isn’t it true that most of the immigrants to Canada are trying to get away from that crap?!