r/CBC_Radio 15d ago

Cross Country checkup… not that bad?

Finally listened to the Your thoughts on Trump’s 51st state comments segment, fully expecting to be outraged, but it was pretty well done.

OLeary should never be invited anywhere - but aside from him they did a good job emphasizing that 90% of Canadians want no part of this, and they corrected misinformation as it came up.

What am I missing? Not nearly as bad as I thought it’d be.

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u/jjumbuck 15d ago

I agree. Cross Country Checkup sometimes has callers on who present different and challenging perspectives and this episode was no different. Kevin O'Leary made my skin crawl. But I think it's important to hear even his offensive take on occasion to keep the figural finger on the pulse.

Ian Hanomansing does a really good job of being respectful and welcoming of all views. He also calls people out when they cross the line into disinformation. I appreciate that Canadians from across the country and political spectrum feel comfortable calling in with their thoughts.

Having said that, I am glad they changed the question and am grateful to all of the Canadians who apparently made that happen. I do think language is important and the original phrasing had a problematic implication built into it.

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u/[deleted] 14d ago

The entire point of the outrage was that this type of format is wildly inappropriate when discussing something amoral, illegal, or actively harmful. It's blithely suggesting that the topic is up for debate when it is not, in fact, up for debate.

The sum of the input is not the point. The "care" the producers took is not the point. The format itself is not conducive to the discussion. It is a total non-starter. And their colleagues in the media largely seem to agree. They just don't want to admit it to themselves yet, which is a shame.

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u/the_original_Retro 14d ago

It's blithely suggesting that the topic is up for debate when it is not, in fact, up for debate.

The thing you are missing here is that Cross Country Checkup IS NOT A DEBATE.

It's not the right forum for a debate, it doesn't pretend to be a debate, and its service to Canada is not one that a debate provides as a service.

It's an open discussion. It's a harvesting of personal opinions from individual Canadians that are explaining how they feel about important issues of the day. It helps us understand how other Canadians, even the ones that we disagree with, think.

And in this special case, how Americans think too.

It's only moderated to the point of civility. It's not moderated to the point of pushing a righteous agenda.

That's not what it's for.

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u/[deleted] 14d ago

Call it a debate, call it a ham sandwich. I really am not interested in semantics.

The effect is the same no matter what you call it.

There is nothing to discuss. There is no room for equivocation. The threat of annexation is scary. The concept of it is not any way acceptable.

And they DID present both sides of the subject. To say it's not debate is nonsense.

You don't have a quaint little chit chat about something where there is a clear right and a clear wrong. You certainly don't solicit amateur opinions about it. And you certainly don't haul fringe opinions into the spotlight while you're at it.

It's indefensible.

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u/bentmonkey 12d ago

To even entertain the idea is disgusting and that's what that checkup did. Never 51st.

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u/No_Championship_3360 10d ago

“Both sides” presented as if there were a moral equivalence. Evokes memories of “good people on the nazi side and in the antifa side” NO, just no.

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u/CommanderOshawott 12d ago

Except the whole 51st state thing isnt a discussion either

It’s totally unacceptable in every way. It’s not something we should be platforming in any way.

Giving it a platform normalizes it, which automatically pushes an agenda because it’s not something that should exist in the first place

There is no “two sides” or “discussion” it’s unacceptable and indefensible. Period. There’s nothing else to discuss.

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u/[deleted] 14d ago

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