Posted on 04/05/2003 3:40:00 PM PST by freeforall
Flags mark couple's war stand
By Ian Gillespie -- Free Press News Columnist
A lot of people don't say what they think. Even now, as people are dying.
Although a pile of scary you-know-what is hitting the fan on the far side of the planet, a lot of Canadians take a "don't ask, don't tell" approach when it comes to voicing opinions about the war in Iraq.
A lot of people don't want to rock the boat. But not here on Admiral Drive. You notice that right away as you drive past the house on the southwest corner of Admiral and Bonaventure. You notice the white picket fence, the backyard slide and the swing set.
But what grabs your eye are the flags -- the red maple leaf and, below it, the red and white stripes and bright white stars of Old Glory.
It's hard to ignore the American flag flapping in this east London suburb. It's even harder to ignore its meaning.
So I knock, the door opens wide and I'm invited to sit down with Brian and Donna Tansy.
Donna grew up in Southwestern Ontario. Brian hails from Indianapolis, Ind., and lives here as a landed immigrant. They met while attending school in Chicago, but have lived in London the last 17 years. They have four sons -- and strong opinions.
They always hoist the Canadian flag up their backyard pole. But for the past two weeks, they've also been flying the Stars and Stripes.
"It's our way of saying, 'Canada, you're not where we are and we're not where you are,' " says Donna.
Donna says she sees a lot of Canadian media coverage of protesters who oppose the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, but not much attention paid to Canadians who support it. "It makes it look like Canada is anti-war. But I don't believe it for a moment."
Back in the early 1980s, Brian served as a sergeant with the U.S. Marines. He was stationed in Quantico, Va., with a team in charge of protecting the helicopters used to ferry then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan.
"America is Canada's closest ally -- always has been for the last century," he says. "And I have the right to show support."
He says I'm the first person to ask about the flags. "The prime minister has taken a stance that doesn't match up with history or public opinion," he says. "I don't think his (Chretien's) opinion is based on the people's opinion."
Brian and Donna say they don't differ from many Canadians. They say they're saddened by the war and their hearts ache for the suffering Iraqi people. But they're not warmongers.
"The people that support the war aren't villains," says Donna. "They're standing up for democracy and freedom. I know freedom costs. It's righteous and good that people want other people to have freedom. God bless America. God bless Canada. God bless freedom."
You may disagree with Brian and Donna Tansy. But unlike the Canadian government -- which has said it opposes Iraqi regime change and refuses to join the war, but at the same time admits Canadian ships are escorting U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf, and that some Canadian exchange troops have been deployed with coalition forces in Iraq and that, in the words of Deputy Prime Minister John Manley, Canada "stands with its friends, even if we cannot engage with them" -- one thing is clear.
Brian and Donna Tansy have taken a stand. And they won't shrink from it.
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