Heaven forbid if you're a well-known person and have an opinion on the issues of the day.
If you're Miley Cyrus and you think the B.C. wolf cull is wrong and you say so and encourage your social media followers to say so, Premier Christy Clark believes you should stick to twerking. Lord only knows what Clark thinks Pamela Anderson should stick to for sharing the same opinion.
The premier isn't a biologist but a study has been done to support killing wolves to help protect vulnerable mountain caribou populations so she's backing the study.
The problem is wildlife biologists are divided over the effectiveness and ethics of culling animal populations as an environmental management practice. A single study commissioned by the province is neither the first nor final word on this subject.
Clark is dismissing the criticisms of Cyrus and Anderson for the sole reason that these women are entertainers and therefore they can't possibly know what they're talking about.
At best, Clark is saying "mind your own business" to anyone from outside B.C. who disagrees with the cull. Pretty safe to say she wouldn't have appreciated the same treatment in return if Stephen Harper, Tom Mulcair and Justin Trudeau had collectively told her to mind her own business regarding Syrian refugees, since that is a federal, not a provincial matter.
Clark's reaction is the typical hostile response and personal attack towards athletes, entertainers or most others in the public eye with the gall to speak out.
Wayne Gretzky is universally revered in Canada for his incredible hockey career, his continued ambassadorial work for the game at all levels and his support of various children's causes through his personal charitable foundation.
Yet when he appeared at a public event Friday, backing Stephen Harper and the Conservatives in the upcoming election, the condemnation was swift. The Great One was suddenly a jerk who doesn't even live in Canada, is ineligible to vote, who took too many shots to the head during his playing days and who has moved from playing centre to being a right winger.
Get it? Right winger? LOL.
Gretzky is entitled to his political opinion and Canadians are entitled to disagree with his opinion but some feel the need to bash the man and his hockey career at the same time.
The reason Clark got so huffy about Miley Cyrus and Pamela Anderson is the same reason Conservative and Harper opponents were so bent out of shape about Gretzky praising Harper.
Celebrity endorsements work.
Everyone says they aren't susceptible to campaign signs, to negative campaigning and to celebrity endorsements but they do have an impact, providing a stiff breeze to nudge undecided voters a certain direction.
They may not have liked Harper or the Conservatives much before but Gretzky says he's a good guy, that's enough for some people to have a second look. It goes deeper than that. Most animals, including primates, imitate the behaviour of the leaders of the herd and humans are no different. We're biologically hardwired to pay attention when the people at the top of the social ladder act a certain way, dress in a certain style or hold a certain opinion.
That's why celebrity news magazines and TV shows are so popular.
It also explains why the reaction is so strong when well-known personalities take stands that people disagree with. Clark knows that Cyrus and Anderson have the standing to turn many people against the wolf cull. Opponents of Harper and the Conservatives know Gretzky's support has the potential to sway many voters.
Public personalities should be praised, however, not discouraged, for sharing their views, regardless of their position (with one exception: Jim Carrey's stance against childhood vaccinations is not just wrong, it's dangerous).
Clark should have thanked Cyrus for sparking a public conservation about challenging ecological management issues.
Gretzky's endorsement will encourage people who had no interest in the election to become informed and maybe even vote.
Those are both positives.
No need to delete Wrecking Ball from the iPod and no reason to throw out the Oilers
memorabilia.
-- Managing editor Neil Godbout
