Jan.7, 2004

By Alex J.Walling

As kids we are told usually by our parents to ‘stand up for what we believe in’, to ‘stand up and fight if need be for our rights’, and other fine sayings.

I’m sure some, if not all of us, have at times fought for a cause, a belief or something of value to us.

If our sons and daughters fight for a strong belief I’d like to believe that most of us would admire and be proud of them.

So why are some people begrudging what Kirk Johnson did?

Having been out of the province for nearly a week during the Holidays I came back to start reading, mostly in the letters to the editor in the Daily News, how some are not disappointed but livid that Kirk Johnson was named person of the year by the Halifax paper.

Why the rancor?

Why the bitterness?

Why the animosity?

And let’s ask the question and that is….is this furor because Kirk Johnson is black?

One acid letter writer says ‘no one has done less to deserve the honor’. Another felt that teenage hockey sensation Sidney Crosby would be a more appropriate winner, or even Halifax mayor Peter Kelly.

Let’s look at this a little more closely.

Sidney Crosby? Yes, the kid is good, very good and may in 10 years time be the best in the NHL. Nothing is a given as he could suffer a major injury or a series of injuries (concussions) such as Eric Lindros who 10 years ago was given the same treatment, or close to it, as Crosby.

Crosby’s skill is putting a puck in the net. Maybe that deserves consideration for ‘Sportsperson of the Year’ but not more.

As for Peter Kelly he was terrific during Hurricane Juan but then I’d like to believe that the citizens of the city expect strong leadership from its main civic politician during a crisis. For his leadership Kelly will get a big bonus as he will walk back nearly unopposed to another term as mayor of this city.

As for Kirk Johnson let’s separate the man and the boxer. What he did or didn’t do in the ring in recent times has NOTHING to do with his fight.

Five years.

Not days, minutes, months or hours but year in and year out he pursued something he believed in.

Most of us may have thought of starting an action against a perceived wrong doer but the great majority would have given up or let the matter die after a year or two.

Not Johnson.

Year one, two, three and four come and go and he is still at it.

Then he travels to the hearing spot. We’re not talking from Dartmouth to Halifax but from Texas to Halifax and he did that several times.

Right or wrong Kirk Johnson believed in what he was fighting for and as painful as it is for some bigots and racist to accept Kirk Johnson was right.

Says who?

The Human Right commission and they, in the end, are the ones that count.

Kirk Johnson fought for what he believed in and in the end won. Had a white man won a similar case something tells me the acid writers would be silent.

Kirk Johnson may or may not be your candidate for person of the year but to me he is surely in contention and I cannot think of someone else who has fought more for a cause (self respect) than anyone else.