Wheeler's Wheels Off


Dave Wheeler or Wheeler in the Morning was fired today.  He was an early morning DJ in Winnipeg. 

I confess that I never listened to him really other than his show was broadcast on a local station and sometimes it was on as background noise.  I didn't care for him.  

It is always sad when someone loses their job and I wouldn't have wishes this on him, but, I think it is a good thing for the city of Winnipeg that he will no longer be occupying our air waves.  

Apparently, on Monday he made comments on his show about the LGBTQ community that displayed at minimum, a lack of class, and at maximum, were bigoted. What is probably more telling is that after he was suspended, someone reached out to him on facebook messenger for clarification.  He stood by his remarks.  If we suspended already, he should have known that the remarks were offensive and wrong, he should have apologized and not tried to defend himself.  

I never cared for him.  He always appeared stand-offish at hockey games when his role was to engage with us.  The couple of times I listened to his show, his co-hosts would talk and then he would always get the last word.  I guess the show was named after him, but it seemed arrogant and not like a team player.  But, what do I know?  I only heard him a couple of times.  

What offended to me was an interview that he did in MacLean's magazine in 2016.  It was response to another article which identified Winnipeg as being racist to the Aboriginal community.  It pointed out that if you were Aboriginal in Winnipeg, you had a higher chance of being poor, being arrested or incarcerated, and being a victim of violence that other racial groups.  Wheeler was defensive and challenged the statistics indicating that no racism existed in Winnipeg.  The reality is that it is harder for Aboriginals to make it and the system does seem against them.  That issue is long-standing and is incredibly complex.  We have made progress but we still have a long way to go.  It will never be solved if we deny the reality.  We don't enhance the dignity of our founding people's by denying that a problem exists.  

Someone in the communications industry surely must understand this.  But, for whatever reason, Wheeler thought that his employment gave him carte blanche to advance his interests.  As it turns out, his interests do not reflect what is acceptable to his management, and to the City of Winnipeg.  

Tomorrow, and the next day, when Wiunnipegers wake up to the radio, it is nice to know that we may have an opportunity to listen to hope and not hate.  

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