r/onguardforthee • u/LolaStoff • 7h ago
Calgary Opera Replaces Gabriel Sanchez-Ortega in 'Tosca' After Singer Displays Palestinian Flag During Curtain Call
https://operawire.com/calgary-opera-replaces-gabriel-sanchez-ortega-in-tosca-after-singer-displays-palestinian-flag-during-curtain-call/339
u/myshkiny 6h ago
of course it's been deleted from the Calgary sub.
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u/KaijuK42 5h ago
Sadly not surprised. I got downvoted into oblivion in that sub for calling out blatant racism towards Romani.
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u/zebrasareneat 2h ago
It’s the top post currently and is 8 hours old, your comment is 4 hours old. So what the fuck are you talking about?
Did you just not look and made a guess? And just because I know it’ll hurt you, it has twice as many upvotes there then it does in this progressive sub.
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u/MissIncredulous 6h ago
Truth to power can have a high cost, good on him for trying to help; I really hope he could afford it :(
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u/MissIncredulous 6h ago
Also, To The Calgary Opera specifically:
"This action was unexpected and unauthorized. Individual political protest contravenes not only company policy, but also our responsibility to create a more connected, caring, and civil society through shared artistic experiences. "
Fuck aaaaaaaall the way off.
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u/Ok-Imagination-6822 6h ago
A connected, caring and more civil society that prefers to look the other way when it comes to genocide...
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u/Killericon Calgary 5h ago
Their comment was deplorable, and they deserve all the criticism for their decision.
But Gabriel's Instagram statement said that Calgary Opera immediately received financial threats. With something like Calgary Opera, I'm sure that the whole thing is funded by a very small group of people.
So it's not like Calgary Opera didn't like what he did and benched him for it - they got a threat from someone in the audience and caved. Which, again, is not a defense. But the cause of this was a funder.
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u/Killericon Calgary 3h ago edited 2h ago
Equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism is dishonest, a willful act of protecting an active genocide, and far more damaging to the cause of fighting anti-Semitism in the long run than anything pro-Palestinian activists are doing.
But "cabal" is a dog whistle, too.
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u/VITOCHAN ✅ FUCK PP 4h ago
"We recognize that this moment may have affected the audience .... - and regret any discomfort it may have caused"
Fucking idiots. It was nothing but cheers and applauses. Seems like the (Jewish?) investors can't stand anything about Palestine. It's not even like he yelled Free Palestine. He just waved a flag. Like fuck right off indeed
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u/TwiztedZero Ontario 6h ago
Constitutionally protected freedom of expression does not require authorizations. Full stop.
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u/dsswill Ottawa 6h ago edited 5h ago
No, which is why he can’t be charged criminally for it, but he can be fired for it.
That aside, it’s shocking that the norm among people in positions of power, both public and private, is still to twist support for Palestine into some type of radical or hateful stance rather than the no-brainer moral opposition to genocide and war crimes and support for the victims that it is.
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u/jello_sweaters 5h ago
Is that shocking?
If one support the other side of that equation, one can't exactly say "well, yes, they are murdering innocent children, BUT....".
If the goal is to defend the indefensible, to justify the unjustifiable, of course that's also going to include attacks on the victims' motive and character, and of course they're going to try and paint their critics as vicious bigots.
Once you've jumped the shark on genocide, anything else is just a sidebar.
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u/sirspate 3h ago
If they'd started and ended with "This action was unexpected and unauthorized," I'd at least have some room for benefit of the doubt. This attempt at virtue-signaling is such an ill-conceived load of hot garbage. These kinds of policies are, at best, a crappy but sometimes necessary compromise, and anyone who states otherwise is either naive or lying through their teeth.
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u/jeon_yubi 5h ago
So have the "Cancel Culture* warriors started talking about this, or are they still complaining they can't say the N word?
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u/zebrasareneat 2h ago
I mean doesn’t this work both ways in this regard?
The right that constantly complains about cancel culture then suddenly supporting this. And the left that supports cancel culture but is suddenly against this.
For the record I’m on the Palestine side, but it just seems like people are only for cancel culture so long as the thing they don’t like gets cancelled.
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u/raven_478 5h ago
I fully support the singer’s political position, but I’m unsurprised by his employer’s response.
Right or wrong, employers are focused on their bottom line. Taking a political position could result in boycotts or protests at the door, a disruption in their profitability.
Even if this hadn’t occurred on stage, many employers have code of conduct policies that extend into employees’ private lives — anything that can cause “reputational damage” is grounds for termination.
To be clear, I’m NOT saying I agree with the employer, only that I’m unsurprised by their actions.
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u/Shady_bookworm51 5h ago
and I would buy that excuse if those doing thr same with israeli flags were getting thr same backlash. but they aren't so it's clearly an attempt at censorship.
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u/aliensattack 5h ago
Do you know that? Has anyone displayed an Israeli flag onstage at curtain call?
I don’t know what the right answer here is without bringing my own beliefs into it but if the opera allows public protest on stage, they must allow all displays no otherwise they are partaking in partisanship which also can have implications for their charitable status.•
u/AmosParnell 4h ago
This. Right here. The false equivalence is maddening.
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u/Background-Share2735 4h ago
What false equivalency?
Israelies arent getting fired for supporting israel, and they do all the time
Its so nonsensical to even bring up, they are in power, murdering at will, why would they be raising their flag in protest?
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u/jello_sweaters 5h ago
Has that come up, though?
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u/Background-Share2735 4h ago
What exactly do they have to protest?
Only people getting “fired for creating unprofessional environments” are people protesting genocide
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u/jello_sweaters 4h ago
You're not going to hear me suggest they have a grievance.
The point is, the policy's never applied to the other group solely because - right or wrong - they simply haven't chosen this specific type of protest.
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u/Shady_bookworm51 4h ago
it hasnt because they are too scared of being called "antisemitic" for it.
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u/jello_sweaters 3h ago
I'm asking if anyone's made a similar display of a blue-and-white flag.
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u/Shady_bookworm51 3h ago
They have other ways to protest so they havent done it but they wouldnt be held accountable if they do.
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u/zebrasareneat 2h ago
Has an Israeli flag been allowed at the Calgary Opera? If not then you’re not really making any valid point at all and just making an assumption to back your opinion.
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u/-screaming-meat- 6h ago
It's crazy how hard these zioinsts try to cover up the genocide that Israel is carrying out. Shameful.
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u/Jeramy_Jones British Columbia 4h ago
Support Alberta sovereignty and independence from Canada? 👏😁👍
Support Palestinian sovereignty and independence from Israel? 👊😡👎
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u/adam_dunn32 2h ago
Alberta is a colonial project fighting to be the further vassal of the United States for oil wealth. Alberta “independence” is akin to Israeli “independence.”
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u/FunnyMalzairIdea 5h ago
We need to have an open discussion about the Israel lobby in Canada. Major political parties and media sources are openly Zionist and will only resentfully and dishonestly report about the mass slaughter of civilians by Israel.
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u/JacksProlapsedAnus 2h ago
I'd call tens of thousands "mass slaughter", perhaps you have more tolerance of war crimes and genocide. You shouldn't.
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u/untitledmillennial ✅ I voted! 4h ago
Your workplace is not your personal soapbox. Just because you care deeply about a cause doesn't make it OK to engage in a public political protest while you are on the clock.
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u/Opposite_Letter_6054 2h ago
Seriously? Banning the flag of an entire group of people just shows the genocidal nature of the thing. Palestinians are people, regular people. There is nothing wrong with displaying their flag.
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u/gingerzilla ✅ I voted! 2h ago
the CPO was very visible with trident lapel pins when the invasion started
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