The picture of the Parkside Demolition Derby auction car done up as General Lee was tweeted by Premier Scott Moe. The use of the confederate flag on the roof, as per the original in the famous TV series Dukes of Hazard drew criticism and prompted the CMHA to distance itself from the vehicle. (Twitter/Scott Moe)

By Glenn Hicks

fundraising faux pas

Parkside Demolition Derby in car controversy

Jul 24, 2019 | 8:00 AM

There’s controversy in the build-up to Saturday’s annual Parkside Community Club demolition derby.

There has been online criticism of the use of a confederate flag on the roof of the auction car. The club has rejected the criticism as ‘ridiculous’ and insists it had no intention of offending anyone. Social media reaction to a Twitter post from Premier Scott Moe prompted the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) to distance itself from the use of the flag.

This year’s car – which like past years will be auctioned off to the highest bidder and then taken for a spin before the main demolition derby – is a copy of the “General Lee” of Dukes of Hazard TV and movie fame. The auction cars are deliberately provocative and over-the-top according to the organizers. When Premier Moe tweeted a picture of the car and promoted the highly successful annual event in his Rosthern-Shellbrook riding there was a backlash from some who criticized Moe’s support for the effort and branded the flag as racist and offensive.

The community club had decided to make the CMHA a beneficiary of this year’s fundraiser and wrote that on the car’s trunk. But the CMHA said they were never approached about the way the car would look and they were forced to respond to the Twitter concerns and denounce the use of the flag.

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“We certainly would have expressed concerns had we known our name was going to be put on the car with a confederate flag,” executive director of the CMHA’s Saskatchewan division Phyllis O’Connor told paNOW. “That does not reflect the values of CMHA. We are an inclusive organization, we work a lot within advocacy around mental health and human rights and we certainly would never be associated with a hate symbol like the confederate flag. We wouldn’t do it.”

While O’Connor wanted to make clear her objection to the use of the flag, she stressed her extreme appreciation for the community groups who do so much to raise funds.

“You know, there was absolutely no malice involved; they were trying to do a good thing,” she said. “Folks from my generation remember that show and used to love that show, but the world has moved on.”

She said the Parkside Community Club had come at this effort from a good place but “it just kind of went a little sideways with the choice [of the flag].”

O’Connor said she didn’t speak to the organizers yet about the possibility of perhaps removing the CMHA name from the vehicle.

Organizers saddened by criticism

Speaking to paNOW, Parkside Community Club spokesman Kerry Peterson said they were saddened a small group of people could make complaints on social media. He said the group efforts of a community of just a hundred people raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for projects for 38 years.

“Usually groups are pretty happy when we raise money for them and I think CMHA were caught by surprise by all this and of course they’re not looking to offend anybody just like the Parkside Community Club isn’t,” Peterson said.

He added that for a few people to pick out the flag and say it offends them and suggest the community is a bad group was “ridiculous,” and he hoped they would not have to re-paint the vehicle.

“I don’t know where that would stop. Every year someone is going to complain and you’re going to offend somebody,” he said.

While the controversy was unexpected, Peterson suggested perhaps it could somehow lead to even bigger success for the event Saturday afternoon.

“The auction cars have raised $5,000 to $6,000 in recent years so anyone who feels strongly about [the flag] I’ll invite them to come buy it at 1 p.m. I’ll buy a can of paint and they can change whatever they want to change on it. If they do feel strongly enough we can raise some money and we all win,” he said.

paNOW reached out to Premier Moe’s office for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Registration for the demolition derby is from 10 a.m. and costs $100. Barrel races go from 1 p.m. and the main event is at 3 p.m. There are a total of $9,000 worth in prizes. There’s also a dance with live music Saturday night.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow