(Reddit)

By Troy Gillard

All in good fun, bar owner says

Trudeau piñata in Red Deer sparks online debate

Jul 2, 2019 | 1:19 PM

Some say it’s “Un-Canadian” while others say it’s just harmless fun. Either way, a piñata at a Red Deer bar over the long weekend has become a trending topic on social media.

The large piñata showing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hanging from a rope was part of a Canada Day party at Burgundy’s Food and Stage on Sunday.

A Reddit post titled “Classy Pinata at a Bar in Red Deer” showing a picture of the party feature has since seen nearly 300 comments, most of them negative.

“I literally can’t imagine being so stupid as to think this is both funny and appropriate to do in a bar,” wrote one person.

“Displays the Canadian flag, invites patrons to destroy the (image of the) duly elected leader of Canada. You can’t get any more ignorant and moronic than that,” said another.

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Someone who had no problem with the piñata wrote, “Really guys? It’s harmless fun. Let’s people blow a little steam in one of the cities most affected by Trudeau’s decisions (whether you agree with them or not). They’re not shooting people or rioting or looting. I’d say the same if this was Andrew Scheer or Jason Kenney or any of them. If you don’t like it, don’t participate. Otherwise sit back and have a laugh. Quit letting harmless things offend you. It’s a piñata. Get over it.”

Bar co-owner Robert Newell feels people are overreacting to the piñata but isn’t surprised by the amount of attention it’s getting.

“We’re in the generation of everybody’s got an opinion’ so I knew there’d be some backlash,” he said Tuesday.

“If (Trudeau) came in here today I’d serve him like any other customer. I’m not trying to kill the guy. It’s just that in Red Deer, and Alberta in general, there’s no surprise that a lot of people don’t like the guy. So we filled it (piñata) with stuff he’s taken from us and stuff that he’s promised us – empty promises, cash and candy. It was all fun and games.”

Newell says the rope used to hang the piñata was not meant to represent a noose.

“It was just for structural reasons we had to zip tie it that way,” he explained. “I looked at it and said ‘it looks like we’re hanging the guy’ but if we’d hung it another way, one hit and it would’ve (fallen) on the floor.”

In the end, Newell isn’t losing any sleep over the matter.

“It was all in fun. There’s going to be bad publicity and good publicity. It is what it is.”