Praise for key players in hijab saga

Re Family offers ‘sincere apologies’ for 11-year-old girl’s false hijab-cutting story,

Jan. 18 I am writing to suggest that, faced with a seemingly credible claim (confirmed by her brother) that a young girl had been accosted twice by a man wielding scissors, all of the parties directly involved acted appropriately and honourably.

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and the police warned the public to be on guard, while politicians denounced the behaviour as despicable and un-Canadian. Had they failed to do so, they would have been rightly vilified.

The parents’ response was more than understandable; it was laudable. Rather than rage, they emphasized their belief that the assault was not representative of mainstream Canadian society.

Having learned the story was false, the police, the TDSB and the politicians expressed relief, but made no attempt to vilify the children.

That, too, was entirely appropriate. The children clearly need to learn from this, but does anyone honestly believe they expected their whopper to land them in front of TV cameras? Meanwhile, the parents have apologized and asked for space to deal with this. They deserve no less.

Predictably, racists used this story as an excuse to vilify a young child and an entire culture; and too many pundits sought to generalize the apparent attack to the whole of Canadian society, then focus exclusively on the despicable backlash of the racist fringe.

Those who sought to use this story as a cudgel against their “enemies” most need, and are least likely, to take a long hard look in mirror.

Those at the centre of this story should be commended. Scott McMeekin, Toronto