Re: Rhetoric, JFK And Rex Murphy

It’s urban legend that John Kennedy inadvertently described himself as a jelly doughnut in his address to West Berlin in 1963.

Even though a berliner is a kind of jelly doughnut, Ich bin ein Berliner is still the correct way for someone to say they are a citizen of Berlin.

Similarly, one could say “I am a Canadian” without anyone thinking they have inadvertently described themselves as a brand of beer.

Note: This appeared as a Letter to the Editor in the Globe & Mail.