Ever since the fracas over The Junos and Randy Bachman erupted this week, everybody has been asking me the same questions: What are the Juno people thinking? How could they be so insensitive to Winnipeg? Don't they get it?

Well, in a word, no. They don't get it. I honestly think that's the problem. It's not that they intended to insult us the way they clearly have. It's that they just don't understand.

They don't understand Winnipeg. They don't understand Winnipeggers. And they sure don't understand why Winnipeggers are so upset about the fact that Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings haven't already been invited to play at the Juno Awards ceremony.

(Don't let the Juno organizers or their various PR and media shills confuse the issue by arguing that Randy will surely attend the event. This isn't about whether he's gonna be there or not; it's about the fact that he wasn't included in the show from the very first.)

So, why are Winnipeggers so ticked about this -- and so loyal to Randy and Burton? It's simple, really. It's because Randy and Burton are loyal to Winnipeg. Unlike a lot of artists who flee our city at the first sign of success and are never heard from again, these guys have stuck around. Cummings maintains a home here and has invested in this city. Sure, Randy lives in B.C. but he visits and performs here regularly and constantly champions our city.

Clearly, these guys are both proud to be from Winnipeg. And that's why Winnipeggers are fiercely proud of them.

Don't get me wrong. Winnipeg is proud of Neil Young, too. But our relationship with him is different. He's like some distant cousin who drops in every now and then -- and while you're always glad to see him, you don't really have much in common with him anymore.

But Burton and Randy? They're still a presence in our community. They're like family. And neglecting to invite them to play at the Junos right off the bat -- especially after using Randy to woo Young -- is like throwing a party at our house and telling us and our friends to stay in our room and be quiet.

But here's the dumbest part: The Juno organizers could end all this hoohah right now. All they have to do is invite Randy. They could even save face by saying it was the plan all along. Then everybody wins. The Juno folks look like they're listening to Winnipeggers. Randy gets his due. His fans feel satisfied. Junogate ends. And we can all go back to looking forward to Juno Week.

Instead, they've decided to keep doing more of what obviously doesn't work: Circling the wagons, blaming the media, offending their hosts and issuing hollow PR statements about how they're trying to build "excitement."

Well, if cementing the belief that Juno organizers are arrogant and thoughtless is the kind of excitement they're after, mission accomplished.

Though you gotta wonder: What are they thinking?