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Pass me my cluestick, good sir.
Apr. 2nd, 2008 03:02 pmStatsCan has released some census data today: notably, that 1 in 6 Canadians is a visible minority and in Toronto, that's actually half of everybody. To which I said, well, cool, because I started attending school in the mid-late eighties and am thus a member of the generation raised by hippies.
(No, seriously. All the people who honestly believed in peace, love, and understanding, not to mention Pierre Elliott Trudeau's Just Society, multiculturalism, and all the things we trumpet as quintessentially Canadian? They went into teaching.)
If you read the comments on that first news story though, you'll see pretty quickly that my reaction isn't really the standard one there:
Or we have:
Y'know, I do realize that I live in a bubble and it's partially self-constructed. My world is that of an urban centre where 50% of the people in town aren't white -- or hell, more. They were only counting visible minorities. I'm an invisible minority myself and have learned to play that to my advantage. I've chosen my friends and acquaintances partially based on agreements of politics. I live in the (very nice) gaybourhood. This is like a nesting-doll set of insulation from what might be going on in other parts of the country and the world. It's a very safe place to be.
But.
What the fuck are these people doing in my country?
And really, that's the root of the problem. They have the right to their opinion same as me, but only one side of the equation seems to be getting that this road goes both ways. It's my country too, guys. And my Chinese downstairs neighbours' country. And the girls in headscarves at school, it's theirs too. Those people who don't look like you in the apartment three doors down? They're not strange animals or personal threats. They're your neighbours. They're Canadians.
Some of us recognize that, and some of us apparently don't.
Day 0257203957230535. Still no Just Society.
(No, seriously. All the people who honestly believed in peace, love, and understanding, not to mention Pierre Elliott Trudeau's Just Society, multiculturalism, and all the things we trumpet as quintessentially Canadian? They went into teaching.)
If you read the comments on that first news story though, you'll see pretty quickly that my reaction isn't really the standard one there:
You answered a lot of questions my friend, what would 5 MILLION immigrants do if all hell broke out and a war started on CANADIAN SOIL
I guess the first weapon I would grab would be a "phone book'
My second weapon I would grab?. the " Koran" and a bottle of shoe polish !
Or we have:
I've actively sought to upgrade my skills through education. I contribute to the community. However, I am a straight white male. That puts me at a disadvantage in this nation.
There is no chance I will be considered for any job of merit that contains a diversity or equity notice.
How is that fair?
We are indoctrinated with diversity politics from birth - and although I do honestly believe all are created equal - discrimination exists in Canadian urban centres - if you are a white man you are going to be passed over for a job.
Y'know, I do realize that I live in a bubble and it's partially self-constructed. My world is that of an urban centre where 50% of the people in town aren't white -- or hell, more. They were only counting visible minorities. I'm an invisible minority myself and have learned to play that to my advantage. I've chosen my friends and acquaintances partially based on agreements of politics. I live in the (very nice) gaybourhood. This is like a nesting-doll set of insulation from what might be going on in other parts of the country and the world. It's a very safe place to be.
But.
What the fuck are these people doing in my country?
And really, that's the root of the problem. They have the right to their opinion same as me, but only one side of the equation seems to be getting that this road goes both ways. It's my country too, guys. And my Chinese downstairs neighbours' country. And the girls in headscarves at school, it's theirs too. Those people who don't look like you in the apartment three doors down? They're not strange animals or personal threats. They're your neighbours. They're Canadians.
Some of us recognize that, and some of us apparently don't.
Day 0257203957230535. Still no Just Society.
