Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
Ujjal Dosanjh was the 33rd premier of British Columbia. I'm curious to know why you think that Canadians are more discriminating of skin colour than Americans?
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He was not elected by the people, and promptly lost the next election. A better example would be Joe and Robert Ghiz in PEI.
I don't think Canadians are more discriminating of race than Americans. I don't even think it's a conscious process, I just think there is a sense among many Canadians that there is a dividing line between Canadians of European descent and Canadians of African, Asian, Arab, and South American descent. That this line divides along distinct and hard to reconcile cultural differences and worldviews. I think we overestimate the number of Canadians who see Canada as truly multicultural.
I think among most people I've met it is seen as a nation based in European cultural traditions which has then brought in, but not truly incorporated, certain other cultural groups and traditions. That the ultimate basis of Canada and its character and identity is based in cultural whiteness. I think the issue is more perception of culture than a principled stance against people who are not white. I do not think, for example, that it's too unlikely that a multi-generational Lebanese Christian Canadian could become a party leader. I doubt that someone who wears a keffiyeh could. Similarly, I think a Jew could be a party leader in Canada in the near future, but I doubt that they could if they were, say, an Orthodox, blatantly ethnic Mizrahi Jew rather than a garden variety Calgarian Ashkenazi Jew. Like I said, I think this is not even a very conscious process for many. It has to do with the basic human trust of the familiar vs. the unfamiliar. Forget politics and look at our tv ads and the ethnic makeup. There are only a handful of ads I can recall where people of colour are the sort of 'core' of the ad, the people you're supposed to connect with. They're frequently on the other side of the desk at a bank or something. It's not hatefully racist or anything, it's just what the reality is at the moment.