Quote:
Originally Posted by ToraToraTora
Yeah, Canada is one of the least racist places there is.
However, that doesn't mean racism isnt a problem here. I mean, we had a government that systematically stole first Nations children on very loose grounds in many people on this board's lifetimes, and certainly in our parents lifetimes. And it was worse before then (residential schools, previous Indian acts, voting acts). And still first Nations are overrepresented in just about every negative demographic there is (prison population, HIV infection rates, suicide rates). All of that carries on because of a very strong history of racism. Even our previous immigration policies really only encouraged northern or Western Europeans to settle.
So yeah, Canada is not as racist as a lot of places, but it's still racist. And those things pop out a lot more if youre a visible minority.
I thought about this a lot with the don Cherry thing, about the "you people who come here.". It seems pretty minor compared to a lot of things. But I always find it helps to put on the lens of a half Japanese kid in grade 1 in pincher Creek who goes home at lunch to ask his parents why other kids said they don't want to play with "you people". Or that you aren't a Canadian, even though you, your parents, and 3 of your 4 grandparents were born in Canada.
So anyways, racism exists in canada. It is a big problem. You might not see it, but it exists, and it's ****, especially for the kids.
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Let's also take a moment to reflect and acknowledge that, historically speaking, this is one of the very few times in the entirety of our species when it has been frowned upon to be racist. Truly, the last sixty or so years may be the only time when our societies haven't been viciously segregated.
Racism is a cancer of the human condition that is, at best, only in remission; it never disappears. It's important that none of us skip our chemo, because otherwise, a lot of people die when they don't have to.