I find this discussion or topic to be quite interesting, I am a little confused about the "Muslim" term – I think of it as a word equal to or along the same lines of Christian or Buddhist; it describes persons subscribing to a specific religion and not a racial description. It seems though in these videos and in other media that the word Muslim is more about describing East Indian people (obviously from many different countries but I’m fuzzy on if there is multiple races mixed into that grouping)... for example when they talk about a certain % of a population being Muslim my interpretation is that they are not saying they did a religious survey and that’s how many people responded with “I’m of Muslim faith” but rather a breakdown of racial background. If that’s the case then is it not entirely possible that when they say that one third of a countries population is Muslim, they may be misrepresenting the actual amount of practicing Muslim’s... it would certainly not hold true that if they put the % of white people in a population down as a number that it would automatically equal the amount of Christians in that population... is it assumed that if your East Indian that your Muslim…
I would be curious to hear how other Cp’ers interpret the “Muslim” term, what it means to them when they read it or hear it.
Steyn is clearly right on this one, but geez, what a windbag.
"This is the biggest issue of our time!" What is? Frivolous legal action?
He's taking the action of a few sensitive busybodies and trying to turn it into some giant conspiracy to take away our freedom of speech. I mean come on, he already won. Point proved. Move on.
Has anyone read the Macleans article in question? I did. It was pretty interesting but ultimately a shoddy piece of journalism. The guy just can't stay away from conjecture.
being a self-professed conservative must be totally exhausting.
__________________
The great CP is in dire need of prunes!
"That's because the productive part of society is adverse to giving up all their wealth so you libs can conduct your social experiments. Experience tells us your a bunch of snake oil salesman...Sucks to be you." ~Calgaryborn 12/06/09 keeping it really stupid!
Steyn is clearly right on this one, but geez, what a windbag.
"This is the biggest issue of our time!" What is? Frivolous legal action?
He's taking the action of a few sensitive busybodies and trying to turn it into some giant conspiracy to take away our freedom of speech. I mean come on, he already won. Point proved. Move on.
Talk about missing the point.
Umm...the greatest issue of our time...that was the point of the native Europe population basically disappearing and needing the influx of foreignors to sustain themselves.
Umm...the greatest issue of our time...that was the point of the native Europe population basically disappearing and needing the influx of foreignors to sustain themselves.
Host: Tell us about your background
long haired girl: I'm Pakistani Muslim
Host: Where were your born
LHG: I was born in Canada
Sorry, Pet peeve of mine no matter where they are from.
I'm not re-watching the clip so I don't know if I'm misunderstanding your transcription, but why would this bother you?
He asked her background, she responded with precisely that. He didn't ask her what she identifies herself as or what her nationality is... did he?
I'd be surprised if most Canadians don't identify their background as per their non-Canadian ancestors. Doesn't make them any less patriotic or committed to Canada.
__________________
The great CP is in dire need of prunes!
"That's because the productive part of society is adverse to giving up all their wealth so you libs can conduct your social experiments. Experience tells us your a bunch of snake oil salesman...Sucks to be you." ~Calgaryborn 12/06/09 keeping it really stupid!
I'm not re-watching the clip so I don't know if I'm misunderstanding your transcription, but why would this bother you?
He asked her background, she responded with precisely that. He didn't ask her what she identifies herself as or what her nationality is... did he?
I'd be surprised if most Canadians don't identify their background as per their non-Canadian ancestors. Doesn't make them any less patriotic or committed to Canada.
You're right.
I know I don't identify my background as Canadian, mostly because I can trace my background directly from living relatives. I'm a clearly definable half-breed Italian. I don't consider Canadian to be a cultural background or ethnicity, its a nationality.
The only people I know who state their background as Canadian tend to be people with so many cultural backgrounds, they can't even keep it straight... the ones who are 1/8 French, 1/8 English on both sides, 1/4 Welsh, 1/16 Cherokee twice removed, etc.
I know I don't identify my background as Canadian, mostly because I can trace my background directly from living relatives. I'm a clearly definable half-breed Italian. I don't consider Canadian to be a cultural background or ethnicity, its a nationality.
The only people I know who state their background as Canadian tend to be people with so many cultural backgrounds, they can't even keep it straight... the ones who are 1/8 French, 1/8 English on both sides, 1/4 Welsh, 1/16 Cherokee twice removed, etc.
I say I'm Canadian primarily because I have 'Upper Canada' Ancestry dating back to the Rebellion days. But then again that's only 1/4 of my ancestry, I'm also 1/4 post-Confederation English, 1/8th Welsh, 1/8th French Canadian (Les Habitants prior to the Plains of Abraham) and 1/4 Ukranian.
In absence of a homogenous founding culture, my family's customs, traditions, and ways of life tend to mirror that of other people of mixed European Heritage commonly found in Canada for more than a handful of generations. Hence Canadian.
Afterall being Italian also can mean being from the northern cities, Sicily, Roman city states, etc. that also have their own distinct nuances to Italian culture. Saying you're Italian can be very similar to me saying I'm Canadian.
good point Cowboy89. I think Canada's historical narrative (not including First Nations people) is such that it's a collection of diverse peoples from elsewhere, as opposed to other nations that have a narrative of a people having always been there. Probably a somewhat artificial distinction...
I define myself as Canadian since I was born here and feel pretty indebted to how great the country is. But in my experience, when people ask you your 'background' they're really asking "you seem different or other, can you define that otherness for me?". Not saying it's always pejorative or even always the case, but 'background', imo, refers to one's presumed ancestral history. Answering in terms of that 'otherness' is usually just giving people what they want to hear, even if you yourself don't ultimately identify with it.
__________________
The great CP is in dire need of prunes!
"That's because the productive part of society is adverse to giving up all their wealth so you libs can conduct your social experiments. Experience tells us your a bunch of snake oil salesman...Sucks to be you." ~Calgaryborn 12/06/09 keeping it really stupid!
good point Cowboy89. I think Canada's historical narrative (not including First Nations people) is such that it's a collection of diverse peoples from elsewhere, as opposed to other nations that have a narrative of a people having always been there. Probably a somewhat artificial distinction...
I define myself as Canadian since I was born here and feel pretty indebted to how great the country is. But in my experience, when people ask you your 'background' they're really asking "you seem different or other, can you define that otherness for me?". Not saying it's always pejorative or even always the case, but 'background', imo, refers to one's presumed ancestral history. Answering in terms of that 'otherness' is usually just giving people what they want to hear, even if you yourself don't ultimately identify with it.
That's also part and parcel of living in a relatively 'new country.' It's kinda like Calgary in a sense where a lot of people are new but in time future generations will forge a new common identity built upon shared experiences. When I'm an old man I don't expect to get drawn out by Green Riders fans at a Stamps game. Much like I don't expect celebrating in Toronto streets after an Italian World Cup victory in a few generations.
I'm Canadian because I'm actually 1/3 Scottish, 1/3 Irish and 1/3 American. I drink, I fight and I conquer. I say Canadian because the Scottish are funny looking, Irish people have poor hygiene, and everybody hates Americans. Kinda like the Dutch.
Anyways, I'm not threatened by the influx of Muslims at all. They're splintered into so many different groups, the only way they're going to take us over is if they can push out the "Natives" (white people in North America) by attrition. By the time that happens we'll have been invaded 3 times over by the Chinese in search of our resources, so really it's not going to matter much.
(I say this as I continue plans on my high alpine fortress.....)
Btw, I recommend listening to Milt Rosenberg in general. He has an extremely fascinating lineup of guests all the time on topics of history, politics, sociliogy, linguistics etc. He is a conservative by nature, but don't let the scare you...he's not Rush Limbaugh.
Mark Steyn; Love him, hate him...listen to him
