Pointing the Finger of Racism

Vincent J. Curtis


20 March 2014

E.M. is a columnist for my hometown newspaper who has made a living accusing others of racism.  That, I could live with if there was some substance to her charges.  But she has gotten lazy.  In addition, she has failed to recognize the tremendous strides we have made in Canada to put an end to racism.  Perfection is the enemy of the good, and after a while the demand for perfection begins to work against the accomplishment of the good.

She also fails to recognize real racism that exists in Canada officially and by preference, namely the treatment of Aboriginal people and specifically the Indian Act.  It would not be politically correct for her, however, to call for the abolition of special treatment for Indians.  And, if she recognizes it at all, she doesn't.

What is also a little annoying is that E.M. does not seem to be a native born Canadian, but an immigrant from another country.  So here we have a immigrant telling us native borns what is wrong with our country.  Academically, I can accept this if the argument is sincere and well-put.  I don't sense genuine sincerity in the criticisms of E.M. and her arguments are not well put.  If Canada were all that bad, why did she immigrate here, and why is she staying here?

Thus a response to an opinion piece in my hometown newspaper.

E. M. needs to understand that when she points an accusing finger of racism at someone, three fingers point accusingly back at her.

 

Without investigating the facts herself, on the basis of hearsay she accuses citizens of the town of Morris, Manitoba, of racism and homophobia.

 

She complains about the near invisible existence of “systemic racism” in Canada.  But the word “systemic” means “of the system,” and of the system would mean the existence of Jim Crow laws in Canada, or certain covenants that once existed in property deeds.  She couldn’t identify a single one.  But here’s one: The Indian Act.

 

She complains about “cultural assumptions about the dominant group are the norm” and these “regularly and systematically advantage some ethnic and cultural groups and disadvantages and marginalizes others.”

 

Here’s a news flash: anywhere you go in the world, there are going to be assumptions about culture and norms, and the people who were born into that ethnic group and that culture will have the inside track over someone who was not born into that culture and that ethnic group.  Try living in Japan.  Having norms and assumptions about some things is how a society organizes itself so that it can function.  If Ms. M. were to live in Africa or Asia, she would find simply another set of cultural norms and assumptions, most of which are far more hostile to her point of view than she finds in this wretched country.

 

In my view, racial hatred is not ended but provoked by false accusations and by demanding impossible standards be met.  How about accepting some of these cultural assumptions and norms of Canada?  How about trying to fit in?  That would certainly help end suspicion and distrust, at least in this country.

 

The perfect is the enemy of the good.  If Jamaica was all that wonderful a place to begin with, T. M. would never have risked going to Morris, Manitoba, in the first place.

 

If Canada is not good enough, try Russia.

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