Racism in Canada: White Privilege

It is horrific. I cannot ignore this. We cannot ignore this. I heard someone's comment, "White people have to do something about racism." Whites are either allies or racists. Tolerating racism is racism.

 I grew up in downtown Toronto, with many diverse friends. My white world, with two working parents, was pretty good. I was raised to treat others as I would like to be treated. The kids at school were from various socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnic groups, and religions. This isn't true for all. People in Canada are getting a knee on their neck frequently, The National reports.

Rural people are different, if this is all they know and have no experience with other cultures, values or traditions. It is important to understand White Privilege. We have no idea what racism is about. With all that is going on, we cannot close our eyes. Said one protestor:

"We have to change the way we think, and how we feel about one another."

Our Minister Hussen, MP and lawyer, spoke on camera about the racism he faces. We have many diverse MPs and MPPs. Not all are equal, however.

Many people of colour make complaints about unnecessary, uncalled for traffic stops, for example. Racial profiling. Black men driving their own Mercedes, in their own neighbourhoods, stopped by cops. This is my MPP, who posted this racist comment, since deleted. This is white privilege. Hillier who earns his living (6 digits) on our tax dollars. I cannot close my eyes.

A Twitter buddy reminded me of Hillier's reputation, this from 2009:

"Then there was the Dombrowsky email. As President of the Lanark Landowner's Association (LLA), Hillier emailed a photo of a dead deer with a group of hunters. Under the photo the caption read – Leona. He sent the email to MPP Leona Dombrowsky.  Dombrowsky sat on the email, then released it months later on the eve of an LLA protest in Toronto. Hillier never apologised for sending the email. He only said that it appeared Ms. Dombrowsky did not share his sense of humour."

Some of our Canadian politicians are speaking out. Our PM said this:

"Anti-Black racism exists in Canada and we must do all that we can to end it for good. So as leaders and as allies, we must listen to, learn from, and work with every person who marches and posts and expects more than the status quo."

Jagmeet Singh (leader of the Canadian NDP) said, "When you see someone that looks like you being killed like that it makes you feel like you have no worth and no value. It makes you angry."

RACISM. It exists in Canada. We must hear and bear witness to their stories.

If you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the problem. We need to look for the allies. Many are marching and protesting peacefully. Vancouver, Ottawa, Kingston, Moncton, Halifax, and other Canadian cities. 

Ahmed Ali

@MrAhmednurAli

·

9h

It's a privilege to learn about racism instead of experiencing it your whole life.

I found this online. 

Consider the following graphic, developed by Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence (2005) and adapted by Ellen Tuzzolo (2016):

Gates-Crowley saga

There is no question that there is prejudice in historically troubled relationships between the authorities and visible minorities. President Obama intervened, and called the event 'stupid', when a friend of his was arrested for breaking into his own home. His friend, black, was arrested after being confronted by police. He subsequently proved it was his home, but words ensued. I can imagine how resentful I would be! A white cop and a black man, a prominent scholar of African American studies at Harvard University, who would be aware of all the red-necked bigots who have done physical or emotional harm to people over the years.

One writer published:

Although race was what caught President Obama's attention, the confrontation between a Black Harvard professor and a White Cambridge police officer is not about race at all.
It is about citizens' rights. When you look past the argument over race, you can see that a homeowner's rights were trampled on by the investigating and then arresting officer.

There is no question that racial profiling continues in this day and age, despite efforts to educate those with power. I hope that this necessity will stop, as we create a more diverse body of police forces. Only as we learn more about one another will we truly be free. As Hanaia said,

Historically, only Black people who are, in principle, stopped in expensive cars are asked "Is this your car?"

Somewhere else I read: "I refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. " Instead of defending the police officer, the authorities need to understand that it is only in talking about these things that we will improve society. Police do not have the right to be arrogant. Respect goes both ways.

Racial profiling in Canada: challenging the myth of'a ... - Tator
Protecting Equality in the Face of Terror: Ethnic and ... - Choudhry
Stories in the time of cholera: Racial profiling during ... - Briggs

The Ontario Human Rights Commission, as quoted in a CBC article, took a broader approach, defining it as

"any action undertaken for reasons of safety, security or public protection that relies on stereotypes about race, colour, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, or place of origin rather than on reasonable suspicion, to single out an individual for greater scrutiny or different treatment."

The OHRC gives some non-police-related examples of what it considers racial profiling:

• School officials suspend a Latino child for violating the school's zero tolerance policy while a white child's behaviour is excused as being normal child's play.
• An employer insists on stricter security clearance for a Muslim employee after the Sept. 11 attacks.
• A bar refuses to serve aboriginal customers because of a belief they will get drunk and rowdy

A study of police statistics in Kingston, Ont., (May 2005) found

• that young black and aboriginal men were more likely to be stopped
• that police in the predominantly white city were 3.7 times more likely to stop a black as a Caucasian,
  
• and 1.4 times more likely to stop an aboriginal person than a white.

I have a dream...
"- they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character."
--Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C., August 28, 1963.