Multiculturalism in Canada
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No one ever complains about "too much variety" at a buffet, botanical garden or art gallery. Double standard!! Are you one of those people who say "All Lives Matter"? :rolleyes: |
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You're ignoring the access you have to the cultures of disability* while downplaying the power dynamics that shape intercultural (i.e. inter-ethnocultural) exchange and the limits on your abilities to participate in a different (ethnic) culture. You can learn ASL just as well as you can Urdu; you can use it (and are encouraged to use it) to interact with staff at a restaurant just a few blocks away from where I'm now sitting. You can visit a braille library. You can attend a piano recital of music composed by those with one functional hand played by those with one functional hand. Conversely, there's only so far you can go in your participation in Pakistani culture: The dynamics of your proposed two-way cultural exchange are mediated by centuries of colonialism and racism and by the shape of globalization. *This phrase seems imprecise, inaccurate and even condescending, but a better term is proving elusive. |
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I actually believe that the Black Live Matter movement missed a huge opportunity in its infancy to be accepted by a much wider range of people when a few moderate liberals started saying "All Lives Matter." Of course this is the age of division (identity politics) and no one was going to have any of that. Those people were made into social pariahs and had to apologize. That alienated many potential supporters of the movement and then caused the "All Live Matter" quote to be stolen by those on the right as a counter protest. A sucky situation really. One can argue that having allowed the "Black Lives Matter" movement to naturally evolve into "All Lives Matter" (which is was at first) would have lost some focus of the original goal, but I feel that doing so would have been to the larger benefit of the black population in the end, and indeed all people (using inclusiveness instead of exclusion) For godlessness sake, doing such may have been the extra straw needed that would have prevented a Trump presidency. Just something I have wanted to say for a long time (and expect to be called a racist for doing so, because nothing wins an argument like calling someone a racist these days) I also agree that too many people rank an area's worth by its diversity. I remember an SSP conversation years ago about how Portland was "too white." To me, calling an area "too" anything is racist and quite disgusting. An area does not need diversity to be fun / interesting. Look at Japan, it is the least diverse place in the world (99% Japanese) so if you are going to fault some cities in North America for being "too white" then you better also fault Japanese cities for being "too Japanese." That said I also don't think that any area being too diverse should be looked at as a negative either. There are many positives to having great diversity in a city. (some that i miss very much living in Japan) Both have their positives and negatives and in the end, with all other factors equal, generally even out. |
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By the way, the expression involving the proverbial coin doesn't fit the point. Yes coins have two sides, but nowhere does that mean the two sides are equivalent. In fact, to state it without fallacy, no two sides of a coin are the same. Damn, thinking is tricky! _ As a post note: "hipsterism" is not an argument. And, if you are called a socially-unacceptable racist neanderthal for the things you say, you should ignore that source, as they are equally stupid in their form of argument. The whole thing about "political correctness" is getting tired fast. This too is a stupid, mostly meaningless, phrase. You should neither say nor not say anything based on "political correctness" (whose correctness is this anyway). People are sounding off with bigotry in the name of opposing PC. Others self censor in that same name. Both are the thoughts of fools. You say things because you either believe them, know them to be true, have been convinced of them, or have given them thought and think they are the best you can come up with at that time. Opinions are fine, but they are just that. The only reason to inflate your un-proofed opinions as facts is if you are out to trick people. Facts are facts - not absolute truths, but statements of information that survive the tests we humans have been working on (philosophers, scientists, artists, and everyone else) for thousands of years. This is one of the first benefits we earned by settling down. Why throw it out now. The people who disregard the voice of science concerning Climate Change all accept science's voice in creating their smartphone, the spacestation, the airplane, the internet, graphic interfaces, and the billion technologies and materials of our age. Funny. Most of those things are more complex than the atmospheric data analysis which show our effects on climate. Warning - there is a lot of bullshit out there. |
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For crying out loud, try to think a little deeper. The "all lives matter" expression is an intellectual embarrassment. You are hood-winking yourselves. _ So, before you go off on a tantrum: of course ALL LIVES MATTER! No one is actually against this. Those that appear to be against this are just trying to hold to the meaning that is embodied by (and I will abstract it to make the point): THE LIVES OF THOSE FACING PERSECUTION AND PREJUDICIAL HARM AT THE HANDS OF OTHERS, ESPECIALLY THE AUTHORITIES . . . MATTER. And to keep it clear for you, "matter" means "needs attention until racial unfairness is more or less (nothing is ever perfect) dismantled. The "black" part, of course, refers to black people, their troubles and their horrible history since being hunted in West Africa and beyond. Black people, feeling under threat, feeling and living the lack of equality you are spouting . . . black people are who started this movement. Why are you offended by the catch phrase they chose (under circumstances neither you or I will ever really know, feel, or understand)? And, again, to stem any revolt, "Black lives matter" was coined, no doubt with some regret, as a catchphrase to publicize a movement and its issues. I suggest you ponder some of our world's nastier problems concerning race, and get of the literalistic soapbox. (and yes, that's not a word.) There is nothing hipster here: this is the civil rights movement telling everyone that bthe project isn't finished. That's all. Surely you can acknowledge that much. And if you can, what do you gain by saying the what you do. |
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Now, in the U.S. there's a lot more to the story obviously. Here in Canada, though, no, there isn't. There is no systemic bias against blacks, Asians, whites, or anybody else in this country. Let's keep it that way. I know what you're going to say but is that because there's absolutely no reason for the police to be in those communities? BLM is a racist movement and people who support it in principle are fine but people who think it's a call to kill "whitey" can stay the fuck out of my country. Oh, and who told you I was offended by BLM? I mean, I am because I know something about the leaders and speakers in the movement but what's really a shame is that you don't. More importantly, if you truly believed in equality and justice then you wouldn't narrow it down to equality and justice for some people based on genetic traits. |
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Read this, to start with. |
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In fact, it can even make it worse, because if there's enough perception that racism is still a problem, there are chances steps will be taken to address it (societal level / long term) while if the majority seems to think everything's fine, things will stay as is.
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On the other hand, I can't help but detect traces of arrogance in what he recounts - calling a cop "bro", for example. Maybe it's just the way I was raised, but I'd NEVER dream of doing that. In the cop's head, you're immediately categorized as cocky a.f., and it's really not a good way to start (whether or not you happen to be black). |
Okay, just noticed that while I was replying the thread was somewhat cleaned... Shouldn't a mod just branch this off and start a new thread, if we must keep this one pure for statistics?
It's... interesting that a discussion about how racism exists but flies under the radar in Canada, and that as long as we continue to ignore it rather than face it, the problem is likely to remain, would get quickly and entirely swept under the rug by well-thinking moderators who are uncomfortable with it!!! Quite the Q.E.D. there. |
If there's any systematic racism in Canada, it's towards natives. It's litterally systematic. I don't comprehend how society acts as it's no problem at all.
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The same can be transposed to cultures, cities, nations, etc. If you want just a pastiche of all the world's cultures, that's fine. But that's "EPCOT". Not the real deal. If they have a choice, nobody goes to a new world city or country to sample an old world culture. |
Without getting into a lofty technical discussion of multiculturalism vs. diversity vs. melting pot vs. cultural mosaic or all of that stuff, I'm pretty happy with how we do things in Canada and think it works well. Let's stay on the path towards a more inclusive society for all people, whether they came here yesterday or their ancestors have been here for millennia.
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Mental exercise.
Imagine for a minute that 100,000 "Army of Jesus" people move from the U.S. to Canada. They move to a handful of areas only, so while they're not the majority anywhere, they're numerous enough to pack some punch. After a couple of years most of them are Canadian citizens. They exercise their rights to act on their "Guns and God" mindset to the fullest limits of Canada's gun laws. Which aren't nearly as tight as most Canadians think BTW. As a result, there are way more visible guns around and more lethal guns in these communities than there used to be ever before. Anyway, they also lobby for changes to Canada's gun laws to make them even less strict. Because, after all, since they've moved to Canada, not a single Army of Jesus member has been involved in a crime involving a weapon. How would y'all react to that? |
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