All Bel wanted to do was go for a nice walk in her Burnaby neighbourhood.
She lives near me on Burnaby Mountain in the quiet UniverCity development. Her family is Asian and should feel comfortable at UniverCity because it has such a large contingent of Asian residents, including many who attend SFU.
But on a recent walk, that’s not what happened and she fears racism is behind it.
They were walking on the road because others were using the sidewalk.
“Following the physical distancing protocol, the three of us walked on the road, but to the right side, not in the centre of the road. It was early so I figured it was safe, no cars and since it wasn't a through street. To be thorough, my husband was on my left and my daughter on my right. I noticed a biker behind us, so I pulled my husband closer to me and said to both to stay close together so the biker can pass us safely on our left. There was a full lane and a half-empty on our left. To my surprise, the biker rang his bell behind us, he was very close because it was loud, and proceeded to pass us on our right, so I pulled my daughter towards me. Mind you, there was just about a foot of space between my daughter and the curb. As he passed us, he yelled at us, saying ‘go on the sidewalk.’”
Then he screamed a second time. All because he didn't feel there was enough room on a road.
Now I know some readers will cry and moan that just because they got yelled doesn’t mean there’s racism behind it.
But that’s the problem when white people look at that kind of situation. You haven’t lived the kind of experience that Bel has.
“Definitely, the tone was to insult us,” she said. “No racial remarks, but as a minority, you just feel it when there's a hint of racism being said …With the current situation where the ugly and hurtful systemic racism is being protested and a call for action has reverberated worldwide, I can’t help but think that this man yelled at us because he has hate towards Asians.”
I don’t know what was in that biker’s heart, but I’m listening and trusting the instincts of people who face racism every day.
You should too.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
