“Thank heavens I live in Canada.”
We’re hearing that refrain more and more often as citizens of our fair nation look at the goings-on south of the border.
Every time someone shares a story on social media about the shooting of a black man in the U.S., Canadians watch with a mixture of horror and sadness – with more than a little bit of smugness thrown in for good measure.
Oh sure, it’s horrible and it’s ugly, but at least it’s not happening here. Or so we tell ourselves.
Hate to break it you, Canada, but that’s just not quite true.
Just ask Remigio Pereira. As the singer – a member of Canada’s The Tenors – discovered after his now notorious decision to change the lyrics to O Canada at baseball’s all-star game, race is a touchy topic in Canada too.
And for good reason.
For all that we like to hold ourselves up to the U.S. as a shining example of a tolerant and inclusive nation, we have our own share of problems.
The treatment of our First Nations people, historic and current, has to top the list. And that’s not forgetting about all the times that minority communities – immigrants from China, Japan and India, among others –- have run up against systemic prejudice and racism in Canadian society.
Lest you think that those sorts of problems live only in the distant past, you need only to read the comment sections attached to any article about foreign ownership of real estate to recognize that racism is alive and well and living among us.
Or, for that matter, cruise the #alllivesmatter hashtag on Twitter for another eye-opening look at how people are thinking in this country.
The fact of the matter is, racism exists – on both a personal and a systemic level. Pretending it doesn’t won’t change anything.
And we fear it will get worse before it gets better.
Because the more people feel insecure – about their jobs, their homes, their ability to effect political change – the more likely they are to lash out against the unknown “others” who they believe are threatening their way of life. And the more people feel powerless in a world that seems to have gone adrift, the more likely they are to hunker down and isolate themselves from anyone who looks, sounds and thinks differently from themselves.
No, our leaders aren’t spewing hate and vitriol at every possible opportunity. And no, people aren’t being shot in the streets for having the wrong skin colour.
But sticking our heads in the sand and pretending not to see the problems around us is no way to move forward.
