... but without the eloquence.
Haroon Siddiqui captures in his essay the qualities that make Canada the best place in the world to live as a person of colour.
Better than old Europe, that professes liberty, equality, and fraternity while the disadvantaged set fire to cars in ethnic slums, the new Union paralyzed by paroxysms of islamophobia, in denial of economic reality, and drunk on delusions of moral superiority. Better than Austrailia which is said to be very like Canada, save for the overtly racist white majority and intensely protectionist and isolationist tendencies. Better than the US of A, a foundering country with a careless trigger-finger and enough megatonnage to end the world.
We take it for granted that we can enter into competition with a white male and still win the decent well-paying job. It isn't so in most of the world. We take it for granted that we can see a doctor anytime we like, without paying through the nose, but complain that we must wait too long for a service simply non-existent or inaccessible elsewhere (Granted, the complaint is valid since we must always advocate for improvement and positive change). We live in peace, without fear, without hunger or thirst, but we complain about the annual price for such luxuries and necessities.
Of course, I paint in broad strokes (for we are not without our own problems - we do have poverty), but I mean that generally speaking, for us, there are no 'good old days' because our lot in the world has been better than ever.
-d
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
My only true complaint about Canada's overwhelming desire for accommodation is that it's not a recipe for global success.
We are set for comfort, but we are hardly leaders. Without the risk of great failure, there is rarely the chance for great success.
Our desire to compromise usually results in the path of least resistance. This is great for keeping folks in line, but maybe not so great for getting shit done.
Very true - especially so with a minority government.
-d
I'm in Australia now and will be for the next 1-2 years. I was warned that people can be racist and/or sexist here. In my experience, it's been difficult to tell if people were rude to me because they're rude people or because they're racist/sexist. I asked one guy where pancake mix was in a grocery store and he wouldn't even talk to me. He walked over to the aisle, pointed at the box, and walked away, without uttering a word. Then I said "excuse me, where could I find syrup?" and he simply sighed, and did the whole silent walking-pointing thing again. It wasn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things. He could've had a bad day, maybe he had a sore throat. But I had a nagging feeling that he would at least be civil if he were helping a non-minority.
Overall though, people have been generally quite nice. It might be because I'm with Steve. I wonder what it'd be like if I were on my own.
Post a Comment