I HATE TO RAIN ON YOUR PARTY

     Well I'm not one to rain on anybody's party. I like parties and celebrations . I like to see success rewarded.

     I'm the eternal optimist. The Micro Manager says that I would call an empty glass full.

    So it's with a rather heavy heart that I conclude very little will happen to bring about changes in racism. I know that people are very hopeful that something will. happen.

    I think very little will happen. Once all the demonstrations are history, the world will quietly slip back into racism as usual.

    Yes, there will be some improvement but not much.  Some people will become more aware of what racism is. Some people will work for changes , but little will happen.

     The politicians will go back to the same old game. Forget about racism and get some votes so that we can stay inpower. Systemic racism is safe. None of the system is going to change.

    Do you think the jokes will change?

    I think very few people are willing to give up power.

    Living in segregated areas will stay as people like it.

    The everyday slurs will continue. Worse physical abuse will continue. Things are commonly thrown at people every day.

    So you see I'm not at all hopeful things will change. I know a large part of the population is hoping for a change. I hate to rain on your party.

    I'm a Canadian. Racism is alive and well here. We are smug about it and it's quiet. The system is set up for one group and other groups get the pleasure of suffering. Racism is so common in society that it's not noticed. Ask most Canadians and they think racism is not a problem and they are quick to say, "I'm not a racist. "

    I would like to be wrong on this one. If I'm wrong I will gladly apologize.

CHRISTCHURCH

      I cannot imagine the terror and horror of the people in Christchurch as they were being gunned down. I cannot imagine the grief and sadness of friends and relatives who are left. I cannot understand the rage of one human being who undertook such deliberate acts of terror and horror.

      My sympathy goes out to the people who experienced such great  loss and terror in Christchurch.

     There are too many of these incidents happening but I listened to a radio interview this morning that gave me a couple of thoughts. White supremacy jumped out at me. I hadn't thought about that issue very seriously. 

     What makes someone become such an extreme white supremacist that they will kill? Somehow they become obsessed with the idea that people of other color will take over the world. They see danger and risk hiding in many places. They see themselves as a savior to white people. 

    Some things are easy for me to see and say as I spent 5 years as a minority person and was often called the white man. The first time I was called a white man has stayed with me all my life.

    As a child and young adult the only idea in my head was that white people were the best in all areas. My parents and all surrounding neighbors thought this way although they didn't say anything about. It just was the situation.. We were not exposed to people of color except for the odd Chinese running a local restaurant. These people lived alone and did not participate in the community. I did not see a black person until I was in my teens and had no contact with them. Asians were looked at as unusual. For all my public school years I went to school with white kids.

    None of us ever thought of taking this idea to any extreme. We didn't have any fear because there were no other people to worry about. We were it.

    So today why are so many white supremacists taking an extremely violent position. They fear losing power. They fear that other religions would prevent them from their freedom of religion. They fear other systems of law would be imposed on them. They fear that they will soon be in a minority because the people of other cultures are having so many children and moving out of their homelands to other parts of the world.

    As a child I was not exposed to other races. Once I was exposed to other cultures I learned that they had all kinds of good and different ways of looking at the world. I learned to trust and rely on people who where different. This exposure changed my life forever. 

    Somehow we have to be able to set things up so that people are exposed to other cultures in a meaningful way and that they will not become so extremely fearful of others that they will see the only option is to kill as many as they can.

   I think that some world leaders are supporting white supremacy for their own political gain. We don't need leaders dividing us for their political power.

RACISM

      From time to time I do a post on some kind of prejudice. From an early age I could not understand why any group should be exclusive. I liked to see all people come together. Now as a kid I didn't understand where I was heading , what this meant or why there were prejudices at all. 

     I probably would never have come to terms with things if I hadn't had the opportunity to teach in aboriginal schools.

    Now since there have been some very ugly incidents recently it's time to comment. Incidents that were highly publicized occurred in the U.S. Incidents of racism happen in many other places but don't get the PR. My home province is well known for incidents of racism. So racism is found in many corners.

    So racism originates from ignorance of other groups. Untruths are spread about racial groups and to really shake things up people have to get in shouting , shoving matches and more. Hatred of others is stoked to a high degree. No acceptance of any differences here. The white guys have it all!!!

   My teaching experience found me in the minority for five years. I was dependent on aboriginals and had to trust them in many situations. I was participating in activities in which I had little experience. I was watched and supported. I could be a few bones scattered on the tundra if I hadn't been cared for. When I was out with my students on the land they would sometimes say, "You shouldn't go there."

   The first time I was referred to as the white man cut through me like a knife. However, it was not used in a derogatory way. After that I got used to it. Whenever I knocked on a door I would hear them say inside "kabloona" which means white man. How did they know it was a white man knocking on the door? The aboriginals didn't knock at doors.

    I found out that I had to accept some differences.

    So I hear people criticizing aboriginals. They seem to find many complaints. Yes , there are some obvious behaviours that are disgusting. But, people are not aware of all the other people who live productive and honorable lives. A few rotten apples spoil it for many. For example, many people other than aboriginals conduct themselves improperly but we don't stop and hate the whole group.

    So now that I'm elderly , I still can't understand why some people will hate others with such vehemence that they are willing to fight and do harm to others.

    All my life I've been hoping that we could accept the simple idea of inclusiveness and live in harmony. 

    Will we ever find that knowledge that we can accept?

    

TRUMP

         I'm a Canadian.

         I take pride in thinking that I mind my own business. I don't pry into other people's business. Other people can live their own lives as long as they don't interfere with my life.

         But lately something has been bothering me.  Donald Trump.

         I've been watching news coverage of Trump's campaign. The logic Trump uses bothers me as he plays fast and loose with the truth and uses misinformation to back up his ideas. So Trump is an outright racist and is dividing people rather than uniting and proposing policy that would benefit all people.

       Trump seems to find it easy to say that people are rapists, criminals and drug dealers as he did with Mexicans. Of course , he uses this to back up his ridiculous proposal to build a fence between Mexico and the U.S. And what I really like is that the Mexicans would pay for the fence.

      Trump also has erroneous things to say about Muslims to back his proposal to not let Muslims into the country. All the time Trump forgets that many Muslims live in his country.

      Now why I'm really concerned is that his fast and loose logic could influence me. What if Trump decides Canadian water and resources would be nice to have. So he makes the usual charge that Canadians are rapists criminals and drug dealers so this gives him the right to come and take what he wants. And oh ya, he won't let any Canadians enter the U.S. Oops , I guess I won't be able to visit my American daughter anymore!

Lena Horne:Legacy

        Lena Horne left this life last week after a long and eminent run. Lena Horne has left us many things but there are two I wish to comment on.

        Lena Horne's music influenced in many ways. She brought an interpretation to a song that was meaningful, memorable and enjoyable. Who will ever forget "Stormy Weather?" Many performers learned from what Lena Horne did and they were able to try things that they wouldn't have tried without Lena Horne's leadership. I will listen to some of Lena Horne's music again to remember.

      Lena Horne also spoke out on racism and left us the message that racism is still alive and well. Her message will make us think again and work for more equality. There were times that she was not given opportunities to perform simply because she was black. So for all those who thought racism died when slavery was ended , guess again. Racism is still here. For aboriginals racism was formalized by the Indian Act. Immigrants of color face many challenges when they come to this country.
  
      So Lena Horne, thanks for the music and thanks for reminding us that we still have things to do when it comes to racism.