Stephen Colbert furor is a mess of hurt feelings: Mallick

2014/04/03 Leave a comment

Heather Mallick on the Colbert controversy. Think she nails it:

Colbert plays an idiot on his show, “an egomaniacal right-wing gasbag.” Nine years ago, even he did not think his show would succeed and he somewhat regrets the fact that he didn’t change his name before it became a hit. He doesn’t allow his children to watch the show lest they catch their father being “insincere.” Park was being an idiot about an idiot.

Truly, Twitter has eaten itself. Meta beyond belief, the Colbert frenzy has made me comment on a commenter who commented on the reaction to a tweet by a commenter who commented on a comedian playing a character who joked about a remark by a racist reacting to comments by football fans on the name of his team. And I’m boiling it down here.

All this would be worthy if I were commenting on actual racism, which is probably the worst virus going around. The expression of pointless racial prejudice has caused hundreds of millions of early deaths and soured countless lives. That said, can we not concentrate on damage caused rather than feelings felt?

Stephen Colbert furor is a mess of hurt feelings: Mallick | Toronto Star.

Filed under Multiculturalism, Racism Tagged with ,

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Difference in Tone

2014/03/22 Leave a comment

Quite a different approach from Minister Alexander compared to Minister Kenney. Incredibly bureaucratic and normal:

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) coordinates the federal activities related to the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). The ICERD is a United Nations Convention that promotes and encourages universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction based on race, sex, language or religion.

Our role

CIC’s role includes:

  • coordinating federal input to periodic reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Racism (CERD) on Canada’s implementation of the ICERD;
  • leading Canada’s periodic appearances for the presentation of reports to the CERD, a committee of independent experts that monitors implementation of the ICERD; and
  • consulting with partner departments regarding progress in responding to recommendations from the CERD.

CIC activities

Under the mandate of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, CIC works to foster the full participation and integration of Canadians from all ethnic, racial and religious backgrounds into society. CIC’s multiculturalism activities in support of the ICERD implementation include:

The CIC Settlement Program also supports locally based approaches to remove barriers as well as help build welcoming and inclusive communities. The wide range of stakeholders involved with the program allows projects to address many different challenges to integration, including those faced in the workplace, schools and community members at large.

Human Rights.

But of course, Minister Kenney in his role as Multiculturalism Minister also issued a statement, more political in tone than the bureaucratic one under Minister Alexander. Not a bad division of roles but even Minister Kenney’s current statement below is subdued compared to previous years:

“The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is a day observed in like-minded countries around the world to reaffirm our shared commitment to combatting racism.

“Canadians are rightly proud of our country’s successful pluralism, fostering a society where all citizens, regardless of ethnicity, faith, or country of origin, have a place.

“Our government continues to be actively engaged in efforts to fight discrimination both at home and abroad.

“Throughout the past year, Canada maintained our status as a world leader in the global fight against anti-Semitism as the Chair of theInternational Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Our government will continue to work closely with the IHRA to promote Holocaust education, remembrance and research.

“Moreover, Canada’s Office of Religious Freedom continues to advocate for the rights of persecuted religious communities around the world.

“As Minister for Multiculturalism, I encourage all Canadians to take a moment on this day to reflect on the importance of our country’s values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”

In contrast, the 2013 press release had much more involvement and direction by the Minister:

“The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is an opportunity for Canadians to join with other freedom-loving people around the world in reaffirming our commitment to reject and eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.

“While we can be proud of our own country’s successful pluralism, we need to ensure that all Canadian citizens reject extremism, do not import ancient enmities, and continue to embrace Canada’s tradition of ordered liberty, which guarantees the equality of all citizens under the law.

“Through initiatives such as the Office of Religious Freedom, our Government will also continue to condemn acts of racial hatred around the world. These acts often accompany the targeting of religious communities.

“As Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, I encourage all Canadians to continue to uphold the fundamental values of our free, democratic and peacefully pluralist society and to reject all forms of unjust discrimination.”

Minister Kenney issues statement to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (2014)

Minister Kenney issues statement on the International Day (2013)

And lastly, the Canadian Race Relations Foundation continues to align itself with the government’s priorities:

Today the CRRF is proud to launch a new resource area dedicated to “Imported Conflict”, an emergent arena of study and public discourse that encompasses immigration, citizenship, multiculturalism and approaches to social and economic integration, and is essential to our understanding of what still needs to be done to promote integration and civic participation of Canadians of all origins.

The first document to be included in the special resource collection will be the Mosaic Institute’s recently released report, The Perception & Reality of “Imported Conflict” in Canada, and its abundant resources. The report is the culmination of a two-year study of Canadians’ perceptions and concerns about “imported conflict” in Canada. The report provides an interesting perspective as an initial endeavour, and the CRRF looks forward to examining and gathering further research in this area.

CRRF announces new initiative on International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Filed under Multiculturalism, Racism Tagged with ,

Is criticism of Israel anti-Semitic? | My take

2014/03/21 Leave a comment

One of my recommendations on the approach to antisemitism from my piece in the CJN:

Secondly, we must strengthen messaging on the commonalities between anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred and intolerance. Some of the pioneering work by Jewish communities is being lost in the focus on anti-Semitism. More express links among all forms of hatred, racism and discrimination can help combat anti-Semitism through engagement of a broader range of communities. The activities of the Holocaust centres in Canada in educating our increasingly diverse population are good examples. Perceived exclusive government focus on anti-Semitism may undermine understanding and support among other communities.

Is criticism of Israel anti-Semitic? | The Canadian Jewish News.

Filed under Antisemitism, Multiculturalism, Racism Tagged with , ,

Do new Canadians leave old conflicts behind? – The Globe and Mail

2014/03/19 1 Comment

Good report from Mosaic Institute on imported conflicts and some of the factors that increase and decrease the likelihood and impact:

Social inclusion is the single biggest factor in encouraging that change to happen; respondents spoke over and over about the importance of meeting, speaking with, living and working alongside people who are different from them in affecting that change of perspective. That is Canadian multiculturalism living up to its full potential.

Conversely, racism and exclusion can undermine that process of reframing conflict, and can impede new Canadians’ attachment to Canada. Sadly, all across the country, the darker our skin and the more we are visibly identifiable as a member of a racialized community, the more likely we are to experience racism and other forms of social exclusion at school, at work, and on the street.

Do new Canadians leave old conflicts behind? – The Globe and Mail.

Filed under Multiculturalism, Racism, Religion Tagged with , ,

Can Virtual “Racism” Evoke Empathy? | There’s an App for That

2014/02/10 Leave a comment

Interesting concept, poor execution.

The app creators seemingly hope to reach people who discriminate against others, and to encourage these users to change their ways — after virtually experiencing “racism.” This limits their target audience to conscientious racists. And if there are such self-aware racists, are they really so oblivious to what needs to change?

Perhaps this app could better achieve its goals if it chose a name that didn’t perpetrate misconceptions and stereotypes, and if it marketed itself as a resource for multicultural education programs, practical diversity trainings or even sensitivity workshops.

Imagine if the app were renamed to reflect reality: Being Different Is Normal — But It Ain’t Easy.

Can Virtual “Racism” Evoke Empathy? | Re/code.

Filed under Antisemitism, Multiculturalism, Racism Tagged with

Why Himmler letters deserve closer study: Mallick | Toronto Star

2014/01/30 Leave a comment

Heather Mallick, who usually writes to the left on issues, has a good column on the Himmler letters and the nature of evil:

The truth is that evil exists, that it has to be confronted, and people will do anything not to. We don’t like hard truths. When I hear about murder, I’m curious about what built the killer. Tell me about child abuse, blows to the head, adolescent shocks and adult lies. Don’t tell me we can treat conditions that we can’t even yet identify because psychology is still a young science. What makes a person evil?

If there’s a thread that runs through all these histories, it’s a bizarre attachment to family. We see it all the time, mothers speaking kindly of their serial-killer sons, siblings defending the indefensible, the idea that everyone has something lovable in them and only families can see it. But is it true, even if Heinrich had pet names for Marga and Hedwig, even if evil has its apologists?

Here is the verdict of Katrin and her co-author in a new book about Heinrich: “These letters show the deformation of normality, violence masquerading as harmlessness, cold-bloodedness that goes along with ostensible care, and the unswerving moral certitude even while committing mass murder.”

Why Himmler letters deserve closer study: Mallick | Toronto Star.

Filed under Hate crimes, Holocaust, Racism Tagged with ,

Blood by Lawrence Hill

2014/01/21 3 Comments

I finally got around to reading Blood: The Stuff of Life by Lawrence Hill (author of The Book of Negroes among other books). An incredible read, both in terms of the science and history of the science of blood (and as someone with blood cancer, I thought I knew this stuff!), and how blood plays into our language, culture and identity. Fascinating just how much a drop of blood could determine whether you were deemed white or black (and the range of terms used to describe mixed parentage (e.g., quadroon, octoroon). But the most powerful is his discussion on identity, as per this wonderful excerpt:

If we were not so wedded to the arcane notions of blood, we would be freer to celebrate our various, complex and divergent identities relating to family and notions of talent and ability, citizenship and race. We would be more whole, self-accepting people, and less judgmental of others. In this day and age, who among us is not all mixed up?

…. Let’s drop the idea of what you are not allowed to be, or to do, because of who you are, but encourage each other to look for the good in our blood, and in our ancestry. We should let hatred and divisiveness spill from us as if it were bad blood, and search for more genuine and caring ways to imagine human identity and human relations.

Lawrence Hill on the power of blood – Life – Macleans.ca.

Filed under Multiculturalism, Racism Tagged with , ,

Column: Here’s your pipe bomb, son; carry on

2014/01/20 Leave a comment

Mohammed Adam of The Ottawa Citizen asks a valid question about the Edmonton teenager found at the airport with a pipe bomb and who was allowed to fly nonetheless. Did reverse racial profiling play a role?:

In our post-9/11 world, very little common sense is often applied when it comes to security. Once bitten, twice shy, the saying goes, and one can understand why the screws are always turned tight. However, it is heartening to see that in the Murphy case, both the Crown and the courts did not go overboard. Murphy deserves not to be in jail, but I can’t help wondering how an 18-year-old Rehan or Ali from suburban Ottawa or Calgary, who is caught in similar circumstances would have fared. Would the law have been truly equal and blind? We will probably never know.

Column: Here’s your pipe bomb, son; carry on.

Filed under Multiculturalism, Racism Tagged with ,

Dutch holiday trickster, Zwarte Piet, helps reignite culture war over racial symbolism | National Post

2013/12/17 Leave a comment

A good balanced discussion of cultural traditions and contemporary values, and just how difficult it is for people to be aware of how some of these, like Zwarte Piet, do embed historical racism, and thus will be challenged:

“A tradition like Black Pete comes from a time when whites didn’t need to consider what non-whites thought of it, partly because the racial balance of power was more uneven and partly because the mass media didn’t carry its images as readily or vividly from contexts where they were ‘comfortable’ to ones where they were not. So now people can try to do what seems like the same thing, but it brings forth a different response.”

Dutch holiday trickster, Zwarte Piet, helps reignite culture war over racial symbolism | National Post.

Filed under Multiculturalism, Racism Tagged with

Counter-extremism is getting smarter

2013/12/05 Leave a comment

Commentary on the new UK counter-terrorism strategy, praising the broadening of focus to tackle extremism of all kinds, not just radical Islam, and ongoing serious effort to reduce anti-Muslim prejudice:

no counter-extremism strategy will unite us all. Such work lies at the notoriously fragile intersection that separates civil liberties from national security. But for the first time in a long while there are signs that we are moving in a better direction, and have acknowledged some failings in the past. While this week’s recommendations provide us with a foundation rather than a coherent strategy, they are a useful starting point for us all.

Counter-extremism is getting smarter | Matthew Goodwin | Comment is free | The Guardian.

And from the other side of the political spectrum, The Daily Mail takes this tack, which reads it into a broader critique of multiculturalism, defined in UK terms as promoting separateness:

David Cameron: Mistake of multiculturalism aided extremists | Mail Online

For the actual report, well-thought out and written as most UK strategies, link below:

Link to UK counter-extremism strategy

Filed under Hate crimes, Multiculturalism, Racism, Radicalization, Religion Tagged with , , ,

← Older posts

Newer posts →