prosperegal
Senior Member
The way people teach it right now is to make assumptions. In other words, they assume that because you look a certain way, you have THESE cultural expectations.
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is racism common in Toronto?
- Thread starter sangcho1989
- Start date
The way people teach it right now is to make assumptions. In other words, they assume that because you look a certain way, you have THESE cultural expectations.
Second_in_pie
Senior Member
Please, do explain.
jenny_zhang
Active Member
This is delusional, no offense.
I certainly think the GTA is a lot more tolerant and accepting, I've lived in Toronto for most of my life without much complaint. However, there is racism every day, everywhere. Not in the "I'm going to lynch you" kind of way, but discrimination, racist assumptions or attitudes towards people, yes.
Anyone who has grown up in a family of immigrants certainly wouldn't think there's no racism.
Ramako
Moderator
I grew up in that part of Etobicoke - off Royal York between Dundas and Eglinton - and later near Islington and Eglinton - then even later on the Humber Bay Shore. My family's background is Egyptian, and I've never once gotten so much as a lingering stare.
In fact, I've only ever experienced racism directed toward me once in Toronto. I was doing some election canvasing with a Chinese friend of mine in the Trinity-Spadina riding. A lot of the people living in that neighbourhood are Chinese, and he would often speak to them in Mandarin while I remained silent. After he spoke to this one old Chinese lady, he told me that she had said to him to make sure that my type didn't "take over the neighbourhood." Supposedly, by my "type" she meant anyone who wasn't Chinese.
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Second_in_pie
Senior Member
Oh, I thought that "for the most part" was supposed to imply there was only very little!
Obviously there's still racism. Of course, I wouldn't consider a majority of these "racist assumptions" particularly racist. They're, as you put it, "racist assumptions." I'd really like to see an example of these things you describe, because I very rarely see anything that I'd consider unacceptable. And there's still the fact that, compared to most other places in the world, we're as good as you can get. That's what I was trying to say there, and I'm not really quite sure what to say now without being told that I'm terribly mistaken or whatever.
Second_in_pie
Senior Member
Wow what was I thinking when I posted this?! When I said "racist," I really meant "least multicultural and least experience with multiculturalism."
Ramako
Moderator
There is danger of obscuring "culture" with "stereotypes." Learning about culture is good, but simply re-enforcing stereotypes is bad.
For example, what would you include as part of black-culture? It would be stereotyping to say that all black people like a certain kind of music or food. Is there any one thing that objectively defines a black person's culture, or a white person's culture, or a Chinese person's culture?
The problem is that culture is really more related to one's country than it is to one's "race". My parents immigrated to Canada from Egypt, but having been born and raised in Toronto, I barely identify with any aspect of Egyptian culture. As far as I can define it, my "culture" is wholly Canadian, whatever that means. Other than my skin tone, nobody would be able to tell me apart from someone whose ancestors arrived from Europe in the colonial era.
What I'd rather kids learn in school is what they've already been learning: history and science. Teach them about humanity's history of slavery and oppression, and the suffering that it caused. Then, teach them about modern genetics which has shown that racial distinctions are arbitrary and have no basis in science. We don't need to be teaching kids that they're somehow different than their fellow classmates.
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toraerach
Active Member
That's like saying "if there is no such thing as luck, no one's going to carry around a rabbit's foot with them" or whatever. Race does not exist biologically, but that doesn't stop people from thinking that it does.
drone
Active Member
good point above. race doesn't imply culture.
I'm white, and grew up in Montreal. It may be just my experience, but, I have heard ALL races talk shit about other races. My wife is chinese,my parents are divorced and re-married to non-whites. I have hung out with french people, english people, chinese, filipino, black, gay, rich ,poor, protestant, catholic..and the list goes on..
What we forget is that it's human nature to have an "us vs. them" attitude now and again. Even if you were to look at it evolutionarily, it was wise to stick close to those that were alike you, to ensure survival. In prison,gangs are by RACE, if you're black, you hang with the blacks, if you're white, you are part of the aryans..there is no choice, it's a matter of survival. You're not racist if you understand that's how it works and even if you practice it, i.e. stick with your own race. You're racist/prejudiced when you don't give people a chance to overcome the stereotype you've assigned to them when you size them up, and allow them to be a person, rather than a "race".
I'm white, and grew up in Montreal. It may be just my experience, but, I have heard ALL races talk shit about other races. My wife is chinese,my parents are divorced and re-married to non-whites. I have hung out with french people, english people, chinese, filipino, black, gay, rich ,poor, protestant, catholic..and the list goes on..
What we forget is that it's human nature to have an "us vs. them" attitude now and again. Even if you were to look at it evolutionarily, it was wise to stick close to those that were alike you, to ensure survival. In prison,gangs are by RACE, if you're black, you hang with the blacks, if you're white, you are part of the aryans..there is no choice, it's a matter of survival. You're not racist if you understand that's how it works and even if you practice it, i.e. stick with your own race. You're racist/prejudiced when you don't give people a chance to overcome the stereotype you've assigned to them when you size them up, and allow them to be a person, rather than a "race".
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ladyscraper
man alive
One of my first girlfriends was from Taiwan. Her parents forced her to break up with me because I am white. Things like this happen but they happen everywhere. I only mention it because the idea of some place being completely free of racism is so ridiculous.
Basically no place is racism-free but Toronto is about as good as I've seen it.
Basically no place is racism-free but Toronto is about as good as I've seen it.
MetroMan
Senior Member
With all due respect, I believe that it was your poor grammar/spelling and your inability to clearly form a sentence that denied you the job.
prosperegal
Senior Member
I'm guessing you guys were in high school back then? It's possible that her parents didn't want her dating, PERIOD. Some old fashioned immigrant parents don't believe in dating before university. I also know kids of immigrants (especially Chinese immigrants) who didn't date until they FINISHED their undergrad!
Admiral Beez
Superstar
I second that.
Second_in_pie
Senior Member
Geez, not even immigrant parents! There are tonnes, tonnes of parents like that wherever you go! I know tonnes of immigrant parents who want their 100% chinese/japanese/korean/indian/whatever kids getting a boyfriend/girlfriend, not mattering what race they are. In fact, I know someone who got scolded by their parents for dating a chinese guy, calling it "being unadventurous."
drone
Active Member
but, if we are to accept others and be diverse, where do you draw the line?Maybe the poster is from abroad and english skills were hard to come by. Maybe, they are disadvantaged in some way. Should we measure them by them same standards we hold north american born people?