The not so Great Racism in Canada Thread

[Architype]

Originally Posted by Acajack

My street is 15% Black and 15% Arab, mostly Lebanese. There are also a few Portuguese, Latin American and Asian families. The rest are generally Québécois French Canadians. There are almost no Anglo-Canadians of the Stephen Harper-Don Cherry-Bryan Adams variety on my street.

My next-door neighbours are Black. Sub-Saharan African. The people who have the key and code to the alarm system for our house when we are away are Black.

The answer to your basic question is no.

How do you know all this? Do you go door to door and do formal surveys?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

The Stephen Harper Don Cherry Bryan Adams types live in wealthy suburbs like Lorne Park (southern Mississauga), Oakville, Ancaster, Wilmot Township (outside of Waterloo) and possibly Forest Hill or Rosedale. My Montreal reference point equivalencies would be TMR, Beaconsfield, Saint Jerome.

Saint-Jérôme?

In this part of the country, all of those wealthy anglo types live on the Ontario side, with only a smattering on the Quebec side in Chelsea, which is due north of Gatineau and Ottawa on A-5.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Architype

How do you know all this? Do you go door to door and do formal surveys?

I talk to my neighbours, and my kids have been friends with most of the kids during their elementary school years. I have also been involved in petitions in the past so I've knocked on most of the doors at some point or another.

It's not that hard to figure out if you're reasonably observant.

Plus StatsCan data also confirms pretty much what I am saying. Within a few percentage points.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Architype

How do you know all this? Do you go door to door and do formal surveys?

Yep. I'd guess Acajack is clueless about the demographics of his neighbourhood. Interacting with people who live near you can be very misleading. You need a clear signal, like an opinion shared by a resident of the area on an internet forum, to be able to determine the demographics with certainty.

There's a certain amount of irony to people trying to guess at race based on internet comments in a thread about racism. And IMO this forum would be a lot better with fewer attempts to figure out everybody's irrelevant hidden agendas and more direct discussion of issues.

[urbandreamer]

Saint-Jérôme?

I'm just going by my experience working in Montreal's fashion business: all the upper middle management types (Quebecois) seemed to live there and had somewhat conservative views (not Stephen Harper conservative but relative to the people I knew who lived on the Plateau. (OTOH new immigrants who lived in NDG were rather conservative.)

Overall I like to think of us English as open to other cultures -- we may not be in-your-face-friendly but we're tolerant. If we weren't Canada would still be 75% British stock.

[Wigs]

I was wrong about LAPD

They have 19 helicopters and 1 fixed wing plane!
http://www.lapdonline.org/air_support_division/content_basic_view/1179

Jeezus

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by someone123

Yep. I'd guess Acajack is clueless about the demographics of his neighbourhood. Interacting with people who live near you can be very misleading. You need a clear signal, like an opinion shared by a resident of the area on an internet forum, to be able to determine the demographics with certainty.

There's a certain amount of irony to people trying to guess at race based on internet comments in a thread about racism. And IMO this forum would be a lot better with fewer Sherlock Holmes type attempts figure out everybody's irrelevant hidden agendas and more direct discussion of issues.

Thanks. I have to admit that was a weird question.

[Architype]

Originally Posted by someone123

Yep. I'd guess Acajack is clueless about the demographics of his neighbourhood. Interacting with people who live near you can be very misleading. You need a clear signal, like an opinion shared by a resident of the area on an internet forum, to be able to determine the demographics with certainty.

There's a certain amount of irony to people trying to guess at race based on internet comments in a thread about racism. And IMO this forum would be a lot better with fewer attempts figure out everybody's irrelevant hidden agendas and more direct discussion of issues.

I think Archie Bunker probably carried around all this kind of information in his head too. I have no idea about my street, any estimate would be wild guesswork and based on a few superficial observations. We live much more anonymously in Vancouver.

[urbandreamer]

In the suburbs most people just drive into their garage and disappear: maybe that's why suburbanites are more racist? (They rarely see their neighbours.)

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Architype

I think Archie Bunker probably carried around all this kind of information in his head too. I have no idea about my street, any estimate would be wild guesswork and based on a few superficial observations.

So I am Archie Bunker because I know my neighbours now? This gets better and better!

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by Wigs

I was wrong about LAPD

They have 19 helicopters and 1 fixed wing plane!
http://www.lapdonline.org/air_support_division/content_basic_view/1179

Jeezus

Given the size and topography of LA I can see why they need a lot of helicopters. Is the plane used to intercept drug shipments?

According to Wikipedia NYPD only has eight helicopters and no planes. But they do have 11 police boats!

[Architype]

Originally Posted by Acajack

So I am Archie Bunker because I know my neighbours now? This gets better and better!

Well, the precision struck me as funny, I can see knowing many of your neighbours in a very socially oriented community, but around here, most people don't, and our "streets" go for miles.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Architype

Well, the precision struck me as funny, I can see knowing many of your neighbours in a very socially oriented community, but around here, most people don't, and our "streets" go for miles.

So you feel free to pass harsh, rash judgements on people who don't correspond to your Metropolitan Anglo-Canadian norms?

If you fit the stereotype you're probably open to all cultures from all over the world (or at least think you are). Assuming that this might be a Québécois difference, why wouldn't you be open to us as well?

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by truenorth00

officer. 20+. Currently ncr.

jag?

[Acajack]

I can't believe I was called fucking Archie Bunker because I know my neighbours.

I am almost speechless.

[urbandreamer]

Acajack: with the English it's all about class. The upper classes are open towards French culture. French Immersion is a huge deal in upper class English Toronto households and of course if you read about English history ... The Scots-English I've met that openly despise Quebec are from the lower classes -- historically farmers, factory workers, tenants: some of these people's ancestors farmed the Eastern townships and were forced out by lower class French farmers and still harbor resentment.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Rexy became like Rudy (Giuliani). Formerly thoughtful, albeit with a curmudgeonly signature, and representing the 'intellectual' side of conservatism...

It's a sad fact that the number of conservative public figures in Canada one might consider intellectual could pretty much be held in one hand.

But your implication that there's nothing intelligent about conservatism is smug beyond belief. It's a consequence of our complete and total intolerance of opposing viewpoints that has left us in this state.

...to flirting with the farther reaches of the right wing...

A gross mischaracterisation but then that's game you play, right? Like your earlier suggestion that Andy Ngo (A gay refugee from Vietnam) is somehow linked with 'far right' groups because he's worried about Antifa. It's dishonest and lazy.

...and being downright hectoring/grouchy...

When exactly was Rex ever any different?

with opinions based on a gut feeling rather than in a dispassionate but disciplined synthesis of the facts on the ground.

First, that's completely untrue. Second, it sounds an awful lot more like you than him.

Originally Posted by JHikka

I used to really enjoy reading Rex a decade or so ago, and even picked up one of his books which encapsulated a lot of his articles and opinions. I can't stand to read him today, though, and it's a shame he's gone down the path he has in his old age.

Originally Posted by Architype

Murphy was quite good as host on CBC's Cross Country Checkup a few years ago, but he has gone a long way to the right since he was a Liberal political candidate in the 80s.

Has Rex changed or have the CBC and the LPC changed? Do you really think a 70 year-old white conservative male is welcome at our 'national' broadcaster these days?

There's no room for people like Rex in our increasingly woke, post-factual public sphere and we're the poorer for it.

[urbandreamer]

Rex Murphy always struck me as a redneck from the sticks. I think he played this up to attract an audience.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

Rex Murphy always struck me as a redneck from the sticks. I think he played this up to attract an audience.

He is actually a Rhodes Scholar.

[vid]

Originally Posted by Wigs

Vid, (this should be a meme for you from back in the good ol'days)

Originally Posted by Corndogger

That $3 billion figure is very misleading. Best to use the LA Times number which works out to just under $1.85 billion.

The combined operating and capital budget for the Calgary Police Service is a little over CA$533 million. I guess we're getting a good deal compared to the taxpayers of LA. lol

It's the last number on the page, including their retirement pension and benefits costs and things like building services, capital financing, wastewater, liability claims, debt service, etc. It represents the actual cost of the police force and not its budget.

Canada and the US organize municipal budgets differently so it's hard to make direct comparisons. I couldn't really tell if Toronto's budget includes retirement contributions and benefits plans or not.

"Total Cost of Program 3,022,718,253
Positions 14,006"

Originally Posted by Acajack

He is actually a Rhodes Scholar.

And he hosted a national call in show for decades. His statements on racism the other day surprised me, someone in his position and with his experiences should know better. Why doesn't he?

I find it very presumptuous that all these older white people (and they're always older white people) are the only ones pushing the "there is no systemic racism in Canada" narrative. Why is that line of reasoning so exclusive to them?