The not so Great Racism in Canada Thread

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Black Star

Well...I’m Married to a Muslim Black Girl.

Is this a new version of, "I know a black guy so I can't be racist."

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Wigs

Your wife and her opinions do not represent All people with different skin pigment or all people of Islamic faith.

This goes both ways though. Maybe Canadians as a group shouldn't bashed or condemned because Justin Trudeau did something boorish in 2001 that he has apologized for or because there were minstrel shows in Canada long before many of us were born, that few of us have ever seen...

Well, I have seen lots of minstrel shows, but they all targeted gay men. That was considered socially acceptable until well into the 2000's.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by someone123

This goes both ways though. Maybe Canadians as a group shouldn't bashed or condemned because Justin Trudeau did something boorish in 2001 that he has apologized for or because there were minstrel shows in Canada long before many of us were born, that few of us have ever seen...

Well, I have seen lots of minstrel shows, but they all targeted gay men. That was considered socially acceptable until well into the 2000's.

Old school drag shows, perhaps? Are there "gay minstrel shows"?

[someone123]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Old school drag shows, perhaps? Are there "gay minstrel shows"?

The analog is a straight actor who makes fun of gay people by playing a gay character that demonstrates exaggerated stereotypes (lisping, weak, promiscuous, stupid, etc.). This was very common in the 90's and earlier and only recently became unseemly to the point where a well-known person either wouldn't want to do it or would fear a backlash. In past decades there also tended to be an association between homosexuality and pedophilia or some kind of moral corruption.

TV tropes has a bunch of related tropes: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SissyVillain

This brings up a good test for how racist a society really is: how comfortable would a well-known public figure be putting on a minstrel show or publicly promoting some kind of racist policy? In Canada this has been pretty much unheard of in recent years. There will always be personal lapses in judgement and bad apples. The real test is how the society responds to them.

[kwoldtimer]

Got it. The reference to minstrel shows threw me off.

[SignalHillHiker]

Literally brought a tear to my eye.



And it was very well-attended.

[theman23]

There aren’t very many black people in Afghanistan...

[itom 987]

^ I believe that point you made was racist.

While all this is going on, the people with disabilities are still being discriminated against. Should I complain about that?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by theman23

There aren’t very many black people in Afghanistan...

Afghanistan is decidedly multiethnic, with people from northern regions appearing Asiatic, people from the west looking Iranian, and people from the east appearing Pakistani. The further south in Afghanistan you live, the darker your complexion would be.

I don't doubt Black Star's assertion, but maybe he should have referred to her as "an identifiable person of colour".

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Is this a new version of, "I know a black guy so I can't be racist."

Do you not agree that, other things being equal, someone who is married to a person of a certain race is relatively less likely than other people to hold racist views with respect to that race?

Sounds plausible to me and I would certainly make that assumption in real life.

[LakeLocker]

Racism exists therefore attach any political agenda under the sun.

These opportunistic douche bags make me sick.

Want to actually help black people? How about stop bullying them into the belief that the system is out to get them.

If you make an entire group of people hostile to a system, it is no wonder you have chaos.

I can't imagine the level of abusive parenting one must of suffered to think its ok to indoctrinate entire populations into believing that the state is out to get them.

You indoctrinate people to be hostile, people don't want to deal with them it is that simple.

[someone123]

SSP: the kind of forum where when you post the race of your spouse people will debate whether or not you're correct based on prior demographic knowledge of some far-off country.

[rousseau]

"I have mixed race parents. My father prefers the 100 metres, and...my mother's Pakistani."

"I liked being raised by my father. He's schizophrenic, but he's good people. I remember one summer I was five, and he was Mussolini."

• Video Link

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by theman23

There aren’t very many black people in Afghanistan...

Imaginary friends and spouses can be whatever you want them to be.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by Black Star

She is an educated Doctor...

That's good to hear. Too many uneducated doctors around these days. I honestly don't know how they get licensed.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Imaginary friends and spouses can be whatever you want them to be.

But this is a consequence of making the debate about personal credentials or experience rather than data or objective facts that anybody can verify.

[esquire]

There is a lady who shows up in Black Star's public flickr album that I assume is his wife. I realize these things are highly subjective and other descriptors might apply, but "black" is not the word that I'd use.

[theman23]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Afghanistan is decidedly multiethnic, with people from northern regions appearing Asiatic, people from the west looking Iranian, and people from the east appearing Pakistani. The further south in Afghanistan you live, the darker your complexion would be.

I don't doubt Black Star's assertion, but maybe he should have referred to her as "an identifiable person of colour".

I'm intimately familiar with the ethnic makeup of Afghanistan. No one on the spectrum you're describing would be considered "black". Still stand by my statement. The only black people in Afghanistan are foreign soldiers and officials.

Originally Posted by someone123

But this is a consequence of making the debate about personal credentials or experience rather than data or objective facts that anybody can verify.

I think Black Star brought this upon himself.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by theman23

I think Black Star brought this upon himself.

My complaint has more to do with the quality of discussion than Black Star. The skin colour and country of origin of his wife are not interesting or relevant.

SSP is at its best when people are sharing photos, quality information or articles, or interesting, honest, informed opinions (always a crapshoot). It's at its worst at times like this. Sort of creepy, and uninteresting regardless of the outcome.

The phenomenon of focusing on subjective experience and feelings goes beyond SSP and afflicts many debates of issues like racism or follow-on questions like whether we should reduce police funding. I think it is socially toxic to argue that people can't find common ground or articulate experiences outside of their identity groups, and it's impossible to base good public policy on feelings because there is no consistency. It's not realistic to aim for zero offensiveness or universal permanent feelings of safety for everybody.

[theman23]

I'm not really interested in the colour of his wife, TBH. Going through his flickr profile is probably a bit much.

But he's full of shit and its just too easy to call him out on it.

Anyways, I'll stop.