The not so Great Racism in Canada Thread

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Hawrylyshyn

Denying/hiding history is probably the worst thing that could happen for the anti-racism movement.. it's important to recognize our past and learn from our mistakes. Pretending a racist history didn't happen won't solve the current racial issues we see in society

Is refusing to honour racist history the same thing as denying it? They seem quite different to me.

[Hawrylyshyn]

Are museums created to "honour" what they show? I've always looked at them as an educational tool. "Come see our display to learn about the topic" rather than "come see our display to honour what it shows". But to each is own

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Hawrylyshyn

Are museums created to "honour" what they show? I've always looked at them as an educational tool. "Come see our display to learn about the topic" rather than "come see our display to honour what it shows". But to each is own

I would say so. Confederate monuments (other than those honouring the dead, perhaps) are the clearest example of the other.

I would be hard pressed to think of a Canadian example of a statue raised or a museum created to honur something shameful.

[Hawrylyshyn]

There is a Residential School Museum in Manitoba. It's not to honour them, but educate people about them and teach Canadians about this dark, racist past.

Link for Article
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.lpband.ca/residential-school-museum-becomes-a-reality/amp/

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Hawrylyshyn

A Residential School Museum is currently being built in Manitoba. It's not to honour them, but educate people about them and teach Canadians about this dark, racist past.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.lpband.ca/residential-school-museum-becomes-a-reality/amp/
Link for article:

Sort of the opposite of "denying history", istm.

[someone123]

I would suggest there is a distinction between the original intent of the monument creators and modern appreciation of a historical monument potentially centuries later.

You can appreciate a stone carving in a museum without worshipping Mictecacíhuatl for example.

I don't consider Confederate war statues to be a part of my culture or history at all so I don't have strong feelings about them, and I consider the question of whether or not they should stay up to be none of my business, really. But I'd go look at one just like I'd look at a Napoleon statue as a point of historical interest even though I don't think he was necessarily justified in trying to conquer most of Europe.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by someone123

I would suggest there is a distinction between the original intent of the monument creators and modern appreciation of a historical monument potentially centuries later.

You can appreciate a stone carving in a museum without worshipping Mictecacíhuatl for example.

And ...

[Hawrylyshyn]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Sort of the opposite of "denying history", istm.

Obviously. But people are saying "close museums" hence denying history...

[dreambrother808]

Originally Posted by goodgrowth

'People are calling for museums to be abolished. Can whitewashed American history be rewritten?'

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/natura...ashing-monuments-statues-trnd/index.html

If you read the article, one person say that “museums as we know them have to be abolished” which means he thinks they should fundamentally change, hence the “as we know them”. One person in one article who isn’t saying “close all museums” or “no museums”. He is referencing museums as “imperial trophy cases” with stolen artifacts, etc.

There is that wording in this current discourse where people hear “defund” or “abolish” and their natural first interpretation is “completely get rid of” and occasionally someone does actually mean that. But if you are keeping up, reading articles, and following relevant people on social media while parsing through everything you’ll find that most do not mean that.

[urbandreamer]

Should the CBC stop playing classical music? Half their airtime is devoted to playing dead white people's music. (But I thought only old white people listened to the CBC! ((I used to tune the radio at work to the CBC - no one else listened to it preferring the Edge or Z103.5 or Flow.))

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Pretty much, for about 40 years now. Certainly for Jews of European ancestry. Although anti-Semitism has hardly disappeared.

Well for some people all Jews could be blond with blue eyes and it still would not be good enough for them.

[urbandreamer]

As a redhead with green eyes, I'm a minority. We can't be in the sun longer than 10 minutes without serious health risks. I feel like the brown-eyed brunettes are persecuting me.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Hawrylyshyn

Denying/hiding history is probably the worst thing that could happen for the anti-racism movement.. it's important to recognize our past and learn from our mistakes. Pretending a racist history didn't happen won't solve the current racial issues we see in society

I have been expressing caution about this for a while. The usual suspects agree and the other group of usual suspects strongly disagree.


And yet...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Did_Six_Million_Really_Die%3F

[kwoldtimer]

The State of Mississippi legislature just approved the removal of the Confederate flag from Mississippi's state flag. I'm amazed.

[urbandreamer]

They should replace it with a graphic of a fried chicken: My Mississippi ancestors sure liked their fried chicken.

[Truenorth00]

I was told Quebec was exceptional and that racism was just Anglo Canada's fascination with all things American:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/...brotherhood-president-comments-1.5630427

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

They should replace it with a graphic of ....

If you can’t bring yourself to edit out that post, I trust that a moderator will do you the service.

[urbandreamer]

^Why? Fried chicken was invented by the Scots/Scots Irish and everytime my Southern relatives visited us in Canada they insisted we eat fried chicken whether at PFK or a local bbq joint. I have an excellent gluten free baked chicken recipe I now use that tastes better. And I'm not kidding about my roots in Mississippi ... 1820s-50s then after the Mexican War they moved to Texas. I've got their church recipe books dating back to the late 1800s: fried everything.

[kwoldtimer]

I have trouble believing that you are that naive, but it’s on you, not me.

[urbandreamer]

Fried chicken is a Southern thing. You're either from the South or you're a Yankee in disguise.