We all like to think that living in Canada, we're a free and egalitarian society, one that doesn't succumb to base and crass accounts of humanity that Racist thinking provides. But over the last few weeks, I've seen and/or heard a number of instances that have made me realize that assuming we're not racist really opens the door for racist thinking to reemerge.
As some of you know, I'm back as a university student at York. Walking to class about two weeks ago, I ended up walking behind these two kids, neither of whom could have been older than 19. As we were all walking the path toward the building my class was in, another two kids walked by in the opposite direction. The young man was white, the girl black. They were holding hands and smiling at one another.
As the couple passed, one of the kids in front of me snickered. Once out of earshot of the couple, the one kid turned to the other and made a blatantly racist comment (It's been a few weeks, and I don't remember the wording anymore. Suffice to say that it was something about the fact that they were an interracial couple was depleting the gene pool or some such nonsense). The other laughs, respond with an equally racist comment agreeing with the "fact" that interracial dating is wrong. I said something to them and they told me to mind my own business, and they told me they weren't being racist. Simply because they were both black. The kid told me that he was protecting his cultural heritage. (the language wasn't so pretty, but that's what it amounted to). I told them that it was still racist and then headed off to class. I doubt I made much of an impact.
It's something I hear far too often for my liking. This person can't date that person, because he's Mexican/black/indian etc., and we're Spanish/Portugeese/Italian/whatever. To the mind of the person speaking, it's not racism, it's simply following cultural traditions. If you're a Spaniard, you're expected to marry a Spaniard. It's what the family wants, and after all, family is everything.
And it extends beyond relationships. At my school, we have Taiwanese student associations, Black accountants, Hispanics for Christ, etc. etc. While I understand and appreciate that cultural heritage is important to people, all that ends up happening is self-segregation. Pockets of isolated, unchanging culture that breeds this kind of racist mentality.
The problem is that couching racist tendencies in "culture" doesn't make it not racist. I'm all for not judging other cultures based on your own; but there are things that transcend culture. Realistically speaking, it's anything the prohibits people from being seen as anything other than a human being. Anything that turns a person into an 'other', and consequently into less than you, is flat-out wrong. And especially amongst the youth culture in Canada,it's only getting worse.
I grew up in a primarily white community. I also wasn't brought up with a great degree of "Indian culture". I mean I like curry, but so does most of the United Kingdom. I think there have been two consequences of this. One is that when I encounter other brown people here at University or at work, the automatic assumption is that I speak Hindi and participate in the same lifestyle they do. When they discover I don't, it's almost as if I've become an object of disdain or ridicule, because I'm not brown enough. As if there exists some standard definition of 'brown' to which I must uphold. It's a treatment that I start to internalize without even realizing it. I mean, my father is German, the Baron Von Muhr. That, technically speaking, makes me descended from German nobility, and also a knight of the Holy Roman Empire. I think that's pretty cool (I'm glad that nobility in Germany no longer infers any kind of rights or special treatment, but being a hereditary knight I think is neat), but for the longest time I wouldn't say anything to anyone about it, because of my outward skin colour. How can I possibly be a European knight when I'm brown?
The second consequence of my upbringing is who I tend to be attracted to. For 60-80% of my growing up, I only ever encountered white women, so naturally as I reached puberty and began to see girls as women, my attraction skewed toward white. The same kind of attraction via socialization occurs in communities and countries all over the world. But I understood that there were beautiful women in all sorts ethnic backgrounds, and once I as an adult moved into more culturally diverse areas, I began to see and meet those women firsthand.
But the stigma of me being brown and attracted to a white woman still remains. Just as it must for plenty of other people who refuse to limit themselves to their own skin colour. But in Canada, here today, I still think that that kind of open-mindness is the minority. One of the most beautiful woman I've ever met is a Native American. Not only is she beautiful, but she's whip smart and an incredibly talented artist. Yet, I can't help but wonder how much she's been held back due to her ethnicity. Had she painted water-lillies or wheat fields, would her work be in people's homes, above their coffee tables or kitchen counters? She's beautiful, but how many beautiful Aboriginal women do you see in the media? Our proud multi-cultural country seems to be devoid of aboriginal newscasters or talk show hosts. And no one even seems to notice.
I don't expect this to be rallying cry for people to march down Yonge Street demanding an end to the implicit racsicm that seems so pervasive in our culture. I just want people to be aware that it exists, and when you tell racist jokes, or comment about an inter racial couple, that it has an impact on the society in which you live. It's difficult for me, because I understand the importance of culture, but simultaneously think strict adherence to one's own culture is the enemy of peace between cultures. I don't have any answers, just concerns.
As some of you know, I'm back as a university student at York. Walking to class about two weeks ago, I ended up walking behind these two kids, neither of whom could have been older than 19. As we were all walking the path toward the building my class was in, another two kids walked by in the opposite direction. The young man was white, the girl black. They were holding hands and smiling at one another.
As the couple passed, one of the kids in front of me snickered. Once out of earshot of the couple, the one kid turned to the other and made a blatantly racist comment (It's been a few weeks, and I don't remember the wording anymore. Suffice to say that it was something about the fact that they were an interracial couple was depleting the gene pool or some such nonsense). The other laughs, respond with an equally racist comment agreeing with the "fact" that interracial dating is wrong. I said something to them and they told me to mind my own business, and they told me they weren't being racist. Simply because they were both black. The kid told me that he was protecting his cultural heritage. (the language wasn't so pretty, but that's what it amounted to). I told them that it was still racist and then headed off to class. I doubt I made much of an impact.
It's something I hear far too often for my liking. This person can't date that person, because he's Mexican/black/indian etc., and we're Spanish/Portugeese/Italian/whatever. To the mind of the person speaking, it's not racism, it's simply following cultural traditions. If you're a Spaniard, you're expected to marry a Spaniard. It's what the family wants, and after all, family is everything.
And it extends beyond relationships. At my school, we have Taiwanese student associations, Black accountants, Hispanics for Christ, etc. etc. While I understand and appreciate that cultural heritage is important to people, all that ends up happening is self-segregation. Pockets of isolated, unchanging culture that breeds this kind of racist mentality.
The problem is that couching racist tendencies in "culture" doesn't make it not racist. I'm all for not judging other cultures based on your own; but there are things that transcend culture. Realistically speaking, it's anything the prohibits people from being seen as anything other than a human being. Anything that turns a person into an 'other', and consequently into less than you, is flat-out wrong. And especially amongst the youth culture in Canada,it's only getting worse.
I grew up in a primarily white community. I also wasn't brought up with a great degree of "Indian culture". I mean I like curry, but so does most of the United Kingdom. I think there have been two consequences of this. One is that when I encounter other brown people here at University or at work, the automatic assumption is that I speak Hindi and participate in the same lifestyle they do. When they discover I don't, it's almost as if I've become an object of disdain or ridicule, because I'm not brown enough. As if there exists some standard definition of 'brown' to which I must uphold. It's a treatment that I start to internalize without even realizing it. I mean, my father is German, the Baron Von Muhr. That, technically speaking, makes me descended from German nobility, and also a knight of the Holy Roman Empire. I think that's pretty cool (I'm glad that nobility in Germany no longer infers any kind of rights or special treatment, but being a hereditary knight I think is neat), but for the longest time I wouldn't say anything to anyone about it, because of my outward skin colour. How can I possibly be a European knight when I'm brown?
The second consequence of my upbringing is who I tend to be attracted to. For 60-80% of my growing up, I only ever encountered white women, so naturally as I reached puberty and began to see girls as women, my attraction skewed toward white. The same kind of attraction via socialization occurs in communities and countries all over the world. But I understood that there were beautiful women in all sorts ethnic backgrounds, and once I as an adult moved into more culturally diverse areas, I began to see and meet those women firsthand.
But the stigma of me being brown and attracted to a white woman still remains. Just as it must for plenty of other people who refuse to limit themselves to their own skin colour. But in Canada, here today, I still think that that kind of open-mindness is the minority. One of the most beautiful woman I've ever met is a Native American. Not only is she beautiful, but she's whip smart and an incredibly talented artist. Yet, I can't help but wonder how much she's been held back due to her ethnicity. Had she painted water-lillies or wheat fields, would her work be in people's homes, above their coffee tables or kitchen counters? She's beautiful, but how many beautiful Aboriginal women do you see in the media? Our proud multi-cultural country seems to be devoid of aboriginal newscasters or talk show hosts. And no one even seems to notice.
I don't expect this to be rallying cry for people to march down Yonge Street demanding an end to the implicit racsicm that seems so pervasive in our culture. I just want people to be aware that it exists, and when you tell racist jokes, or comment about an inter racial couple, that it has an impact on the society in which you live. It's difficult for me, because I understand the importance of culture, but simultaneously think strict adherence to one's own culture is the enemy of peace between cultures. I don't have any answers, just concerns.
Your second last sentence is a very good one as well. My father (and maternal grandparents) understood that very well when they emigrated here, and they - along with many others, I would wager - mixed a bit of the old country with what they found here to find a happy medium. The fact that this seems to be changing concerns me as well.
(On a semi-unrelated note, I think that it's pretty effing awesome that you're a knight of the Holy Roman Empire.)