First encounter with racism

That Canadian law still permits this kind of behaviour is deplorable. Both of these stories speak of hateful behaviour purely for the sake of being hateful. What a waste of human contact. I find it increasingly hard to hear my fellow Canadians warning me that “they” will soon outnumber “us.” Whatever “us” is, I can assure you that I, and most of the people I know, do not want to be in that club.

It’s about time these racists learned to deal with immigration as a continuing and VITAL reality, which is ensuring the ability of ALL Canadians to progress in the global community, and I thank both of you for your contributions to “my” country .

Best of luck, and my sincerest wishes that you never see anything like this again.

When I hear/read a story like this, I am ashamed to be white…

I detest racism. I don’t understand it at all. Compared with my home country, Canada isn’t so bad… but I know people get hurt because of racism in Canada as well, immigrants AND native Canadians!

I was bullied in school for all those years. I was an outsider (I didn’t understand that either), so maybe I may say I know how much it can hurt.

God has made us all unique (with a purpose).

‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ (Mark 12:31 and others).

Juna
Permanent Resident of 5 years

Oh god, cry me a river. If you dont like it, Go back to where you came from. Ya dont see me flyin to the jungle and complaining about the bugs. Get a clue.

to sneeze august 31
people like you shouldn’t exist
by the way, go ask your mama about your ancestors
i bet there is a native indian somewhere or maybe a black…
cause i can tell you i’ve seen white -whites who have black ancestors
still feel superior?

Lets remember that not all white people are trailor-trash. If someone is going to do that to another human, regardless of race, it’s just plain stupid. Same with “sneeze”‘s comments above. Dumb.

Rasicim is not just from white people directed to other races; it works both ways. Yes, I am white, but have lived in countries where I was the “minority” – and yes, I have encountered racsim directed to me as well. It’s just ignorance and a shame that it exists. The best thing is to rise above and set a better example. I don;t understand the posts above talking about “supremacy”…The majority of white Canadians do not think like that.

I felt compelled to write this comment because I think that as Canadians we can do better than this. Diversity = Strength.

Though I tend to agree with Stephanie and Sarah but also find a harsh reality as stated by “Opinionated Indian” and immature comments from a user like “sneeze”. I have myself lived in various countries across the globe and strongly feel that to ensure strength in diversity, we all need to do following as individuals as also as a team

1. Stand up to such comments and counter such slur right on face. There is nothing to fear if you are right. Running away does not solve the problem. This is a democratic country and has some sound democratic principles and law, unlike dictatorship and people with racial overtones can have some good time in the company of law
2. Foster friendship across various communities
3. Communicate and ensure removal of perception gaps, if any!!

Hoping to build and mantain a bright and congenial present & future for which most of us came here.

this is so mean and i personally am best firends with a black guy in my class and he is so nice and kind

I would like to extend my congratulations to the author of this blog. You have very meticulously compiled your experiences as an immigrant. Coming to the topic of racism in Canada, I would like to share my experiences. I am from India and in my 20s; I have been living here for the past 5 years.

The first time I became a victim of racism was when I went to the doctor for my immigration medical exam. At that time I was so naive that I didn’t realize that that she was a racist. Here’s a brief snippet of what she said to me:

“Your English is flawless. How do you do that?” … She thinks since I am brown skinned I am not “qualified” enough to converse in English. She doesn???t know that there are 10 times the number of English speakers in India than Canada. She may be thinking that knowing English is some kind of a specialized skill that only white people can acquire.

At the end of the medical exam she mentioned to me that she will do some blood tests on me to check for HIV. This is a standard procedure. However, the next comment that she made was shocking and can only arise due to prejudice.

???We can never know; you may be doing drugs.??? I believe that if she was a true professional she could have easily avoided this comment. Do your work (i.e., do the medical test), but please stop the contemptuous comments.

The second racism incident happened in a park. I was with two other friends (from the Indian subcontinent) and we approached a white middle aged person to see if he could take a picture of all three of us. Before taking the picture he asked: ???Where are you guys from???? We replied India. Next, he asked ???So you guys are not going back???? At that moment I didn???t realize that he was a racist. Now that I recall this incident I understand that this guy feels he ???owns??? this country and that we are ???outsiders???. I think he has no idea about the history of Canada. Does snatching the land from first nations people ring any bells?

Another incident happened at the Toronto airport. A ???detective??? grilled me at the gate before I was going to board my plane. He told me that he was doing a ???random check???. I wonder why a white guy is never ???randomly??? checked. He checked my bag and noted down my license number and address. At the end when I told him that he was harassing me he backed away. I told him that I am a law abiding person and have nothing to hide. He replied: ???We will see.??? Not to mention again this was a white guy in his 40s.

I feel pity on some naive candians, mainly caucasians rooted from W Europe. These people are ignorant, stupid of what many places in the outside world have transformed into today, many places infact are far better than canada today.

Those pity canadians sadly are suffering from superiority+inferiority complex syndrome. Their root gave them an illusion of their glorious past 2-3 centuries ago. However in reality their capability, knowledge, knowhow, diligence or for some even their intelligence, common sense level are far below their immigrants counter parts mainly canadians do not yet have the vision of globalization as many of the immigrants.

Lastly all immigrants must unit together to combat racism. Believably all immigrants must have experienced some ill attitudes and bad looks from certain naive stupid white canadians. We must tell the outside world how uncivilized, barbarian these stupid canadians are, the least we can do in the absence of a good representation of immigrants in the top decisions and policies making level.

The reason why some communities appear to be segregating into own enclave are largely forced by the whites for decades. Belivably all “visible minorities” have come across some degree of nasty, ill attitudes from whites, especially those from W European origin, the most common of which is mere bad looks or some rude words. Such sickening attitudes are often difficult to bring these people to discrimation justice. Time and again when bad experiences are encountered, “visible minorities” are encouraged to form their own enclave and help each other out. Not until the day when whites become “visible minorities” immigrants will never get fair and equal chance in canada since the policies and decisions makers are so conservative and protective. Work and job situation is just one obvious unfairness targetted at newcomers. Most services provided to immigrants too such as in sales, banking, car rental, properties and so forth are much much inferior than those given to canadian-born. All immigrants should now unite together, to support each other’s work and businesses as much as possible. If you need repair job done or buy groceries, go to buy it from an immigrant’s store. This is the only way to let ourselves grow economically stronger and with that can force those people with sickening attitudes to change. Non white population is now estimated at least at 30+% of the total, if any banks, stores and businesses want to grow they better start switching their firm’s motif and training their staff to better serve us immigrants!

hello id like to tell my first encounter with racism in noember 03 i was shoping at an local tops market myself and 2 daughters my kids were 7 yrs and 9 yrs at the time well walking around the store i came across some sales they had on tuna fish.when a white male seemed to come in every aile i went into i wasent dressed like a bum didnt look like i didnt have any money or nothin i finally asked for the manager the manager came over and said to me maybe he likes you i said im shoping for food and not a date i said please ask him not to follow me around im not a theif i have money i shop in here all the time please ask him to stop its makeing me uncomfortable and also my children so the guys leaves with a smile on his face thinking he did his job by folloing blacks around the store just to make it seem as though blacks are theives but in my opinion theives come in all colors not just black i want readers to know that racism is very much alive in jamestown newyork its just the hidden kind.

Canadians understand that racism is wrong, but it is such a fundamental aspect of how they are raised that they cannot even see when they are engaging in it. If they would take the opportunity to really see life here through an immigrant’s eyes they might start to understand.

The so-called racist poster referred to in the first posting here was no doubt simply concerned about the medical qualifications of the poster named sarah. Canada has one of the highest standards of education and healthcare in the world and we simply do not want our standards destroyed by those trained in countries which are far below our standards. As well, these people often are rude in their attitude towards patients and can’t speak english fluently and that is why the poster was no doubt frustrated with a system which is falling below standard. I know i’m sick of not having easy access to medical care by professionals from my own culture who have also done all their training in canada. Really sick of it.

Unfortunately the ugly and racist practice of “racial profiling” can rear its ugly head in any institution, even in our hospitals. I believe my dying wife and me were victims of this hurtful and hateful practice at the hands of at least one emergency dept. staff member at the University Hospital of London (our medical “Mecca”), Ontario. Even the local coroner, Dr. S., whom I met some three months after my wife’s death, agreed with me that the treatment I received from some medical staff at the University Hospital was wrong and he called this unfair and biased treatment “a kick in the b…s”. I called the ugly, and I believe racially motivated, insinuations against me by at least one emergency dept. “professional” “a stab in the back”. My wife and I were a mixed race couple, as millions of Canadian couples are, (I am white and my wife was asian) and I believe that at least one E.R. “professional” was engaged in the ugly practice of “racial profiling” against my wife and I. When I first took my wife to the E.R. of University Hospital in London, Ontario, she had fever and flu-like symptoms for exactly 2 days and 2 nights. However, in the subsequent, and I believe falsified, medical records some “medical professionals” claimed that my wife had those flu-like symptoms for 4 days and in another falsified “medical record” they claimed that my wife had those symptoms for 3 days. I, my wife’s family in London, and a friend of the family, we all knew that my wife was symptomatic for only 2 days. When hospitals do their job right, instead of engaging in ugly “racial profiling” and stereotypes, they usually save E-coli patients who are symptomatic for only 2 days. These incompetent medical “pros” at London’s University Hospital only learned that my wife had E-coli approx. a day after she died. I did not realize the emotional anguish and pain that would be inflicted on me and my dying wife by the very people (some E.R. staff, some doctors who kept me in the dark, hospital risk management, the phoney hospital “mouthpiece” calling itself “patient advocate”) I naively trusted and believed in. The nurse in E.R. ( University Hospital ) asked me about my “ethnic background” and what my “accent” was. I told her I was Jewish/Polish and almost immediately (within minutes) I was told to “go home” and “get some sleep”. At this point my wife had only 18 hours left to live but this same “nurse” tols me “we have it under control; her fever is down and not to worry” etc. Had I known those statements were a misdiagnosis/negligence or deliberately false I never would have left my dying wife’s side as I was “advised” to do. I believe that the incompetence/quackery and racism of some at the University Hospital in London deprived my wife and me of being together as a couple as we should have been during the last hours of her life. I trusted their (medical staff) “advice” and went home not being aware of what I now believe were the real reasons for the “nurse” in E.R. to have me “out of the way”. It turned out that the “nurse” wanted to ask my dying wife ugly, and I believe racially motivated, questions about “abuse”. They had absolutely no reason or basis for this kind of questioning of my dying wife. That is why I can only conclude that this ugly psychological torturing of my gravely ill wife was a type of “racial profiling” as I was white and my wife was asian and someone in the E.R. (I believe a nurse) made some ugly and racist conclusions about a white husband “mistreating an asian wife”. University Hospital (London, Ont.) “medical professionals” were certainly not competent enough to save my dying wife from E-coli (with only 2 days of symptoms) but they were quite competent enough to make ugly, racially motivated insinuations about our marriage. Signed, Mark Mager of London (our medical “Mecca”), Ontario, Canada.

so what; just stop crying. i live in usa. my parents are from poland and i have received more ethnic bashings than i care to remember.

According to March Economic Report :

Employment in Canada fell by 61,300 in March, a slightly bigger decline than forecasts for a 50,000 jobs loss. This was the fifth month of job cuts which totaled 357,000, the bulk of which occurred in the first quarter of 2009. The unemployment rate shot up to 8% from 7.7% in February in line with expectations.

I would like to say that I think you are insane, aman. I am a American by birth. Until recently I have lived there all my life. Everyone I have ever met in the states was racist to some degree. That being said, now that I am in Canada I am learning a new way of doing things. I pray that my children are as unracist as most of the people I have come in contact with.
I am sooo freaking sick of immigrants saying they arent getting a fair shake. I called around when debating on moving to Canada. I was offered jobs over the phone in my area of expertise. I informed the hiring managers I spoke with that I have yet to get my SIN and that Im an immigrant. Not one of them cared. They all asked me to apply as soon as I get my SIN. I am sick of all this boo hooing by immigrants. You know what? Canadians dont do things the way Im used to either. But they do things in their own way and if I dont like it I am more than welcome to go home. Just like you are more than welcome to go home. Quit crying about your failures in Canada. Oh and by the way Canadians are not racist! (they are proud to be Canadians). Something someone from a loser country they had to escape from would never understand!

People have equal rights, no matter what is there skin color. My logo is “Threat everyone the way you want to be treated”
But listen to this:I live in Toronto and I have a slavic background. Couple of times, I felt victim of racism, dealing with blackskinned people in position of authority. I was literaly offended, which left me so shocked that I could barely say something in return…Maybe, at least I expected some level of professionalism from this people…
Anyway,I did not take this personally.I believe somebody treat them bad before, so now was their time for revenge…
Please,we must stop this negative energy ! One word here: Respect.

Sreejesh Ellath : I am in indian man now working in United Arab Emirates. As per my understanding the problem was, people try to make self respect by listening to others opinion. If they have good understanding of themselves then there is no problem of racism. If you listen to a racist word it the person inside you to decide ‘Accept or Reject’ Why you taking it in mind listen put a smile and ignore it. In this word you never get respect from all. Respect the friend or relative who respect you others simply leave it let them relay on their belief system, The sound will come if both hand participate in clapping, if one hand keep quiet there is no problem. Participate in constructing work of course you will get good friend never mind white or black or gray, As per my opinion me is my work and attitude not my color. Give your best to where you belong now. Especially canada they are giving good support to immigrant .  Enjoy your freedom if some one with their ignorance disturb you try your best to keep quite, it never put down your self respect. It is you who is living , try to live your life don’t try to compare they have their own culture , you have your own. if you want them as your friend of course you have to adjust. Adjustment and sacrifice , if you want to attain some thing you must suffer pain that is god’s low belie on you my dear frends