Do African Americans and black Canadians really feel Canada is more racist than the United States? (crime, home)
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The US certainly has greater racial problems than Canada. That’s practically undeniable at this point. The incident that happened in Minneapolis is just one in a long string of events that’s gotten coverage. However, Canada is not immune to bad cop behaviour. A few years ago, there was a Polish man who vas visiting relatives in Vancouver and got tasered to death by the police because he couldn’t understand the orders given by them.
The US certainly has greater racial problems than Canada. That’s practically undeniable at this point. The incident that happened in Minneapolis is just one in a long string of events that’s gotten coverage. However, Canada is not immune to bad cop behaviour. A few years ago, there was a Polish man who vas visiting relatives in Vancouver and got tasered to death by the police because he couldn’t understand the orders given by them.
Not exactly. He did not get tasered because he couldn't understand orders. He was tasered because he was being physically violent and attacked people.
We watched the whole incident. He was a big, burly, lumbering, mentally handicapped Polish man who spoke very little if any English. He was going to be moving to the BC interior to live with his mother. He arrived all alone at Vancouver airport expecting to be met there by his mother who was coming down from the BC interior to pick him up, but she had been delayed en route and wasn't there at the airport.
He panicked and lost control of himself, became enraged and physically violent, screaming, raving and throwing pieces of furniture across the rooms at windows and at airport staff there so the airport security called for the RCMP. The RCMP officers initially tried to calm him and talk him down but he became more violent so they finally tasered him because he wouldn't stop his violent behaviour. But after being tasered the first time he continued standing and throwing his weight around and became even more enraged and violent directly towards the officers . So then he got tasered again and when he finally stopped lumbering around and had collapsed to the floor he promptly had a cardiac arrest and died.
The US certainly has greater racial problems than Canada. That’s practically undeniable at this point. The incident that happened in Minneapolis is just one in a long string of events that’s gotten coverage. However, Canada is not immune to bad cop behaviour. A few years ago, there was a Polish man who vas visiting relatives in Vancouver and got tasered to death by the police because he couldn’t understand the orders given by them.
The only RCMP officer who was charged for tasering the Polish man at YVR is not white.
I am black or as some would say "African-American", and lived in Canada for a few years. I don't think it's healthy to measure one or another as more or less racist, as it exists everywhere and is a human problem. I do think that in Canada issues are swept under the rug more, in a "don't talk about it" type of atmosphere. The treatment of indigenous people in Canada is one thing that really sticks out to me as rather surprising.
This week a video of a Canadian woman, Amy Cooper threatening and making false accusations against a black birdwatcher. She constantly emphasizes that he is African-American over and over again, and intonates that she is under immediate threat. In reality, the man is a Harvard graduate and member of the Audobon Society who simply asked her to put her dog on a leash, in accordance with park rules. It is pretty deplorable, shocking, and disgusting.
I am black or as some would say "African-American", and lived in Canada for a few years. I don't think it's healthy to measure one or another as more or less racist, as it exists everywhere and is a human problem. I do think that in Canada issues are swept under the rug more, in a "don't talk about it" type of atmosphere. The treatment of indigenous people in Canada is one thing that really sticks out to me as rather surprising.
This week a video of a Canadian woman, Amy Cooper threatening and making false accusations against a black birdwatcher. She constantly emphasizes that he is African-American over and over again, and intonates that she is under immediate threat. In reality, the man is a Harvard graduate and member of the Audobon Society who simply asked her to put her dog on a leash, in accordance with park rules. It is pretty deplorable.
Just a comment on the above case which I feel needs to be taken into account, because this particular situation goes beyond racism and needs to address mental illness as well. I think in that hysterical woman's situation, regardless of her own nationality, race and current location it should be quite clear to anyone watching the video that the woman is mentally ill. In her own mind she had suddenly turned the man into the boogey man monster creeping out from under her bed and coming to get her.
Take her abusive out of control behaviour just towards the dog alone and combine that with the obsessive language she uses, her hyperventilation and her extreme escalating delusional reactions towards the bird watcher. That should all be a big tip off to anyone with even half a clue that the woman has a serious mental health illness that takes her far beyond racism or reasonable fear or suspicion.
She's totally off her rocker with paranoia and furious about being thwarted and caught out at breaking rules (which is probably what triggered her attack of paranoia). I think it's a very good thing the bird watcher realized she was mentally ill and had the presence of mind to record the incident as evidence for his own protection. I think if he had not been recording it, or if she had not been aware that he was recording it, he might have been at risk of physical violence from her as she escalated out of control.
Being tazed is what caused his heart attack. I do think that cops often get the short end of the stick by others who have never been in their circumstances, but if my brother, who is in the RCMP, had been a part of this, I would be ashamed of him.
I remember wondering at the time if any of those cops spoke second languages. This guy, if I remember correctly, had never been out of his country. Not only is his flight late, his mother is not where she told him to wait but he shuffles around the airport for hours on end, getting more and more disoriented. The guy was panicked. He had no idea how to find his mother.
(I will say one thing in the defense of those cops which is that far too often it's the constables that take the blame for attitudes that come from the top down. When I go into a place of business, and the attitude sucks across the board, I blame management. )
Being tazed is what caused his heart attack. I do think that cops often get the short end of the stick by others who have never been in their circumstances, but if my brother, who is in the RCMP, had been a part of this, I would be ashamed of him.
I remember wondering at the time if any of those cops spoke second languages. This guy, if I remember correctly, had never been out of his country. Not only is his flight late, his mother is not where she told him to wait but he shuffles around the airport for hours on end, getting more and more disoriented. The guy was panicked. He had no idea how to find his mother.
(I will say one thing in the defense of those cops which is that far too often it's the constables that take the blame for attitudes that come from the top down. When I go into a place of business, and the attitude sucks across the board, I blame management. )
What I don't understand is how these huge organizations like international airports don't think it appropriate to have language specialists on call , ready to assist at a moments notice. Cripes; even a tannoy announcement asking for someone within listening range who has a passing familiarity with the language in question, easily ascertained by looking at his ticket, to please respond to the area.
If the only choice they default to is auto-calling the police due to someone becoming belligerent and uncooperative, this will just keep happening ever more frequently. That poor guy wandered around for hours without one airport employee, security, customs or otherwise, being in the least curious or concerned.
We all know what it's like to arrive somewhere after a frustrating airport experience to get onto the plane in the first place, to then endure the deplaning at the other end after what might have been a long uncomfortable flight. I don't think it's a stretch to suggest no one arrives after an international flight to anywhere in the best of humour.
A mentally challenged individual whose disability includes anger management issues and whose family has not prepared adequately for their arrival should be anticipated with a fall back plan better than simply having the RCMP as their first and only go-to plan.
I would hope there was an 'audit-of-procedure' meeting held post event to perhaps come up with a better game plan than what seemed to be in place.
The Dziekanski situation was tragic and not optimally handled by the police, but people should remember that job one for the police is supposed to be to protect the innocent. Even if you're mentally ill, have been provoked, or both, if you're a threat they will neutralize you. That's their job. And sometimes it can be messy.
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