Why is America so Hung up on Race Unlike Canada? (Mexicans, money)
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I made a recent visit to Canada and it basically lived up to all my expectations. The environment is clean and quiet and it has a more laid back feel than America. The people are very social and friendly and you just don't sense the tension in the air that is characteristic of life in America.
I visited a cousin of mine in what would be considered a low income area of Toronto (which is still pretty decent by the way) and I saw something that had me rethinking everything I knew about race relations from a socioeconomic standpoint. We all the know the situation in America regarding the prevalence of "white-flight" from major urban centers to the suburbs, the corresponding decay and poverty that exist within inner cities neighborhoods occupied predominantly by minorities, and the generally segregated ethnic enclaves that exist within the big cities.
Anyways, what I saw in this Toronto neighborhood was a diversity and mixing among the different ethnic groups that you'll never see anywhere in America. This particular area is known to have a large black population and it is a magnate for immigrants from the Caribbean as well as other places (I spotted quite a few Muslim women driving around the neighborhood wearing the hijab... something that I almost never see in America). Even so there is a sizable white population interspersed throughout the area. In fact my cousin's neighbors are white and I was surprised to see their kids playing with my cousin's kids and the other black kids from the area. We were having pizza outdoors and my cousin's white neighbor came over and join us and ate and chat with us.
I found it intriguing but refreshing at the same time. I watched them carefully (without making it obvious) and I saw absolutely no tension or indication that they were uncomfortable in the other's presence or with the fact that their kids were playing together in the yard. In fact I notice this several times in Canada - how comfortably whites and blacks interacted with each other. I've never seen such relaxed attitudes between whites and blacks in America.
The idea of white-flight is virtually non-existent in Canada. You'll find whites in the inner city and low income areas as much as the suburbs and high income areas. Racism is probably present there but you'll have to search hard to find it or it's very subdued UNLIKE America where it's virtually in your face everywhere you go (browse the threads here on CD and you'll see what I'm talking about). Maybe America should take a page out of Canada's book. Like Healthcare and their stable banking system, they seem to get it right time and time again. Go Canada!
Well they weren't free until the mid-1800s. Takes a while for people who previously were denied education or freedom to get going. Doesn't help that they were also discriminated against systematically for about another 100 years after emancipation.
Don't mistake me for a person who thinks we ought to have hardcore affirmative action, but recognize that it's not like simply being freed meant that they'd be fully integrated and "caught up" overnight.
Because the left plays the race card at every turn by default, as all their policies have been an epic failure and this is all they have left. Call everyone a racist in order to shut them up. The only problem for them is the fact that people have wised up to it. The libs that cried wolf.
As a Canadian living in the U.S. I have frequently commented on how different the countries are. Tensions do exist between different groups in Canada, but that is mostly First Nations and others. White, black (not African American), Asian, East-Indian all tend to live peacefully amongst each other.
My neighbourhood was diverse, something I really miss in the U.S. Nothing like walking through little India or Greektown on my way something and seeing and smelling all the wonderful food.
Peperosso, Canadian's don't hate American's - what Canadian's hate is the subset of American's who try and tell Canada how to govern, what is right and wrong and why they are inferior to the U.S. The biggest insult to a Canadian is to say Canada is the 51st state; there are so many cultural differences between the two countries. Oh yeah when you do call Canada the 51st state, or America lite, all you are doing is showing your ignorance.
As a Canadian living in the U.S. I have frequently commented on how different the countries are. Tensions do exist between different groups in Canada, but that is mostly First Nations and others. White, black (not African American), Asian, East-Indian all tend to live peacefully amongst each other.
My neighbourhood was diverse, something I really miss in the U.S. Nothing like walking through little India or Greektown on my way something and seeing and smelling all the wonderful food.
Peperosso, Canadian's don't hate American's - what Canadian's hate is the subset of American's who try and tell Canada how to govern, what is right and wrong and why they are inferior to the U.S. The biggest insult to a Canadian is to say Canada is the 51st state; there are so many cultural differences between the two countries. Oh yeah when you do call Canada the 51st state, or America lite, all you are doing is showing your ignorance.
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