This is a different sort of post than the ones I typically write. But I felt it was important enough that I decided to write it, and I hope that you will read it.
You know me as the IT Nerd. I’ve been doing this since 2008. I do tech reviews, share my opinion on the tech world, and offer up tech related advice.
But I am also a Black male. I came to Canada from London England when I was 7 years old. And I have been a victim of racism before I came to Canada, and since I came to Canada. And being silent about this is no longer an option.
What the world has seen in the last few days goes beyond just people for African decent. And it goes beyond just the United States. After all, Canada is a place where Missing and murdered Indigenous women is such a problem that a National Inquiry was established to investigate this. Canada is also a place where the Province of Nova Scotia has had numerous issues with how the Province dealt with people of Black decent. For example, there’s the story of Africville where this area of Halifax was neglected for decade and ultimately the residents of the area were forced out. I could go on, but the point is this. In short, this is a human rights issue. And by that I mean that that there are humans in places all around the globe that are the subject of racism and ill treatment. And it is beyond time for this to stop.
Nobody should have to deal with being called the “n-word” for simply walking into a major sporting goods store in Toronto, nor should they be placed in a situation where police in Toronto draw their guns and put a 14 year old in handcuffs because their dad had the audacity to drive a BMW while being black. And in case you are wondering, both of those things are two of many racist incidents that happened to me. But beyond me, or other people of African decent, Indigenous women shouldn’t be facing violence at a rate of seven times higher than that for other females. And beyond Indigenous women, visible minorities should not be forced into jobs because of the color of their skin, or because they come from a certain part of the world. Racism, in all its forms needs to end. And it needs to end now. Politicians from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and yes, even US President Donald Trump among other politicians globally need to stop saying nice things and need to start taking concrete action to address this once and for all. There are people in the streets all around the world who want this issue to be addressed. Those politicians would do well to listen to them, and more importantly act on their concerns.
But more importantly, it is time for everyone, everywhere to act. Micro aggressions such as saying to Black people that “your parents must be so proud to you” which implies Black people don’t normally achieve should no longer be acceptable. Not hiring people because they don’t have “Canadian” experience which excludes new Canadians from a whole host of jobs should be unacceptable. And having White people take the step of standing with people who have legitimate and long standing concerns, and addressing those concerns should be the norm. This is the time to act. This is the time to make racism of all sorts and directed towards many, many people a thing of the past. The question is, will we all seize this opportunity to make this happen.
The ball is in all of our courts.
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This entry was posted on June 5, 2020 at 11:28 am and is filed under Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Why The Time Is NOW To Stop Racism Of All Sorts Towards All People Everywhere
This is a different sort of post than the ones I typically write. But I felt it was important enough that I decided to write it, and I hope that you will read it.
You know me as the IT Nerd. I’ve been doing this since 2008. I do tech reviews, share my opinion on the tech world, and offer up tech related advice.
But I am also a Black male. I came to Canada from London England when I was 7 years old. And I have been a victim of racism before I came to Canada, and since I came to Canada. And being silent about this is no longer an option.
What the world has seen in the last few days goes beyond just people for African decent. And it goes beyond just the United States. After all, Canada is a place where Missing and murdered Indigenous women is such a problem that a National Inquiry was established to investigate this. Canada is also a place where the Province of Nova Scotia has had numerous issues with how the Province dealt with people of Black decent. For example, there’s the story of Africville where this area of Halifax was neglected for decade and ultimately the residents of the area were forced out. I could go on, but the point is this. In short, this is a human rights issue. And by that I mean that that there are humans in places all around the globe that are the subject of racism and ill treatment. And it is beyond time for this to stop.
Nobody should have to deal with being called the “n-word” for simply walking into a major sporting goods store in Toronto, nor should they be placed in a situation where police in Toronto draw their guns and put a 14 year old in handcuffs because their dad had the audacity to drive a BMW while being black. And in case you are wondering, both of those things are two of many racist incidents that happened to me. But beyond me, or other people of African decent, Indigenous women shouldn’t be facing violence at a rate of seven times higher than that for other females. And beyond Indigenous women, visible minorities should not be forced into jobs because of the color of their skin, or because they come from a certain part of the world. Racism, in all its forms needs to end. And it needs to end now. Politicians from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and yes, even US President Donald Trump among other politicians globally need to stop saying nice things and need to start taking concrete action to address this once and for all. There are people in the streets all around the world who want this issue to be addressed. Those politicians would do well to listen to them, and more importantly act on their concerns.
But more importantly, it is time for everyone, everywhere to act. Micro aggressions such as saying to Black people that “your parents must be so proud to you” which implies Black people don’t normally achieve should no longer be acceptable. Not hiring people because they don’t have “Canadian” experience which excludes new Canadians from a whole host of jobs should be unacceptable. And having White people take the step of standing with people who have legitimate and long standing concerns, and addressing those concerns should be the norm. This is the time to act. This is the time to make racism of all sorts and directed towards many, many people a thing of the past. The question is, will we all seize this opportunity to make this happen.
The ball is in all of our courts.
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This entry was posted on June 5, 2020 at 11:28 am and is filed under Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.