Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Retribution

Amazingly, after all that controversy, all the negative press regarding natives, a show was on the radio about racism. It started off with the usual hub bub,the blatant scorges of racism. Cross burning was mentioned, the fountain thing, the signs that posted whites and the "other." Yeah yeah, I would have to go against the current on this one. It seems to me a lot is said about blatant racism. However given the fact that many people are pretty darn smart; I'm guessing few people are, today, openly and blatantly racist. In fact since racism is related to a deep attitude, it can be hidden quite easily. Thus racism is more often subversive. Racism is about domination, its about oppression. I'm also thinking in terms of racism that a minority cannot do as much damage as someone from the majority when it come to slurs and derogatory comments. Thus we can also conclude racism is about power. The more a person has, the more his opressive and dominating words will inflict the greater damage. Racism is about an attitude, we might alter our outward appearances, but we could still have those festering attitudes. Just because you have a few friends that are not like you, doesnt necessarily mean you are without predjudice. At least we can say interacting is a good start. Lastly we have made a conjecture that racism lies in forced segregation. Yet simply chosing to segregate, is just as bad if not worse. Any segregation opens the door to the inability to socialize with those that are not like us. If anyone is anti-social it has to be those who are segregated. Segregation is going against some of our more recent developments. Multiculturalism and intercultural relations have a better chance of creating a common good for all people. It is a larger theory, and greater than domination and homogenizing the masses. Just knowing that Canada's landscape is changing, to where the aboriginal population is the fastest growing segment in our society: And there are some 1/4 of a million biracial marriges. Need I mention that only 18 percent of our people call themselves Canadians, all the rest of Canada is broken up into ethnic groups. Canada is certainly going multicultural bigtime. We can hold to the old ways or we can change for the better. I think if a person contiues to make racial remarks or pushes the race thing they are treading on thin ice. It is time to reconsider past cultural indiscretions and move with the times.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Talk show hosts, Ahenakew, and Saskatchewan politics

More things to say....
This controversy (the Ahenakew debacle) is doing more harm, and it is discouraging that people cannot see this. Like I said it is too bad if anything it is more related to one person who is offended at some past things. This talk show host obviously cannot see past his bitterness. Now native people have to reap the havoc, and they have to be disciplined. To me it is about that hegemony that is so deeply ingrained in Canadian politics. Just the response from everyone other than natives themselves is a prime example. It has been said, “take away the funding,” I even think people have gone as far as making derogatory remarks about the chiefs; this is certainly getting out of hand. At some point there has to be some respect for native people particularly how they want to deal with things. Now after positioning himself in derogatory sentiments, there is no turning back, no means of retracting such statements: The damage is done and until a public apology is given for instigating spite against our First Nations people or we will continue to roll in Saskatchewan’s argil. Lastly, I still firmly believe that good things await native people: And that they will be up and reaching new heights, and justice will surely reign.

A National Day

It seems to me it is not just about having a voice as it is, being able to dictate ones direction. Clearly native people are overly burdened by specifically what mainstream thinks of them, and this has lots to do with how they moreover function. If they are treated like children; who are unable to be responsible for themselves, then how could they achieve any sucess? This whole historical thing about how they were unable to function properly, and then dictate how they operate is a far cry from "good governance." The recent issue of Ahenakew is a prime example of mainstream coming in and dictating how they should deal with things. It is certainly hard for most people in mainstream to see that the native side in particular that their latest initiative is about forgiveness. (The Ahenakew case)
If anyone is oppressed in society, it is the native people. You have to have some form of political ability to be able to make a statement that is far reaching and somewhat effective; plainly said, native peoples attitudes and opinions are very different from say the majority. I would think quite obviously that the majority's voice will do more damage in the negative sense, and as a result there is no reverse discrimination or hypocracy when it come to oppressed people having an opinion, in fact if anything it is all about hegemony in action via the majority. And quite certainly using equality to bully an opinion onto a minority is wrong. This whole circumstance is about the age old story of native bashing in mainstream, why don't people just put together a national day of native bashing and get it over with, since it is still a cultural thing. Where are the good down-to-home people who will stand up for an already oprressed people. Justice is never advanced by discrimination, be it ever so subversive. Native people have to develop some political authority or they will always succumb to an opinion that does not resinate with them. Natives have to stick together, and maybe one day, they will see justice rise up; and moreover there will be a lifting up society's down-trodden.