ROTHENBURGER: We need to allow ourselves to be proud of Canada as we fight racism

It’s a matter of our interpretation of “systemic.” To some it means racism is everywhere, in everyone but them. To others it means simply that our system harbors it even if our values reject it. Failure to accept that racism is dominant and pervasive is a risky lane.

Stockwell Day found that out this week. So did Rex Murphy. So did Drew Brees.

Day is a former leader of the Canadian Alliance and former Conservative MP who, until a few days ago, was a commentator on the CBC political program “Power & Politics.”

He was part of a panel discussion about racism when he asked rhetorically, “Should we all be more sensitive about any kind of hurting or insulting people whether it’s racist or not?

“Should I have gone through school and been mocked because I had glasses and was called ‘four eyes’ and because of the occupation of my parents? Should I have been mocked for all that? No, of course not. But are Canadians largely and majority racist? No, we are not.”

That most Canadians aren’t racist should be good news but Day would have been wise to provide more context for his remarks, such as acknowledging that racism is a serious problem in Canada regardless of how many people are racist. He could have explained that he was not comparing the bullying he got in school for wearing glasses with what people of colour endure from police brutality or societal discrimination.

He might have said being bullied for wearing glasses is the closest he can come as a white person of privilege to understanding what it’s like to be discriminated against based on race.

But he didn’t. But neither did he insult black people or indigenous people or people of any other colour as inferior, or suggest everything is just fine as it is.

He did later apologize, saying he accepts that his comments were “insensitive and hurtful,” adding, “I ask forgiveness for wrongly equating my experiences to theirs. I commit to them my unending efforts to fight racism in all forms.”

It didn’t matter. He lost his gig with CBC, his position on the board of Telus, and his job with McMillan LLP, a law firm. The firm explained that it believes “systemic racism is real.”

Rex Murphy, the popular but crusty columnist who has such a unique way with words, received much the same reaction, though he hasn’t yet lost any employment that I’m aware of.

In a National Post column headlined “Canada is not a racist country, despite what the Liberals say,” Murphy declared, “Most Canadians, the vast majority in fact, are horrified by racism and would never participate in it.”

He contended that Canada has worked for decades to eliminate bigotry. Though imperfect, he said, Canada tries to be “tolerant and welcoming.”

The following paragraph is lengthy but it’s important because it explains the rationale for Murphy’s defense of his country:

“Do we not have welcoming immigration policies? Are our largest cities not a great montage of people from every corner of the world, of every colour and creed? Do we not, both in private and public, celebrate Canada’s multicultural nature? Do our schools not press the ideas of tolerance and acceptance toward all peoples and all faiths from kindergarten through high school? Is it not a doctrine of Canadian life that to end any trace of discrimination or racism is a cardinal rationale for the very existence of modern Canada?”

That’s hardly a doctrine of hate. Quite the opposite. All Murphy was really saying was, yes, racism must be wiped out but we’ve been trying.

In return, he was dismissed by one critic as a “73-year-old White Man.” And a fellow National Post columnist, Vanmala Suramaniam, wrote that anyone who has not experienced racism shouldn’t be writing about it, and shouldn’t be given a platform to write about it.

Our third example is Drew Brees, quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, obviously not Canadian but in keeping with the point I’m about to make. Brees told an interviewer Wednesday that while he believes all people are equal, he “will never agree with anyone disrespecting the flag” by kneeling when the national anthem is played.

Brees didn’t say racism isn’t a problem. He just doesn’t agree with certain ways of expressing it.

He has been pillaged for saying so. He has apologized for being “insensitive.” Brees said, “It breaks my heart to know the pain I have caused.”

Oh, yeah, and one more. Quebec Premier Francois Legault said he “stands in solidarity with people who denounce racial violence” but rejected the idea there is a “systemic” problem in his province.

“I think that there is some discrimination in Quebec, but there’s no systemic discrimination, no system in Quebec of discrimination,” he said, adding “it’s a very small minority of the people who are doing some discrimination.”

Legault didn’t receive the same degree of pushback as the others, but once again the word “systemic” was in play.

I saw a sign at the Black Lives Matter rally at Riverside Park on Thursday that I really liked for the way it sums up white privilege. There were many, many signs with many, many slogans but I think this one nailed it:

“White privilege doesn’t mean your life hasn’t been hard. It means your skin colour hasn’t made it even harder.”

As for me, I acknowledge my privilege. I was raised in a working-class family, never went hungry, was never arrested for anything let alone the colour of my skin, got a good education with the help of my parents and have lived a good life.

That privilege makes it harder for me to understand what living with racism is like, but it doesn’t mean I’m OK with racism. When Rex Murphy defends Canada for trying to fix racism, he doesn’t deserve to be smacked down with an ageist headline about his age, and dismissed as having no right to talk about the issue.

Stockwell Day deserves criticism but not vilification for a well-intended, albeit ham-handed, attempt to create context. Drew Brees shouldn’t be trashed for choosing his own way to express solidarity with those who fight racism.

If white folks are tarred with the universal brush of racism, if they’re considered ineligible to talk about such an important issue, how do we ever solve it? Where’s the democracy and freedom of expression in that?

Chances of converting a racist mind to an inclusive one are slim. Canada is 78 per cent white; the rest are visible minorities. The odds of changing a culture without a lot of support from the 78 per cent are pretty much nil.

Job One at the moment is getting rid of racist police enforcement. All of us, of all colours, have a responsibility to do something about it.

So is racism systemic in this country? We have certainly allowed racism to fester in our social policies and practices. It exists on a major scale. Systemic in the sense that our institutions perpetuate inequalities is very different from assuming that all or most white people are racist, or that an entire country is racist in its values.

White supremacy and institutional racism have no place in our society. We white privileged folk need a lot more education about what it’s like to live with racism but I choose to believe that most Canadians are on the side of what’s right and are onside with demands for change. There are a huge number of people with light skin marching for social justice right now.

If we allow ourselves to be divided simply because of one word, we will fail. If we aren’t allowed to be proud of our country and its ability to fix this problem, we will fail. If we denigrate allies who happen to have different nuances of opinion from our own, failure is guaranteed.

We have an exciting opportunity right now. Let’s not blow it.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.

by Mel Rothenburger

ROTHENBURGER: We need to allow ourselves to be proud of Canada as we fight racism

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