This piece was authored by Conservative Canuck@KarenFl39666229. Check out her opinion. Please feel free to comment.
Justin Trudeau tells us that we as a country are systemically racist. Now first of all, as a leader, I was always taught that it is best to lead by example and as a leader you represent your people to others, you defend them and stand in the gap for them. On the point of representing your people to others, perhaps we are racist, as our leader has on several occasions been photographed in black face and appropriating the cultural identity of other groups of people. However, I do not believe that Canada as a nation is systemically racist. Systemic is defined as relating to a system that affect the body as a whole, that is absorbed or circulated to be lethal to others that feed on it, such as a pesticide. Perhaps our dear leader’s racism is lethal to us as Canadians.
I used to own a fitness club with a friend. I mostly worked behind the scenes taking care of all of the administrative duties, but most members knew me. However, some had no idea that I was a part owner. When I interact with people, I love to use humour to get to know them. It’s a family thing. We always joke around and tease each other. It was and still is our love language. I would joke with members when they signed in at the reception desk and if we hadn’t seen a member, I would try to good-naturedly joke about their absence. This did not go over well with one member. She complained that my joking upset her, that she did not need to be reminded of her absence and perhaps I did so because she was black. She was so upset and offended that she wanted me removed from the front desk. I believe she really wanted me fired and was not aware that I was not a paid employee. At the time I was flabbergasted that she took offense.
It was never my intention to upset a member of our gym. I had no idea what she was going through to have felt so upset by my joking with her. Neither did she know my experiences or personality to understand that I was merely reaching out to her, welcoming her back in a playful manner. The experience shut me down for awhile. I no longer wanted to interact with members. Heaven forbid that someone else would get upset, so it was better to stay away. This situation happened almost twenty years ago. I have grown and evolved as a person since then. Isn’t that what we all do, grow and evolve? I do not know exactly when we as a society became so overly sensitive to what others say or do around us. If you are offended by something that I said, or if your opinion differs from mine, then talk to me rationally and let’s discuss it. Do not complain to others about me because when you do, you create more problems. Do not attack me personally. If you attack without giving me an opportunity to explain my line of thinking or to provide a reason as to why you feel the way that you do, then I will naturally get defensive and we accomplish nothing. My personal experiences that make me who I am, are not yours, and vice versa. You do not know what I have been through or how I feel. How can I possibly respect your opinion if you cannot speak to me with natural discourse? Isn’t respect earned?
When I think about my friends the last thing that comes to my mind is their ethnicity or skin colour. I just think of them as friends. In my mind an inherently racist individual thinks about nothing but race and skin colour. When someone is injured or killed in protests or in police custody, I sincerely doubt that the instigators are predominately occupied with anything about race either. I believe it is the exception, not the norm, when someone is racist. To believe otherwise negates the history of how far we have come as people. History proves that we have changed and we are still evolving. Unfortunately, we have raised up a generation of individuals who wilt at the slightest form of criticism, who received trophies just for participating, who were coddled with every scrape and bruise and who cannot withstand the storms of life. Shame on us. I don’t know about you, but I was always told that when you point your finger at someone, as in Trudeau pointing his at all Canadians, keep in mind that there are always two fingers pointing back at you. Not everyone conforms to your ideas of what is offensive or racist. Step back and examine yourself first.
That’s just my opinion.
