Who do you say I am?

Darren’s weekly musings

April 19^th-26^th

Who do you think I am?

This morning I heard an interview with a man who was talking about the racism that exists in our society.  The myth is that in Canada we have no racism.  The myth goes even further, given that Toronto is the most multicultural diverse city in the world, that Toronto must be the most accepting city in the world.  But the man being interviewed said that since he is black, he gets followed around when he goes into certain high end stores- just like he can’t be trusted.  He has been refused entry to clubs in town- and it was just not one random act, he has been refused entry on many different occasions.  And he has been stopped by police several times and carded, just because he was black.  The man said he felt like a prisoner in his own community.  He says without a doubt that racism exists in our city.

I remember working as a scrutineer in a very close British Columbia provincial election.  I dutifully took my seat behind the deputy returning officer and polling clerk.  I had done this kind of volunteer work before and was obeying all of the rules.  The scrutineer from the other main party was a teenage girl.  She had not read all the rules.  When people came to our booth to cast their vote she would say to me, “Oh that person is very well dressed.  Therefore they must vote this way.”  “That person is in raggedy clothes.  Obviously they vote this way.”  I told her to stop doing this as our role was merely to observe the vote and we were not to talk about various political parties.  Eventually, she was reprimanded by the deputy returning officer.  But this young girl had figured that she could size up who people were, what they were all about, and who they would vote for just by the way they dressed.  Levis wearers would vote one way.  Vera Wang wearers would vote another in her mind.

When I speak, I speak as Darren.  It is wrong to think that because I think a certain thing, all people from my home town of Moose Jaw will think the same thing.  Because I voice my opinion on a certain subject, it is wrong to think that all left handed people, or all people from Ontario, or all United Church ministers, or all 51 year old gay men with Austrian, French, Scottish and Cree heritage think the same way I do.  The young girl at the voting poll that day was so wrong.  You cannot judge others by what they wear, by what colour their skin is, by what accent they speak with.  People are more than the sum of their parts.  Our society must stop using assumptions based on perceived differences to judge others.  We need to  end practices like carding that presume guilt on the basis of skin colour.  Blessings.