How Prevalent is Racism in Our Society?

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knowledge said:
Been thinking about this for a while and I'm curious to see what you guys think.

I'm usually one of the last people to pull the race card, and until I got older, I never really saw it too much/was sort of oblivious to it (probably even naive).

As I moved up through a couple of different industries, I find that I saw it more and more. And if that translates across different industries, and Canada isn't even that bad...then I can only imagine how bad it is around the world. But I'm more concerned about how bad it is here (if it's even bad at all).

At the last company that I worked for, one of the most qualified candidates didn't get the job (he was objectively one of the best ones there). A huge portion of the next ones to be cut were coloured. The ones that are still there are getting shafted with hours, so it might just be a matter of time. By the end of it all, every single minority was let go (granted, there were only a small handful to begin with), while others who should've been cut based on merit, weren't.

It's entirely possible that it's just a coincidence, but I've always been skeptical (or naive)...so I honestly don't know.

I can only ever definitively say that I've been affected by it once. I was taken off as a campaign manager for a marketing program because one of the higher-ups specifically said to my boss that he only wanted people with blonde hair & blue eyes on the program (lmao). But other than that, I can't ever say that I've ever really been definitively affected.

My barber made a comment that I found pretty interesting: "The different between racism here in Canada vs. the 'States is that in the 'States, you'll know why you didn't get the job. Over here, you just won't get it".

I read a study a couple of years ago that said while a lot of us might harbour racist attitudes or thoughts, they don't translate into our actions (we don't always act or behave on them).

TL;DR In your opinion: is it really a problem here?
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Right or wrong these days promotions have more to do with your attitude than your qualifications, let's face it, everyone has a degree but what gets you ahead is the politics and how you go about things, having emotional intelligence gets your further in regards to promotions than the bullet points on your resume

So maybe when you see more "qualified" people been passed for promotions, do an analysis of how they behave compared to others that are getting promoted

And no, i am not talking about sucking up, I don't think that gets people ahead anymore in this new work environment we all live in, I am talking about emotional intelligence and attitude
 
You want to see hate in Canada? Move to Vancouver, don't mention where you're from, make some friends, then eventually tell them your from Toronto and just watch how quickly you get shunned.
 
Jatt said:
You want to see hate in Canada? Move to Vancouver, don't mention where you're from, make some friends, then eventually tell them your from Toronto and just watch how quickly you get shunned.
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maybe they just didn't like YOU ;)
 
RockerGuy said:
When ppl lash out at others its easy for them to pick out their differences. If u look closely at a quarrel, you'll see that they start picking each other's differences, be it race, type of clothes they wear or the way they carry themselves.

TBH, races will tend to look out for each other ie. an asian group will give a job to an asian candidate; a white person will give back a job to a white candidate, etc. Do I consider that racist? Kinda borderline, because honestly? They all do it.

When I was in school, a guy introduced himself to me and was pretty nice, but after knowing that I lived my whole life in the WEst, he had no interest after that. He look like the typical FOB. Now that's special, my own race doesn't like hanging out with me
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I know *exactly* what you are talking about.

Though I am born in Hong Kong and speak, read, and write well enough to interact with the locals there, I was told by my family not to divulge to the locals that I was raised in Canada during my one year stint there doing grad school. Sure enough, I was treated differently by some of my classmates, not seen as either a chinese person nor as a foreigner.

In any case, I think it boils down to cultural differences. I consider myself very whitewashed/canadian. I have an equal amount of close white/middle eastern/brown friends to chinese friends. What I find weird is that the white friends that I do have were all raised in the GTA (Markham, RH, Toronto etc), but I find it much more difficult to relate to white folks outside of the GTA. People in the GTA are generally much more accepting of cultural diversity and much less culture shocked than those outside. From what I understand, Vancouver is the same way as well. Not that I care much but it does leave me somewhat disappointed at times. Though I find the reverse to also be distasteful when I see asian people cliqueing together as if they can't possibly hangout with anyone outside of their own culture.
 
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mikbusa said:
That is illegal according to the Employment Equity Act. It's totally fine to dismiss a white man though based on race.
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You can't prove that. EAsy to get away with

TomC said:
I know *exactly* what you are talking about.

Though I am born in Hong Kong and speak, read, and write well enough to interact with the locals there, I was told by my family not to divulge to the locals that I was raised in Canada during my one year stint there doing grad school. Sure enough, I was treated differently by some of my classmates, not seen as either a chinese person nor as a foreigner.

In any case, I think it boils down to cultural differences. I consider myself very whitewashed/canadian. I have an equal amount of close white/middle eastern/brown friends to chinese friends. What I find weird is that the white friends that I do have were all raised in the GTA (Markham, RH, Toronto etc), but I find it much more difficult to relate to white folks outside of the GTA. People in the GTA are generally much more accepting of cultural diversity and much less culture shocked than those outside. From what I understand, Vancouver is the same way as well. Not that I care much but it does leave me somewhat disappointed at times. Though I find the reverse to also be distasteful when I see asian people cliqueing together as if they can't possibly hangout with anyone outside of their own culture.
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Alot of groups hang out with their same cultural fellows. I see that alot in school & in other groups that go on trips.

Personally, I try to get along with other groups, but only when they are willing to integrate and accept others. For instance, u would never see me going to an "Asian only" ride.
 
RockerGuy said:
You can't prove that. EAsy to get away with



Alot of groups hang out with their same cultural fellows. I see that alot in school & in other groups that go on trips.

Personally, I try to get along with other groups, but only when they are willing to integrate and accept others. For instance, u would never see me going to an "Asian only" ride.
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Getting along can also be difficult when the particular ethnic minority is only interested in singing karaoke songs, drinking bubble tea, playing badminton, and rice-ing up their cars.
 
TomC said:
In any case, I think it boils down to cultural differences. I consider myself very whitewashed/canadian. I have an equal amount of close white/middle eastern/brown friends to chinese friends. What I find weird is that the white friends that I do have were all raised in the GTA (Markham, RH, Toronto etc), but I find it much more difficult to relate to white folks outside of the GTA. People in the GTA are generally much more accepting of cultural diversity and much less culture shocked than those outside. From what I understand, Vancouver is the same way as well. Not that I care much but it does leave me somewhat disappointed at times. Though I find the reverse to also be distasteful when I see asian people cliqueing together as if they can't possibly hangout with anyone outside of their own culture.
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Agreed.
 
TomC said:
Getting along can also be difficult when the particular ethnic minority is only interested in singing karaoke songs, drinking bubble tea, playing badminton, and rice-ing up their cars.
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hahaha very typical! This gets me frustrated very often. I always wanna ask them why you moved to Canada.
 
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind partaking in the activities that my culture indulge in - in MODERATION of course. It just bothers me that many of them are close minded towards the activities that Canadians do...refusal to explore outside of their bubble I suppose
 
TomC said:
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind partaking in the activities that my culture indulge in - in MODERATION of course. It just bothers me that many of them are close minded towards the activities that Canadians do...refusal to explore outside of their bubble I suppose
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Its their own loss. A failure to integrate early often leads to a failure to sucessfully enter the job market and they have to go back to HK.
 
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TomC said:
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind partaking in the activities that my culture indulge in - in MODERATION of course. It just bothers me that many of them are close minded towards the activities that Canadians do...refusal to explore outside of their bubble I suppose
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To me what they are saying is they are unwilling to accept other cultures.

U know what's irony? Martin Luther king, Malcolm X, etc had strived to be integrated in society. Now that we have that, we're working our way back into segregation. Remember black only schools?

Sent from my tablet using my paws
 
LiNK666 said:
So they can have a better life with the same people as back home?
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Isn't it the people back home that make a country what it is? I don't understand making the move to only replicate what is being left.
 
There is no easy answer to this. It will take years of evolution as a society - painfully slow changes in our beliefs. Two steps forward, one back. Sometimes three back! There will be trial and error (affirmative action could fall under trial or error depending on if it's negatively or positively effected you). And such programs can also be the fuel for the fire. Again, to completely eradicate racism will be a very long process. Thousands of years perhaps. As to whether the human race survives that long, I have my doubts.
 
mikbusa said:
That is illegal according to the Employment Equity Act. It's totally fine to dismiss a white man though based on race.
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One could try to underestimate the persistence of paranoia, but ah.. I understand employers sometimes feel pressure to turn down a better qualified white dude simply because his hiring can be seen as nonequal. It;s not alright to dismiss though.

But really, why do the Italian construction companies only higher Italians? Their qualification for that job goes beyond what most people think. The relatability to others in the company, the language, etc etc.

Anyhow, look no further then this forum to see racism as rather prevalent in our society. Somehow even the insurance threads degrade to a bunch of pussyfoots crying "I won't specify which race, but it's that race which causes problems." It;s hard to think that you truly believe that you are alleviating yourself of a bigoted viewpoint... you bring shame to your family. /end short rant
 
Armen said:
There is no easy answer to this. It will take years of evolution as a society - painfully slow changes in our beliefs. Two steps forward, one back. Sometimes three back! There will be trial and error (affirmative action could fall under trial or error depending on if it's negatively or positively effected you). And such programs can also be the fuel for the fire. Again, to completely eradicate racism will be a very long process. Thousands of years perhaps. As to whether the human race survives that long, I have my doubts.
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i have been thinking about this for a while too and i was always thinking that when alliens come to earth and attack us, the races would probably mean a lot less cuz afterall we are all from the earth.
 
mikbusa said:
Isn't it the people back home that make a country what it is? I don't understand making the move to only replicate what is being left.
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Not really, people don't emmigrate because of their neighbours, they emmigrate because of political climate, economy, pollution, a lot of things. its not about leaving behind your leisure activities.
If you emigrated to Japan for work or something, and you found a bunch of guys from Canada that play hockey, wouldn't you think that was cool? I would play.
 
Jinniwind said:
the "better life" clearly doesn't include hanging out with other races.
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Who cares if they only want to hang out with someone of their own creed. Are Christians bad because they only hang out with Christians? What about goths? Do you expect goths to hang out school choir? What about motorcycle riders?

Who the **** even cares what someone else does. I have a million and one things to do that I frankly couldn't care what you did or whom you did it with.

Remember, our charter is founded upon freedom to choose to whom we want to associate with and to what degree.

Only time when I'm against this is when it's done in the professional environment. I agree with whoever the best person for the job is should be hired. Right now the biggest detractor of that is people who get in via references or hookups. Most people are hired because they were referred by someone and not because they are the best person for the job.

People don't want to earn anything anymore... they prefer to be handed it to them.
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