No more racism threads

Barbara

Mon, Jan 04 2010, 2:29 pm

TzenaRena wrote:

Wow, Canada has no government? I didn't know that. What I do know though is that the 9/11 terrorists entered through Canada. Such a nice tolerant neighborhood, getting along with all types.

No, they didn't. They entered the US from other countries.

There have been a number of other attempts by terrorists to enter the US from Canada, but not the 9/11 terrorists.

OTOH, I assume that Prime Minister Harper would disagree with the statement that there is no government in Canada.

Chana Miriam S

Mon, Jan 04 2010, 3:04 pm

umm, I won't even dignify that with a response, because it is so incredibly laughable, in so many ways.

in canada, it is not socially acceptable to use racial slurs, and canadians, polite as we are, actually step in and correct people when racial slurs occur. we are however extremely intolerant of racially or religiously motivated poor and hurtful behaviour. we also have an excellent track record for finding and shutting down terrorist cells within our own country and peacekeeping outside of our country.

at the moment, our government is prorogued. guess what? we are still functioning, our civil service is still working, and we are not uprising. The army is still peacekeeping, and the olympics are about to happen- in any other country, this would be primo opportunity for a coup. the proroguing of parliament barely made the news here. not saying proroguing is a good thing, necessarily, but no one is trying to overthrow the government either.

last night, someone firebombed a mosque in my hometown and every hate crime unit is out in force, just the way it should be, and the way it is when a synagogue is bombed. When found, the perpetrators will be punished to the full extent of the law. . if there is any kind of demonstration against hate, I have no doubt that many from our kehila will show up, even if it is rallying in support of the mosque, just as they did when a gay man was bashed a number of years ago. the rally was on shabbat and our congregational rav and the rav emeritus walked in -20 degree weather, with other members to show support for the victim and stand against hate. we are canadian. hate is not welcome here.

Barbara

Mon, Jan 04 2010, 3:22 pm

chanamiriam wrote:

Barbara- Harper is the one who prorogued the government! BTW, I had not seen your comment when I said the comment prior to yours was laughable, so I meant the one you responded to, not yours.

AIUI, all that means is that he suspended Parliament for a time, not that there is no government. Not that I, as an American, don't find it odd that a Prime Minister has that much power, but that's neither here nor there.

Most people are not racist. You can find heartwarming stories in every society. A favorite of mine (in the US):

http://www.wral.com/golo/blogpost/6608378/

Chana Miriam S

Mon, Jan 04 2010, 3:42 pm

right, there is no one passing laws, working on committees etc. the government aka parliament is not operational right now. like I said, it does not mean the country does not continue working, but we are in essence without government. the wheels of progress are not turning and everything goes back to zero until the next government is seated. no one can DO anything in a suspended parliament. That is why we are without government.

last year it happened because it looked like the government which is a minority government was going to be sunk by a coalition who were going to vote against them. the government was prorogued until deals could be reached to not formally sink the government. no one could do anything until the prorogue was over.

this year, they say it is because of the olympics, but I think it is because the conservatives want time to lobby for something. they are in less danger of being sunk because there is no good opposition, but I am betting it has something to do with time to get something passed that right now looks impossible.

also, I never said anything about americans specifically. I just said I was glad to be canadian. I have lived in both places and my observation is that racism is definitely more acceptable socially in the united states.

oh, except there is one thing canadians are divisive about. french and english vis a vis quebec. I mean, really, the block quebecois which is a secessionist party is a FEDERAL party for goodness sake! can you imagine having a secessionist party as a federal party? On an ongoing basis? Could we BE any more tolerant? at least we know how to laugh at ourselves, eh?

Gotta love canadians!