The question you didn't know you wanted to ask.
With my new blog and social media I’ve also focused my message a bit more. You may not agree with me on the topics I choose to write about but as long as you can interact on my pages in a civil manner then you’re welcome to stay! I don’t know everything and I’m muddling through life much like the rest of the world. But I’m willing to listen, learn, and grow. I really hope you are too!
A few things you should know about me:
1. I
2. hate
3. conflict
4. !!!!!!!!
LOL.
So, I’m stepping out in faith here. Sharing some of my passion with you because I feel called to do it. Not because I want to fight but because I want things to be better. For everyone. If I didn’t care I would continue to hide in my shell crocheting and binging Dr. Who until the world felt safer. But I can’t.
First, let’s just get this out of the way. I am NOT here to give people “white guilt”. That idea is not compatible with my core beliefs. So why do it then? Here’s the first of three reasons.
Someone very wise once told a story about building a house on a rock instead of the sand. Houses (or anything) built on unstable ground will be washed away by the everyday storms of life. Now let’s apply this to our history.
I love my country but that doesn’t negate that Canada is a country based on some sketchy values. That’s a fact. Racism, genocide, and segregation were a integral part of the fabric of this country in the past. Most people in society accepted these rules and it got woven into everything, even if they didn’t recognize it. The laws, attitudes and ideals of our forefathers became the cornerstone for this country.
Now, year after year the country of Canada built on that foundation. Some things changed–black people weren’t slaves and were allowed to eat in restaurants with white people–but some things didn’t. Impercetible views that were passed along: what jobs black people were “allowed” to have, health textbooks that spoke of their inability to burn and their tolerance for pain, and towns that weren’t as receptive to people with different skin colour staying after dark.
The term “systematic racism” is bandied around as another controversial topic. This does not mean that the people of today are systematically racist. That’s just not true. Most people nowadays look back and see that what was considered the norm is not acceptable now that we know better.
Systematic racism means that we’ve built our country on the sandy soil of injustice. Remember that wise person I mentioned at the beginning of this post? We can’t expect that what we built on sandy soil many years ago will still be solid.
So what can be done? We must continue to analyze and examine the things we do out of tradition and comfort. Is it something that is beneficial to all Canadians? This examination is not to break our country but to make our country stronger.
And that’s the first instalment of “Why are your posts so dark” AKA “Karen, what’s wrong with your mind???”. I hope you’ll join me next week for the second post.
Be well.