Monday, July 27, 2009

Opps, they did it again

For a long time now I have been talking about the bias and racist reporting coming form newspapers across the country. Many people look at the paper and just don't see the things myself and many others do. It is so easy to see, and I would like to thank Lynn Barr-Telford from Statistics Canada for calling the Canadian Press to task on such an issue. On July 22, 2009, papers across the country reported on a study recently released. The article was entitled "Native poverty, jail linked" The article goes on to link Native poverty as a result of high incarceration rates. However, according to Stats Canada, "Our analysis did not examine income levels, and the word poverty did not appear in either our news release or in our report" as per Barr-Telford's letter buried on page A7 Opinions section (I would put a link to the letter, but I can not seem to find it on the Chronicle Herald website) Since the word "poverty" was nowhere in the study...OR the press release, why did Sue Bailey of the Canadian Press feel it was her responsibility to embelish the story? Is this what we can expect from the empolyees of the Canadian Press? I do think this has helped prove my point. While I am on it, should the papers also need to print a retraction instead of hiding it on page 7????

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Honour killing...question for you

Not much to say, but one question to ask yourself:
  • Gabriela Babineau smothered her child, 3 years old, 1995
  • Susan Smith strapped her two toddlers in the car and pushed it into a lake. For nine days she told the world they were kidnapped by a black carjacker. Why? Her boyfriend didn't want kids
  • Eric Crutchfield killed his 6 year old daughter with a shot in the back
  • Socorro caro shot and killed her three sons while they slept
  • Feb 2002, Texas, mother drowns her 5 children in the tub
  • Marilyn Lemak, Chicago, smothered her 3 children...with her bare hands
  • Manuel Gehring, killed his children and buried the bodies "somewhere" along the highway, never been found
  • Mohammad Shafia, allegedly killed his daughters in Kingston
This is just a very small list of children who lost their lives by their parents own hands. In 97 alone 62 children under the age of 12 were killed by their parents. My question is, why is it that only one of them has been automatically been deemed, by the public and the press, and honour killing?
This is a horrible crime, makes me sick just thinking about it, but please, do not make judgments until all the facts are known

Fuck off, we're full??? Racsim and facebook

This morning on facebook I was invited to join a group called "FUCK OFF, WE'RE FULL---> Canada. First I apologize for the language, it was theirs...not mine. Now don't get me wrong, I tried to stay off of Facebook as long as I could, and as my children can attest, I managed to stay off for a LONG time. However, it is a great Forum to discuss issues of the day. It is also a great place for the whole privilege piece to come into play. This group is all about how immigration is ruining Canada (remember, a country that is made up of approx 95% immigration). I have decided to copy my one and only posting to this group here, as I am sure it will not be on the site for vary long:

First of all, the only reason I joined this group was so I could post here. Once posted I will be leaving.

1. The national anthem was FIRST written in French, not English, wow...and you call yourself Canadian. It was not even proclaimed the national anthem until 1980, and the Englis version was not approved until 1968 by the Senate

2. For those of you who say immigrants should learn our ways...how many of you have been to a sweat? A sundance? Even smudged? I take it the silence means very few.

3. For those of you who say immigration should stop, remember, 95% of Canada's population is immigrants, from the past 400 years.

4. For those of you who say that stuff was in the past (treaties, etc) get over it. I say stop celebrating Canada Day, Confederation was in the past...GET OVER it

5. The problem here is something called privilege. When someone feels something is being taken from them (ie, jobs) what they are really saying is "hey, that job should have been mine.... but it was TAKEN away from me.. I deserved it." Why? Because I have privilege and when I did not get that job, it is unjust because a piece of that unearned privilege has been taken away. (if you honestly do not believe in this whole concept of privilege, you have just proved to yourself it does indeed exist, because EVERYONE else knows it is there. If you do not see it, you got it

5. As for the whole taking jobs thing. I hear people whining about immigrants working at corner stores, driving cabs, etc Are these the jobs they are taking away? APPLY FOR THEM dumbass! At the same time, please keep in mind that those immigrants that are working at the cornerstore, or driving you around in a taxi, could be much more of a hero than you. Chances are, they could easily save your life, as they are probably doctors, but due to our racist policies, are unable to practice.

Friday, July 17, 2009

So I have been a little busy, does not mean the attitudes are gone

So it has been a while since I last wrote anything. Does this mean there has been very little to write about? Does this mean the whole systemic racism thing has solved itself and no longer exists? A quote from the editorial section today: "We are a Christian country, pioneered by mostly Christians. We always said the Lord’s prayer in school and saluted the flag every morning. It seems to me that we are letting minorities take over what we stood for for hundreds of years" (Heaven help us *in response to the atheist ads in the bus) see article here First of all, Mr. Rafuse, we are not a Christian country, we are a forced upon Christian society. Christianity was not on this soil until the likes of Champlain, Cartier, and the boys landed on the shores and thought the best way to take over, I repeat TAKE over, was to get the folks living here for well over 13,000 years to become saved. Saved from what I ask? Saved from the physical, mental, and sexual abuse that was delivered daily like communion? Saved from unholy act of speaking your own language? Saved from peace and closeness with the Earth that came with our ceremonies? What exactly was Christianity saving us from? So, you are upset because "we" are letting minorities take over what "we" stood for for hundreds of years. Let me ask you Mr. Rafuse,...how does it feel? Think long and hard about that. Remember, you are talking around 400 years of what "we" stood for. For the First Nations that number is well over 13,000 years of what WE stood for. So when I am told by folks like you "that was the past" "that was so long ago. get over it" "treaties mean nothing", I say to you Mr. Rafuse, that thing you stood for, for hundreds of years, that was in the past... GET OVER IT