When police shoot people in Canada, there are no violent protests.

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In Canada, indiginous people are far more likely to be killed by police than any other Canadian. Black Canadians are far more likely to be killed by police than White Canadians. The CBC reports that about 1% of police killings in Canada lead to charges.

I never thought about this before, until a Canadian poster here commented on the Jacob Blake thread.

But it is interesting. Racism is not unique to the United States. Police shootings are not unique to the United States. Racial profiliing and racial inequalities in policing are not unique to the United States.

Violent political protests are unique to the United States. That strikes me as strange.

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@maxdancona,

Quote:

Violent political protests are unique to the United States. That strikes me as strange.

You mean protecting having members of your own groups being gun down by government agents is only happening in the US?

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@maxdancona,

Quote:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Riots_and_civil_disorder_in_Canada

Category:Riots and civil disorder in Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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@maxdancona,

Quote:

When police shoot people in Canada, there are no violent protests

There aren't very many blacks in Canada.

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When people from Canada want to protest racial injustice, they take a slogan from the United States. They protest a person from the United States who was killed by a police officer from the United States. It is as if they have no racial injustice of their own to protest.

Of course there is racial injustice in Canada, particularly against indigenous peoples. Moral superiority is easy when you focus your outrage at people in other countries. Canadians don't really understand American culture. They don't have a voice in our government or a stake in our internal social policies.

Maybe I should be flattered that Canada wants to be American so much that they are jumping into the middle of our social problems. They do have their own history of injustice, their own social inequities and their own problems.

Jumping into the middle of our problems means they don't have to face their own.

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

When people from Canada want to protest racial injustice, they take a slogan from the United States. They protest a person from the United States who was killed by a police officer from the United States. It is as if they have no racial injustice of their own to protest.

We do have protests here but they're just not as large and destructive as in other countries. We seem to prefer to have inquiries and commissions and things. We are no faster or slower than you are in effecting change, but we're talking about it and putting the government's feet to the fire. Depends on the governments in power, to a large degree, but also social consciousness. We don't claim to be perfect or better, but I think there's a real focus here right now on realizing what we've been doing and changing it.

maxdancona wrote:

Of course there is racial injustice in Canada, particularly against indigenous peoples.

And not just them - Doukhobours (sp), Chinese, people from India, Syrians, to name just a few. I think there is racial injustice throughout the world. What the Brits did to people in the Commonwealth, what the Spanish, French and Portuguese did to those they invaded, what the Chinese do to Uighuirs and their own people, Japan is not guilt-free, what Germany and Russia have done not only to others but to their own... it's a fact of life and has been since man walked upright. Native Americans and Native Canadians also had wars with each other. It is what it is and what it was. No one is blameless. The only thing we can do is recognize this is a fact and work at treating all people better.

maxdancona wrote:

Maybe I should be flattered that Canada wants to be American so much that they are jumping into the middle of our social problems. They do have their own history of injustice, their own social inequities and their own problems.

No, actually. I don't know of a single Canadian (but admittedly, there may be one or two) who actually wants to be American, especially during 2016-2020. We're only 'jumping in' to the middle of your social problems because the noise and frequency grabs the attention. The USA and its doings are fodder for the entire world.

maxdancona wrote:

Jumping into the middle of our problems means they don't have to face their own.

Wrong. But we are attempting to.

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@Mame,

I am very curious on the difference between a Native American and a Native Canadian? How would they ever know which they were ? I know the Iroquois confederation ignored the border because white people hadn't established it yet. I imagine other indigenous peoples did the same.

That is an odd distinction to make.

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@maxdancona,

I've always heard that as First People. I don't actually recall 'Native Canadian".

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@roger,

The term I know is "First Nations", and I know for a fact that they don't follow modern borders. The Iriquois Confederation spanned from Ottawa and Montreal into New York and beyond.

Modern Iriquois land falls on both sides of the border (I happen to have family by marriage who live there).

I would be a bit surprised to learn that Canadians made a distinction based on modern borders.

Nativists (and by that I mean White people who believe that America should be a predominantly White country) make a big deal about the Southern border of the United States. They idealize the "noble" Native American while disparaging indigenous people from Mexico. Of course this distinction makes no historical sense either.

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@maxdancona,

Right. First Nations.

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@maxdancona,

Sorry, I didn't put it correctly. I meant Natives of Canada and USA. Wars were being fought between tribes/bands all the time.

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@maxdancona,

Quote:

Violent political protests are unique to the United States. That strikes me as strange.

When compared with Canada, yes.

The USA, for whatever reasons, is a country steeped in violence. Police are quick to employ violence. Minorities historically subjugated through violence often answer oppression with violence. In many of our movies and TV shows, violence is pivotal. Kids grow up watching dramatic characters murdered for entertainment. Trump encouraged his supporters to violence. Candidate Biden mused about beating Trump up behind the high school. Professional wrestling and MMA are big money-making attractions. The ubiquity of handguns and assault-style weapons in the USA is unparalleled. Michael Moore (I'm no fan) contrasted these cultural differences between the USA and Canada in Bowling for Columbine.

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Just came across this:

https://www.usnews.com/info/blogs/press-room/articles/2021-04-13/canada-is-the-no-1-country-in-the-world-according-to-2021-best-countries

lol Not that I believe it. At. All, but serendipitous, nonetheless

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All of the former British Colonies have suffered greatly from the heritage of British White Supremacy. Canada, Australia New Zealand all had great atrocities against non-white populations started by British policy.

I think the US suffered more damage from British colonialism becuase the tabacco and cotton plantations started by the British profited from the Slave trade started in the US by the British.

The US has suffered more damage from former British rule than most other countries (except India and Pakistan I think). That is why we are still suffering from racial turmoil.

But I think the US is also acting as a proxy for the damage done in Canada and Australia. Canadians are focusing on the work that the US is doing because it is easier that way to deal with the damage done by British colonial rule.

Maybe that is a good thing.

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

All of the former British Colonies have suffered greatly from the heritage of British White Supremacy. Canada, Australia New Zealand all had great atrocities against non-white populations started by British policy.

Look up racism and slavery the world over and you'll find they weren't the first or last to engage in this kind of behaviour. Actually, the article was quite illuminating. Pretty much everyone was engaged in this sort of behaviour.

maxdancona wrote:

I think the US suffered more damage from British colonialism becuase the tabacco and cotton plantations started by the British profited from the Slave trade started in the US by the British.

I don't really know what you mean by "damage".

maxdancona wrote:

The US has suffered more damage from former British rule than most other countries (except India and Pakistan I think). That is why we are still suffering from racial turmoil.

Your "racial turmoil" (as is anyone's) is a mindset that can be changed, as has been proven. It doesn't have to be accepted or adopted. Just say No.

maxdancona wrote:

But I think the US is also acting as a proxy for the damage done in Canada and Australia. Canadians are focusing on the work that the US is doing because it is easier that way to deal with the damage done by British colonial rule.

Please don't speak for others and what is the 'work that the US is doing" are Canadians focussing on?

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@Mame,

1. I didn't say "racism and slavery" came from England. I said that "White Supremacy" came from England. You are right to say that not all racism or slavery came from White Supremacy, but that is not my point.

In your country as well as mine, White Supremacy came about because we were British Colonies.

2. Correct me if I am wrong, but "Black Lives Matter" has become a trend in Canada. This is a US invention. In Canada, you should be more concerned about the treatment of indigenous people... I don't think that the Black Lives Matter movement would have made sense in Canada if it weren't for your connection to the United States.

Question for the day:

How many countries in the world have NOT been invaded by Great Britain?

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@maxdancona,

Don't tell us what we should and shouldn't be concerned about. You should worry about your own HUGE problems. Wonder how voters in certain states are going to be able to do that if some Repubs have their way. We don't have daily shootings of x # of people, much less of one culture. We don't advocate arming teachers. We don't have kids taking guns into schools. I could go on and on, but I don't want to offend all the other Americans on here.

You just worry about your people and your situations and don't try to analyze and belittle others. You can't possibly win.

Ever thought that White Supremacy might have occurred even without the British? Look what Portugal has done, not to mention the rape of Latin and South America by the Spanish. Or aren't they 'white'? And look at China today. They may not be what you consider 'white', but that government is terrorizing Taiwan and Hong Kong, not to mention the Uighurs and their own citizens. Not to mention their hostage-taking tactics - if that isn't an act of 'supremacy', I don't know what is.

It's not all the fault of one country. People have always been this way, since man walked. Someone has to be the supreme commander. And if people didn't agree with it, they wouldn't have gone along with it. Simple as that.

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@Mame,

You sure seem to be telling people in the US what we should be concerned about.

Black Lives Matter is an American movement. It belongs in an American cultural context. You can have a Black Lives Matters sign the same as you can wear an LA Lakers Jersey or watch Surivor. That doesn't mean you have any part or real insight into American culture. Black Lives Matter is a uniquely American cultural artifact.

I don't know if you have ever lived in the United States, or if you have every spoken to an American outside of one narrow ideological viewpoint.

I can talk about the stereotypes we have of Canada, but i also suspect that Canada is a big country that is so much more than what we get from TV or message boards.

In any event, Black Lives Matter is not Canadian. The moment is not Canadian. The cultural context is not Canadian, and the political discussion that the United States needs to have about race has nothing to do with Canada.

It is also too easy to make judgements from outside the United States as if the issues are simple and Canada has the answers. I don't find any value in this.

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@maxdancona,

BLM went global. EVERYbody relates. It's not a Canada vs US thing. Everyone owns it now. Just like the MeToo movement.

I didn't offer you any answers to your plethora of problems.

And everyone's making judgements about everyone all the time. Get over it.

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@Mame,

Yes "Black Lives Matter" went global. So did rap music, texting, cat pictures and reality TV. There are lots of American cultural products that have been exported globally.

I don't think they give you any real understanding of this American cultural moment.

On Able2know you are getting a very narrow ideological worldview. Able2know does match the TV we export, but it doesn't represent a real view of what American culture is about... and it certainly doesn't give you anything more than a superficial insight.

I am wondering what constitutes a "plethora"? It is my opinion that at this moment outrage has become the new trend... I don't think we have more problems than any other country (including Canada). We just have more drama in a world that loves drama.

Sometimes I feel like we are just reality TV for you.

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