If ignorance is a privilege, then silence is the voice of the oppressor. In very simple and blatant words, in today’s capitalistic society, the colour of your skin has become the defining element of your very existence.
Of course, the moral conscience is appalled by these words, what this may imply. But the
Indigenous woman notices the trailing eyes linger on her back as she walks into a store.
The Asian girl grits her teeth at schoolyard bullies who mock her tongue.
The Indo-Canadian boy grimaces at the rude and purposeful mispronunciation of his cultural name. Black men like George Floyd die over a supposed $20 counterfeit bill. As a minority Indo-Canadian woman living in a mostly white town, I too have felt the subtle disparities of offhand racism. But compared to the violence and brutality that the Black community experiences daily, it is less. According to studies, Black men in America are 2.5 times more likely to be killed during police encounters, than white men (LA Times). What is it that makes Black skin an immediate target? A systemically instilled fear labelled as ‘police brutality’ has become the face of normalized white supremacy in North American society. What seems ‘normal’ to you, is a privilege to others. As your child plays gleefully on the streets with a nerf gun, 12-year-old Tamir Rice is shot dead for playing with a toy pellet gun. As you turn your car in for a quick fix at your local mechanic, 50-year-old Walter Scott is stopped and shot for not having a functioning brake light.
As you leisurely go grocery shopping, 22-year-old John Crawford is murdered in his local Walmart.
As your baby says their first words, 46-year-old George Floyd cries out for his dead mother during his last suffering breaths. Sandra Bland. Alton Sterling. Stephon Clarks. Clifford Glover. As the horrific list grows, we do not forget their names. Long overdue outrage is pouring through the veins of people throughout the world, as protests and rallies burn into justified chaos across our own borders. You might doubt the value of these riots, for what good could the destruction of property bring? Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr in 1968, riots bled through the streets of America, as thousands protested and demanded the change that MLK had died for.
The public’s outcry and resilience led to the passing of the Fair Housing Act, which forced financial institutions and sellers of property not to discriminate based on ethnicity, religion, race or skin colour. It is a privilege to educate yourself on the institutionalized racism that is integrated within judicial systems, without having to experience it yourself.
Personally, it is disheartening to see local businesses and companies who once openly voiced their environmental concerns and campaigns in the past, stay quiet about current world events. Discomfort is necessary when engaging in difficult conversations about privilege, only then will you become aware of the racial stigmatizations that are life-threatening for the Black community. It is important to recognize that Canada is not the ‘safe haven’ we praise it to be. African-Canadians make up for 3.4% of the overall population, but 9% are the victims of police fatalities. As the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet in Toronto is being investigated, people are questioning the integrity of our own glorified police departments. The true moral value of educating yourself about the unwarranted entitlements that you uphold simply due to the colour of your skin is a privilege itself. The power of unity becomes justice for the voices of the unheard.
Harman Cheema
Squamish
