Wow really?
So the fact that Russia is full of homophobes is news…we’re actually surprised by this? This is why people are banning the Olympics?
This is a country where dissidents of the government mysteriously disappear, where Putin is magically president again and where half the population suffers from alcoholism (not to mention neo-nazism). Have people forgot about all this? HOW?
I’m sorry, I’m already inadvertently insulting the collective intelligence of my dear readers by even being shocked by this so I’m dropping it.
I am, however, going to talk about something that surprised me in much the same vein today. It was the status on one of my Facebook friend’s profile. I hope she won’t mind me hijacking the issue, but it inspired me. Apparently, in a suburb outside of Toronto, she was approached by a racist who assumed that her white skin was proof that she shared his convictions. Understandably enough, she was offended. My surprise was towards her surprise that such a depressing example of a human being could exist in a middle-of-nowhere hellhole. What further surprised me is her surprise that multiculturalism somehow failed to deter his racist ignorance.
This is astonishing. How can the bankruptcy of multiculturalism escape so many? Has the nationalism within it not become painfully obvious? You can see the effect of ghettoization of cultures everywhere! It’s very prevalent especially in big cities like Toronto.
The force of multiculturalism is not one of assimilation and communication between cultures, but rather a divided and forced cohabitation of nationalities. Their close encounters mixed with the encouragement of being prideful of your roots, further exacerbated by the lack of assimilation between said cultures via any shared language is fertile ground for strong prejudiced, ignorant, stereotypical, and racist perceptions. To expect any different from such a scenario is to be a blithering a-historic.
It’s about time we got it right. Internationalism focuses on the “melting pot” effect via a common language between cultures facilitates communication, tolerance and understanding of different cultures. With time, an appreciation of different customs develops. The idea of one human community instead of a divided, marginalized “us vs. them” coexistence is what truly eradicates racism. None of this has anything to do with multiculturalism. Such puerile confusion makes fools of us all. Let’s fix that.
Much love,
Zen Politics
“Multiculturalism? No thanks.” – Published February 16, 2014
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