Yawching writes of a personal incident that occurred in multicultural
and diverse Toronto, downtown, near the University of Toronto, Royal
Ontario Museum, bustling traffic, and countless people, and high end
shops. The author uses the experience to showcase the realism of the
city – where 'traditional Canadian' would never reveal their true
thoughts in public spheres, but when given the opportunity to be
anonymous, their true colours come out. Yawching writes that this may
be a result of 'traditional Canadians' not having attention brought
to their concerns. Rather than be politically correct, the author
concludes that we have conversations and educate the population.
O'Connell argues that celebrations of rural whiteness sustains and
approves of the frontier narratives, where the homogeneity of rural
areas re-affirms the myth that White European settlers were the
original inhabitants of Canada. The author states that even though
ethnic groups exist, rural White communities feel they have limited
knowledge or experiences in dealing with diversities. The article
focuses on The Redneck Games, essentially a celebration of White,
Canadian culture, and how it is used to further the Canadian settler
myth. The term 'redneck', was used to identify White working class or
poor people who have rural and southern U.S. roots. Those who support
The Redneck Games state that the term 'redneck' is transformed into
pride, by embracing, instead of rejecting the label. This celebration
of White, Canadian values is linked to a hate-crime committed near
Minto, and the assault of Asian-Canadian anglers.
Yawching shares an experience all to common in the urban Ontario
(Toronto), while O'Connell researches the going-ons in rural Ontario
(Minto). Many people would brush off Yawching's experience as a
'one-off' incident – a singular bad apple, in an otherwise good
batch. I would argue otherwise. I was walking downtown Toronto with a
friend an Asian friend a few years ago, when we got into a discussion
on whether Toronto is truly diverse as it makes it seem. We discussed
how very rarely, do we come across a diverse group of friends.
Reflecting on that conversation, allowed me to recall a conversation
with a White friend of mine. I asked him if he wanted to come to the
Caribana festival, to which he replied, every White person in the
city leaves when Caribana roles around. My friend said it in jest,
but there was a lot of truth to his words. For all it's diversity,
Toronto has ethnic pockets in the city – Chinatown, Koreatown,
Little Italy, Little Portugal, Little Jamaica, and so forth.
In rural Ontario, areas that were once just as diverse as urban
settings, Whites have essentially driven out the other groups. While
reading about The Redneck Games, I was at first intrigued – it
sounded like any other cultural festival I've gone to: interesting
games, some songs and dance, food, drink, and so forth. What irked me
was how the games were looked at by attendees as “good clean
Canadian fun”. I bolded and italicized the word
'Canadian'. What about bobbing for pig's feet is Canadian? I don't
know any Canadians who toss toilets, or serenade people with their
armpits. Maybe they should refer to it as 'good clean rural fun'.
I somewhat disagree with O'Connell drawing links from The Redneck
Games to crime against minorities. I feel I should hate myself for
saying this, but it felt like more of a random hate-crime, then a
byproduct of The Redneck Games. Making connections like these implies
there is hate-mongering going on at this event – and I cannot
fathom a Klan rally taking place without something major happening.
And the term 'redneck', I agree with the sentiment of attendees,
where they felt proud of the term, taking it back for their own use,
reminded me of Black people taking back the n-word.
Urban or rural, the same problem exist – non-Whites are yet to be
accepted into 'Canadian' society. We are seen as stereotypes, the
Other. Yawching and O'Connell state that we should not simply accept
this, but hold conversations, challenge the histories we are taught,
and become better educated on the issues. I think the best way to do
this, is to learn about each other through actual multiculturalism.
Go to various events celebrating different cultures, make friends and
interact with people of various cultures, get different viewpoints,
and most importantly, have an open mind. In this regards, I think
that multiculturalism is anti-racism, or at the very least, a start.
Questions:
I have an idea of what the answers for these questions would be,
but...
What IS White,
Canadian culture? What are White Canadians really celebrating?
Why
is it difficult for people to celebrate those who are different?
Sorry if the blog post seems like more of a ramble. There were a lot
of thoughts going through my head, that I wanted to get down, and
hopefully, get across. All this being said, I may check out The
Redneck Games in the near future, mainly for entertainment purposes,
and some educational reasons as well.
References:
Yawching, D. (2013, October 27). The silent racism of 'post racial'
Canada: Canada's multicultural rhetoric is skin-deep illusion. The
Toronto Star. Retrieved from
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2013/10/27/the_silent_racism_of_post_racial_canada.html
O'Connell, A. (2010). An exploration
of redneck Whiteness in multicultural Canada, Social
Politics, 17(4), 536-563
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