Every once in a while I think I'm getting too liberal. It's at those times when something of a conservative bent arrives in my mailbox and I think to myself, shit, I agree with most of this stuff. (Most of it.) So what the hell am I, anyway?
My name is Ken, and I am Canadian ...
I am a minority in Oakville, Toronto, and every casino in this country.I was born in 1965, yet I am responsible for some FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE BEING SCREWED OUT OF THEIR LAND in the 1700's.
I pay import tax on cars made in Ontario.
I am allowed to skydive and smoke, but not allowed to drive without a seat belt.
All the money I make up until mid July must go to paying taxes.
I live and work among people who believe Americans are ignorant. Thesesame people cannot name this country's newest territory.
Although I am sometimes forced to live on Kraft dinner and don't have a pot to piss in, I sleep well knowing that my taxes helped purchase a nice six figure home in Vancouver for some unskilled refugee.
Although they are unpatriotic and constantly try to separate, Quebec still provides my nation's prime ministers.
95% of my nation's international conflicts are over fish.
I'm supposed to call black people African Canadians, although I'm sure none of them have ever been to Africa, or east of Halifax for that matter.
I believe that paying a 200% tax on alcohol is fair.
I believe that the same tax on gasoline is also fair.
Even if I have no idea what happened to that old rifle my grandfathergave me when I was 14, I will be considered a criminal if I don'tregister it.
My fellow countrymen often badmouth the United States and then vacation there three times a year.
I believe spending $15 billion to promote the French language in therest of Canada is fair when the province of Quebec doesn't support or recognize the English language.
I'm led to believe that some lazy ass unionized broom pusher who makes$30 an hour is underpaid and therefore must go on strike, but paying $10 an hour to someone who works 12 hour shifts at forty below on an oil rig is fair.
I believe that paying $30 million for 3 Stripes ("The Voice of Fire" painting in Ottawa) by the National Art Gallery was a good purchase, even though 99% of this country didn't want it or will ever see it.
When I look at my pay stub and realize that I take home a third of whatI actually make, I say "Oh well, at least we have better health care than the Americans."
I must bail out farmers when their crops are too wet or too dry becauseI control the rain.
My national anthem has versions in both official languages and I don'tknow either of them.
Canada is the highest taxed nation in North America, the biggest military buffer for the United States, and the number one destination for fleeing terrorists. I am not an angry white male. I am an angry taxpayer who is broke. My name is Ken, and I am Canadian.
5 comments:
"I was born in 1965, yet I am responsible for some FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE BEING SCREWED OUT OF THEIR LAND in the 1700's."
No, you are not responsible for them losing their land. I do a lot of Treaty Awareness Presentations, as well as teach intro to Native Studies courses, and I always make sure people understand this. What you are responsible for, however, is understanding the processes by which First Nations were divested of their land and how those processes benefitted Euro-Canadians. The land is the basic building block of our economy and we all benefit from living on this land. We just need to understand that we didn't get to this position just because we worked hard, but also because our forefathers were very under-handed.
I also usually tell people that I feel responsible to try and do something to help ease the suffering of First Nations people in this country because the roots of their suffering are at our expense. Their land was stolen for us. They were placed onto reserves and into Residential schools for us. So no, while we are not responsible for those actions since we didn't undertake them personally, I feel responsible because I benefit so greatly from those actions.
The problem is there. I don't mean to suggest that Natives *are* a problem, but that they *have* problems--pretty bad ones. And you're right, our forefathers did a real number on them...
But how do you fix the problems? I mean--you'd know this, Peter, for sure--but isn't there something like 127% of the province of British Columbia tied up in conflicting treaty claims?
All you need to do is visit a reserve to see that money isn't solving anything. In fact, it's hard to see what the millions of dollars spent each year *are* doing. Self-government is a start, if a workable model for it can be found, but it's only a start.
Hey Ken.
"...but isn't there something like 127% of the province of British Columbia tied up in conflicting treaty claims?"
No. There was a claim made by the Vancouver Province many years ago that the First Nations in B.C. were going to claim that much, but the haven't. If they were to claim all the territory they once had, it would be around 110% because of over-lapping claims. But this isn't the case. B.C. First Nations are claiming parts of their traditional territories, but it is a small amount. I would suggest checking out www.bctreaty.net for more info on this.
"All you need to do is visit a reserve to see that money isn't solving anything. In fact, it's hard to see what the millions of dollars spent each year *are* doing. Self-government is a start, if a workable model for it can be found, but it's only a start."
Some reserves are doing quite well, others are not. Part of the problem is that the Department of Indian Affairs is a huge bureaucracy and they eat up a lot of the budget. The other part of the problem is simply the generational dysfunction that was the result of the governments failed assimilation programs.
What is the solution? I have no idea. I think from the non-Aboriginal perspective we need to become far more educated about our past. For the most part, Canadians have been indoctrinated into an ethno-centric version of history where the state was seen as benevolent and First Nations as lucky or grateful. This was simply not the case. And you are right, self-government is a start. There are traditions within these communities that helped governed them in the past - they need to be able to find their own way out of this, with help from non-Aboriginals when they ask for it.
Fair enough.
Everything I've read suggests that Natives had a far more functional government, centuries ago, than we do now. The condescension has to stop. At the same time, there needs to be real analysis of the reservations that work: what are they doing right? How can that be ported to the rest?
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