Helloo!! I remember years ago, my Mom always subscribed to Reader's Digest, and because I was not the smartest kid, I decided I would study the "Words of the Month" section each month. Hey, it didn't make me any smarter, but, I learned to love hearing "new" words, and checking out their meanings.
Because I am a Canadian, and therefore have the right to debate, and although, my rights to having a personal opinion are now on shaky ground, I tend to follow news stories, and read comments from fellow Canadians, on their personal opinions. Most times, when it is an article regarding First Nations, I will begin to gag, an eighth of the way into the comments. Because, it appears almost ALL political parties have little or no compassion for issues involving them. In truth, it is only the Green party that has some sympathy, and some regard for what our fearless leaders have reneged to promises made.
But..this "new" word, well, it is splashed all over comments. Hey, a word that begins with X is not very common, but here it is, apparently this is now the "word of the Day". Xenophobia..intense or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries...Whoohooo..it has got to be pretty new, or, never brought to the surface in my lifetime, because it jumped out at me..O.K. it is getting all the airtime possible, right now. Xenophobics are all about. We have gone beyond racist, because, those who were throwing that word willy nilly, were incorrect with the use. Racists are folks who feel one race is superior to another..all this garbage in the news has f#ck all to do with race..so the politically correct term now is..Xenophobic.
Now..this is a word that was definitely needed back in the "old" days, it suits what the poor Irish suffered, it suits what the poor Orientals suffered. Yes, I remember a sign from my childhood at the old docks "No Orientals Allowed". I studied that small piece of history, and boy, that was definitely something shameful. All those folks finding a way to travel to our country (on their own dime) climbing off the boat, to see they were disliked, and not wanted. However, they stayed, they worked, harder than imagined, with those employers who abused them, in fact used them as detonation devices ensuring instant death, and they did not get a single hand out.
I read how almost every Canadian is an ancestor of an immigrant. True!! But, those of us who actually remember the ones who came here, and folks my age do, indeed know our original immigrants..we know what life was like for them. We know they had to get their sh*t together before they made the trip. We know they didn't have anyone waiting on shore with winter clothes and a voucher for a 4 star hotel, and guaranteed spending money, free food, and translators. They showed up, looking for a way to make money instantly, to build a new life for their families. They had goals, and these goals were not assisted by government, in fact, many times, they had hurdles placed in front because of their language, and their lineage.
O.K. we don't want folks to suffer, well, at least I don't. But, we have gone insane, we have gone so far to the left..or is it right, that we have placed one group of people above all others. We have taken folks from a totally different country, with centuries of culture we have very little understanding of, and..we have decided we are going to cater to them. We are quite willing to forget First Nations, we are more than happy to forget child poverty, we feel that homeless people brought it all upon themselves, but... we are going to prove to the whole world, we are definitely NOT Xenophobics.
Does the world give a rat's a$$ if we were? Is the world going to give us chunks of cash at some Summit meeting to help cover costs? Are we going to start fining citizens who show a hint of Xenophobia? Will they lose their jobs? Will they be publicly flouted on the media?
I don't believe in discrimination, I also feel what is happening today, is nothing more than forced discrimination, and our government is telling us that one group of people deserve more than any other group. I have no issue with people finding a safe haven, because that is something most of the world wishes for. I do have an issue with the lack of transparency. We have people who arrived here months ago, but no one is giving any statistics on how many of those are still living in tax payer funded hotels, eating tax payer funded meals, and getting benefits to make life easier. How many are working? How long will they live off government benefits? How come the majority are placed in major cities, with high costs of housing?
To slow the growth of Xenophobia, our government must tell those of us who have far too many questions, these answers and more. I am sick to death with hearing how this country was built on those who immigrated..this is NOT immigration, this is basically making a country pay for "Foster" people, and it is time to quit blaming those who ask pertinent questions, only to have a new label stamped on their forehead...XENOPHOBIC!
MPO
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