Do hatred, prejudice, bigotry and racism exist in our neighbourhood?
We would be fools to think we don’t face intolerance in the OffIsland region.
While I’ve very rarely witnessed local examples in person here, I have noticed a huge increase in negative sentiments and hateful statements online lately, most of which have been posted in regard to issues such as the ongoing wave of asylum seekers at a nearby border crossing or when our prime minister marched recently in the Montreal Pride parade.
Through these online comments, one can easily determine that, sadly, hatred, fearmongering and far-right sentiments are alive and well, even here. Just this past weekend, I was confronted with a homophobic slur scrawled prominently on a public washroom wall. A few weeks ago I was called a maudit anglais to my face, on my street. That’s never happened in my 40-plus years of being a fully bilingual Quebecer. On ne sait jamais, I guess.
Perhaps it’s time for a planetary intervention of a different kind to the growing intolerance at hand.
While the solar eclipse Monday dominated news space and conversation locally and across the globe, I can’t help but ponder and hope for a total eclipse of another kind, one that blacks out all hatred, racism, and prejudice once and for all. I speak of an eclipse of the heart the likes of which has never been seen, one which would deliver a new era of peace on Earth as it darkens and snuffs out conflict, stamps out discrimination based on colour, language, religion and sexuality.
What items would you add to this eclipse wish list? What name shall this peaceful eclipse be given?
The peace eclipse would not merely stifle or suppress violence, either. No, it would extinguish and eradicate hate and oppression and war altogether. It would envelop our planet with love and provide a harmonious canopy for a new era of humanity that embraces and tolerates differences in its entirety.
No need for special glasses for this desired peaceful eclipse. Listening to Cat Steven’s Peace Train or John Lennon’s Give Peace a Chance will keep you safe.