Human rights, equity and racism

Robin Reid, in his Telegram letter Nov. 8, demanded an apology from Memorial University researcher Tony Fang, who — in a Telegram article co-authored with Kerri Neil, Oct. 31 — suggested that Newfoundland and Labrador has many problems because most people in N.L. have a common ancestral background and are thus too homogeneous, and that N.L. would be better off by taking in more immigrants from developing countries.

Ireland, Scotland, England and France have produced some of the most gifted people ever to walk the Earth. As a Newfoundlander, I am proud of my ancestors and where they came from.

Until recently, I was a professor in the faculty of engineering at MUN. My observations of hiring practices at MUN indicate that the equity card is used far too often. People are getting jobs there that others deserve. The quality of education students get suffers because of it. Some of those recently hired leave a lot to be desired. The brilliance Fang alluded to is simply not there.

The equity law favours every racial group over white males. By definition, this is racism. It denies white males and their families basic human rights. It is an immigration scheme dreamed up by Pierre Elliott Trudeau. It reminds me of ethnic cleansing.

Our enemies must be amazed that we would pass such a law. The young men from N.L. killed at Beaumont Hamel would be shocked by it. They would probably conclude we lost the war.

Highly qualified white males from N.L. have been marginalized by this law. As Reid and others have found, when looking for work, white males are often treated with disrespect, especially by government institutions. I suspect this law contributes significantly to white male social problems, like drug abuse and violence towards women. It is a time bomb.

As Reid and others have found, an individual white male cannot combat this alone. He is simply ignored. White males need to band together to fight it. They need to show politicians that they are a collective force to be reckoned with.

Only then would they have a chance to regain some measure of equality.

Mike Hinchey St. John’s