Racism is our problem, not ‘their’ problem
I understand that my racial identity means that I will never comprehend the intergenerational and systematic injustices that people of colour experience on a daily basis.
In the past weeks, I’ve wept, feeling hopeless, angry, confused.
As a mother, it’s my responsibility to raise children who can do better and be better than the society we have created.
When I started exploring the racial inequities in North America, it did not make sense to me how we could still be fighting the same fight for thousands of years. That was my privilege showing.
It’s easy for us to point fingers and say, “how could they be so racist?”
“Thankfully we don’t have that here.”
“Well I’m not racist, so this doesn’t apply to me.”
Here’s the thing — you’re wrong.
And it’s a tough pill to swallow, white folks, so grab a glass of water and sit down because you’re more than likely racist. If you’re apathetic to racial injustices here in Canada or the white-washed history lessons you had in grade school? That’s racism.
I’ll be the first to admit it — my privilege has inadvertently created racism in my life. It’s created racism in your life, too. The sooner we acknowledge racism as all of our problems instead of “their” problems, we can actively constitute change.
I’m not an expert on this topic. I’m writing this because as someone of privilege, it’s important to understand the role we all play in modern-day racism in our society and make an active effort to change it.
Every aspect of our society has been built on the framework of colonialism, patriarchy and white supremacy.
Despite the fact that our grandparents and great-grandparents fought for peace and equality — this is only achieved when we revolutionize the constructs upon which we have built our society.
It’s fair to say the entire world is outraged by the disciplinary policies within law enforcement. When we think about how disciplinary actions are handled within union/employer relationships, we have to identify the brokenness of the arbitration process. Unions were supposed to be created to advocate for workers’ rights, they were to advocate for human rights.
But again, these constructs and the concept of the union/ employer relationship were built and developed on the Caucasian experience.
If there is inequality in the framework, then there will be inequality laced into the organization. At what point do we re-examine these relationships and stop repeating ourselves expecting different results?
Law enforcement is a job. Its organization is broken. We need to go back to the drawing board and take a hard look at the strategic plans of law enforcement around the globe.
The training we are providing to our police officers is not working.
The way we measure performance in law enforcement is not working.
The disciplinary process is not working.
Police inions need to examine exactly how their collective agreements protect their workers and determine how we can eliminate racism in the organizational structures.
This is a matter of priority. It’s more than just a “discussion” or an Instagram story. If we want to eliminate racism in our governing entities we need to consult people who are experiencing racism.
I’m sick of the old white dude’s take on racism in Canada. It’s not your place to speak on this right now, (Rex Murphy). Sit down, shut up and start listening.
Listen to people who experience racial injustices. Do the research and start understanding how we’ve created cracks in our society for people to fall through.
There is a socially constructed reason that minority groups experience higher rates of health problems, violence, socioeconomic struggles, etc. We have created it to be this way!
We have the opportunity to revolutionize these constructs, make a change, and one day experience a society where there is equity for all.
Change is only attainable if we re-examine, restructure and actively audit our lives. This includes our personal narratives, our opinions, our relationships, and finally governmental entities to identify where racial inequalities are present.
I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. When we leave this Earth for our children, we have to start leaving it in better shape than what we found it.
Hilarie Duffy Conception Bay South
As a mother, it’s my responsibility to raise children who can do better and be better than the society we have created.
We have the opportunity to revolutionize these constructs, make a change, and one day experience a society where there is equity for all.