Brampton should be celebrated, not stigmatized
Regardless of how much people across the GTA and Canada like to gawk at and dissect Brampton, this city and its people continue to be stigmatized, misunderstood and underappreciated.
This has only been exacerbated during COVID-19, where trite and often racist hypotheses of who we are and why we experience the things we do are passed around from outsiders to the media.
There is a lot of frustration right now from Bramptonians. Our story of resilience and grit should be celebrated, but has instead been either dismissed or ignored.
Brampton continues to be used as a proxy to take shots at racialized communities.
Over the course of the pandemic, our people have been scapegoated for institutional failings and systemic problems. We have been dehumanized, as if our city is not made up of real people with real lives. It feels as if no one has stopped to consider what exactly Brampton is and what it is going through.
It is the mother in Bramalea coming home after a warehouse night shift, trying to create a future for her children that she could never imagine for herself.
It is the trucker in Springdale getting up early in the morning to start their long commute to the border, gone from home for days on end.
It is the young college student in Mount Pleasant rushing out the door to grab the last train to Toronto.
It is the storytellers in Heart Lake putting together the next big bhangra or rap track in a basement studio.
It is the fastest-growing and youngest of the 10 large cities in Canada, and a home to new immigrants who left everything behind — often fleeing persecution and economic uncertainty.
It is one of the most diverse cities in the world, where visible minorities make up 75 per cent of its population, including robust South Asian and Black communities.
And it is home to broken government promises and decades worth of underfunding in critical infrastructure.
We are used to politicians coming to town and holding rallies, raising money and speaking about us. However, many folks here feel that we are quickly relegated to an afterthought once the ballots are counted.
If you actually care about COVID-19 transmission in this city, and if you are truly thankful for the residents of Brampton risking their lives to make your life easier, then stop pointing fingers.
Instead, start advocating with us. Start asking governments to invest in isolation centres here, to provide more sick benefits for our workers and for contextualized health support targeted toward this incredibly diverse community.
Brampton is proud and we are tired of people pointing and laughing while we hustle and die doing the essential jobs that no one else wants to perform. We are tired of people blaming us for allegedly not taking COVID-19 seriously and proclaiming “it’s always Brampton” without ever taking a minute to think about what is actually happening here.
Brampton is a living and breathing place. It is what provides sustenance to one of the most dynamic populations in Canada.
It is a city of a hundred cultures, each deserving love and attention.
It is a city of many neighbourhoods. It is a home for creative talent, sporting prowess and future innovators.
That is the story of this city, and that is what we need to uplift throughout this pandemic — together, as a region, as a province and as a country.
It is easy to point and blame Bramptonians, South Asian or otherwise, for the transmission of COVID-19 in our community. That we are somehow not taking it seriously, not acknowledging it or making poor cultural decisions. But that is a lazy and frankly offensive take.
Bramptonians are tired of waiting for someone to speak up for us and clear the ignorance about our city, which is why you are now hearing from us repeatedly amidst the pandemic. It is time we started telling our own story and for you to listen.