Discussions

Tater said "I actually disagree, I think there ARE individuals who have encountered racism or sexism and it had a major detrimental effect on the attainment of success that otherwise they would have achieved. Ask women in the rcmp in the 70s and 80s if they were abused and sexually assaulted and harassed on the job more than their male counterparts, or because they were female. Ask them if they had to do more and be more dedicated and above reproach compared to their male cohorts in order to have half the respect.     There are many people, intelligent, educated, hard working people, who have had their potential diminished by discrimination. That is a FACT. Don't diminish their sacrifices. "

I have acknowledged there is racism. However, I said there are more variables as well. If you are disagreeing with me, are you saying that racism is the only variable?  
 
By bringing up the 70's, are you implying that there has been no improvement?

What I am saying is that there are people who, equally talented, educated, skilled, motivated, and determined as another person who differs only in race or another quality that over which a person has no control, have had a lack of comparable opportunity or reward. Are there other people with other challenges and obstacles? Of course. But as long as racism (and sexism, other forms of discrimination) exist, pretending they DONT exist is selfish and unrealistic and acts as a way of blaming those individuals who have been wronged by prejudice for their failure to attain the rewards their efforts would otherwise provide.  
 
That is unfair and wrong and i oppose unfairness.  

I didn't say there hadn't been improvement, that is not ENOUGH equality. There is no such thing as enough equality until there is true equality among all human beings. I live in a world where people like me (women) have had the vote for 100 years. Women have still only this year been represented at the rate of 50% in the cabinet of the federal government. The development of society's acceptance of women having all the rights and freedoms of men has taken 100 years and is still not entirely complete. Aboriginal people have had the vote in this country for about half that time, and while European settlers were being given free land and other incentives, their forebears were being subjected to abuse, child theft, racism, humiliation, having their assets taken, nutritional experiments, etc. don't you think there are inter generational effects to these injustices? Should it always take more than 100 years to approach equality?

Once again you fail to give the facts, free means with no conditions attached, there were conditions attached so it was not free and anyone who owns the land pays taxes on it every year, so it is never free.  
What do you think of Chief Vincent Tacan ? Last year he wrote an article in the Brandon Sun around this time of the year, I read the article and thought of many things that you have posted and wondered how you felt about his comments. After reading the article I thought that maybe many of the things you believe aren't quite so, and for some reason I believe Chief Tacan wouldn't agree with you as well. I read up on Chief Tacan and all I will say is quite impressive. Maybe it is the tie with agriculture and the reality of what happens when as an individual you do not take matters in your own hands that gave him a bit of his perspective on life. In agriculture, especially with livestock, you do not get to play the blame game, or have to fall back on excuses to cover your butt.  
 
We talk of race and culture, and just in the last year I have met and talked to many people who would make their ancestors proud, and these people are First Nations People, they are people like Chief Tacan, they are people like the two women that were going through as nurses aids when I was in the hospital in Brandon, one was a younger woman and the other was a mother whose children were grown, or the two men that I talked to at the card lock, on a Friday evening, who where heading off to to work the weekend driving trucks for construction, or some of the girls who are working as tellers in retail business. I have talked to all of these people, except for Chief Tacan, which I truely would love to do, and might someday get that opportunity to do so. These people all share one thing in my mind, and it is something that existed before any of the treaties or settlers, and that is the acceptance that the world owes no one anything. There are obstacles for everyone, but the merit of any person is to overcome those obstacles reguardless of what they may be.  
 
You talk of equality, and if we go back to the land issue, the crown tried to promote equality as far as giving an equal amount per family, and how did that idea of equality work out, and yet there are those who would push for having equal teachers because of race, but many of these things become subjective. With the changing of the population many years ago the crown became the subjective power, and we could mandate for representation of teachers according to race, but with the world ever changing, and China alone having over 1.3 billion people, will we be willing to mandate in the future that a certain number of Asian teachers will be needed if the subjective power becomes Asian.  
 
Final thought: on the idea of Asian teachers, I would love to see it because from what I have observed, education and the development of thinking, and the importance of education, is taken much more seriously by the Asian people. Could be wrong, but that's how I feel.  
 
Edited by don brown, 2016-03-02 23:36:03

piece from the National Post sheds more light on this issue and the author makes some salient points.  
 
http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/peter-shawn-taylor-quotas-on-campus-forget-one-part-of-society-men

Don Brown- I'm glad you Admire some people who are fn. what that has to do with acknowledging that others have more obstacles in life than others and that some of those additional obstacles are created by the dominant culture I don't know. Employment equity and access programs for education still require the individual to do the work, be qualified etc. All the equity programs are about is to try to offset the discrimination that I think everyone can acknowledge exists.

Sorbet said "piece from the National Post sheds more light on this issue and the author makes some salient points.     http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/peter-shawn-taylor-quotas-on-campus-forget-one-part-of-society-men "

I fear for my grandchildren's grade-school education in Manitoba! Their teachers won't be the 'best qualified people' for their job, but what some bureaucracy deems them entitled to based on their specific profiling??  
The last sentence in above article is right on!  
Home schooling looks better all the time!