by arthur Weinreb,
January 12, 2005
Towards the end of December, Toronto City Councillor Mike Del Grande gave an interview with the Scarborough Mirror, a community newspaper that covers his ward of Scarborough-agincourt. Del Grande told the paper that "a lot of white people are moving out of my area". The councillor also commented on the fact that there were clashes between residents that came from Hong Kong and those who hailed from China.
Well, that was enough to get those in the racism biz to get going. Tam Goossen, a former president of the Urban alliance on Race Relations was quick off the mark, being quoted in the Toronto Star as saying Del Grande’s comments were "totally divisive". Some of Mayor David Miller’s loyal lefties on council went further and said that what Del Grande has said "smacked of racism" and "was nothing other than a racist comment".
The downside of our overly politically correct society was that even Del Grande’s defenders allowed the professionals in the race industry to define the councillor’s remarks in terms of racism. For example, writing in the Toronto Sun, Sue-ann Levy wrote a column saying that Del Grande was not a racist. By using that type of argument Levy conceded that the councillor’s comments could logically be seen as racist, but that Del Grande himself wasn’t one. Levy, and Del Grande himself, allow those who scream racism at the mere mention of race to define the parameters of what constitutes racism.
Perhaps there is one saving grace in the Del Grande fiasco. The fact that the cries of racism that resulted from the Scarborough Mirror interview shows that there isn’t enough real racism in the city of Toronto to keep the professionals in the race industry busy. If this is in fact the case, then, as a famous felon would say, that is a good thing.
Mike Del Grande’s comments leave a lot of questions unanswered.
apparently, the politically correct masses at Toronto City Hall and their racism advocates couldn’t care less about whether or not there are problems in Del Grande’s area or for that matter, other areas of the city. The only concern that they have is in controlling the speech and free expression of others. If there are problems, they are better left not being dealt with. The possibility of these clashes between people coming to the city from different countries should be troubling. But if the problem exists, the residents will just have to deal with it themselves; examining the problem and trying to solve it would just amount to racism.
The Oxford Dictionary defines racism as "a belief in the superiority of a particular race; prejudiced based on this" and "antagonism towards people of other races". There was absolutely nothing in Del Grande’s comments that would indicate a prejudice or antagonism. Of course the politically correct in the racism business have greatly broadened their definition to include any mention of the fact that people are of various and different races; except of course for the purpose of bragging about diversity and multiculturalism.
If those who criticized Del Grande were really interested in stemming racism, they would go after real racists and not apply the term to everyone who dares to mention such things as conflicts between different ethnic groups.
Perhaps one day, this worship of political correctness will decline and real race problems can be addressed. That time can’t come soon enough.
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