The following is a letter I got in my inbox. Thought it was kind of thought provoking... so what are your thoughts dear blog readers?
Hi Everyone;
I just had to write this to get it off my chest. You may or may not agree with my sentiments however they are my opinions.
I was watching CBC news coverage this morning of the events concerning the returns of Lebanese-canadians. You'll note I did not capitalize the word Canadians when referring to these people as it was evident by their comments that they consider themselves to be Lebanese first and Canadians second. The more I watched the madder I got and I ended up turning off the television.
A host of the returnees to Canada were complaining about the Canadian Governments and it's slow response. Some of the returnees commented that Canada should be ashamed of itself for it's slow response in getting them out. One person complained about taking 11 hours to get to Cyrpress and also complained about the sandwiches that they were given. I was stunned at the ingratitude of the people being interviewed. Considering the logistics involved in getting thousands of people out of Lebanon I think the Canadian Government and other governments did well.
I got to thinking about the situation and came to the conclusion that Canada now seems to be a land of opportunists, not opportunity. The only two people in my family who got a free trip to Europe were my dad and my uncle Charlie who were shipped overseas to serve in World War 11. No-one asked most of these people to go to Lebanon so a free trip back with minor inconveniences is a good deal. Better than being dead I suppose.
Here is the deal. I will arrange to pay for a trip back to war torn Lebanon for any Lebanese- Canadian ingrate who agrees to the following. If you feel ashamed of Canada and it's response you should renounce your Canadian Citizenship, pay back the government of Canada for the free services you received when you came here such as medical, dental, education, job start programs, housing, ESL classes, business venture grants etc. and for those going back to live in Lebanon give up your CPP benefits ( a great many Canadians are ignorant about the programs your tax dollar is paying for). As I stated earlier Canada seems to be the land of opportunists. I wonder what the percentage would be of these ingrates serving in our Armed Forces?
Now, you might view me as a radical and a bigot. That is your opinion. The above is mine. I am one of many CANADIANS who are just fed up with the ingratitude of some and the milking of our government by others. It's about time that people stood up and said enough is enough. Political correctness is a way to stifle people from speaking how they feel and in some cases speaking what is the truth. Affirmative action is nothing more than reverse discrimination. As I stated earlier I am fed up with the hyphenation of Canadian citizenship. You are either a Canadian or you are not one.
I intend on sending this letter to my M.P. and anyone else I can think of. If you agree with me please pass this on, if not, then press delete.
Mike Crawford A Canadian from Winnipeg Mb.
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6 comments:
the same thing is happening here in oz. In some ways I can see his point but in many ways he does sound like a wingeing bigot. One of the major things I think makes Canada great is the freedom we give to our immigrants.
Unlike America we dont expect people to be "Canadian first and (insert other country here) second, that is Americas style. Canada is not a melting pot we are multicultural.
The other thing to remember is you cant trust what the media shows you. Good news is not news and doesnt sell papers. Would Mr Crawford have send a similar letter had the news shown those that were gratefull and praised Canadas efforts? When does his M.P. hear about those things?
I think he and mell Gibson should Hook up with Ann Coulter for an old fashioned circle jerk.
(I allways bring it back to dirty)
Bring on the dirty baby! lol
Seriously though - some people take advantage of the Canadian Government - but they all aren't recent immigrants. Some are just plain old white trash. It takes all kinds. (But it does kind of piss me off when people who move here don't learn English) It also pisses me off when Canadians make comments about not knowing what we are doing in Afganistan. As my brother says (to a lady in the bank line); "Yeah, you're right lady. We shouldn't risk our lives to help those people in their war torn country. What are we doing helping them rebuild schools? Let em die. They are, after all, only women and children. Right?" (He is in the military for those of you who don't know - and had a tour there)
Canadians need to open their eyes and understand what is going on in the world. Everyone who lives here takes it for granted. Maybe if we helped some of these countries - their people would want to stay there and wouldn't need to leave their home to feed their children. What would you do if your baby was starving? And before some of you say "If I was that poor, I wouldn't have 20 kids". Well - they don't earn enough money to buy birth control - since the cost of it is more than most of them earn in a month. And it isn't like they have a pharmacy on every corner.
Don't get me wrong - lots of different people take advantage of our system - but if we were in their shoes we might do the same. Many of them don't even have shoes. And until you come across a mass grave marked only by the children's pile of shoes - try not to judge the worlds people to harshly.
As an African American I can see both sides of this issue, but I don't agree that anyone should have to renounce the "whatever" after the hyphen Candadian, Americna, Australian...whatever. My people were IMPORTED not escorted to American and it has been made clear over 400 years (the anniversary of the first slaveship to land in America is 1619) that African Americans cannot "go back" to africa, but are not (really) welcome in America so we do the best we can with what we have. The media has also portrayed us to be lazy, crime-driven, unintilligent, "less-thans" which are all not true. Affirmative Action isn't reverse discrimination, its the acknowledgement that after 400 years of oppression an entire race just MIGHT need a boost to catch up, especially since the country was quite literally built on their blood, sweat and tears.
As for people who don't know/learn english? it takes time. how many of us (Americans) know another language? If it came down to staying in America and being dirt poor or raiding ...say...Germany, you bet your ass America would be loading up the ships, and then we'd be the immigrants who actually had to know something about how the rest of the world operates.
Hey funchilde,
Some very good points there. I agree that people should not have to renounce the hyphen after Canadian (or American or whatever).
With respect to the learning English issue - absolutely it takes time. I have complete respect for anyone learning a new language. My experience was referring more to those individuals who have lived here for many years and have made no attempt to learn English.
I have had to learn French, taken Spanish and German... although I speak the last two very poorly. I at least have some idea of how difficult it is to learn languages. I guess I just see it as appropriate to strive to learn the language of the country you are living in - it is after all through communication that I believe people become educated. So, speaking a common language this is more easily accomplished.
hey chica, my tone may have come off way more "tense" than i meant it. i totally lurve your blog and respect your intellect. just the fact that you even broached this issue commands so much respect. i get so frustrated after being in Mexico for 3 months at how...dare i say...proviledged Americans try to make everyone who comes here feel. I've heard snide comments about how mexicans should "learn english" and how asians should "learn the language" etc and it makes me see red. WE (Americans) barely leave our god-knows how any particular group got here-but oh so priviledged..plymouth rock and we judge anyone who is brown or foreign and god forbid you are both. i meant no disrespect of your stance on english (b/c i in fact agree but Americans don't make it easy b/c we don't incorporate or welcome foreigners into our country or our conversations to help them learn FASTER). you being candadian, and i think someone else pointed out the subtle differences in our country's racial/political/immigration systems...have nothing to answer for, my rant is more a vent than a response to you directly. just wanted to add a different perspective. i humbly submit my "mea culpa" for any perceived disrespect...you know i luvs ya.
I luvs ya too! And am glad for the perspective you bring - really and truly. I appreciate anyone telling me their thoughts - especially someone who thinks about what they think. (I know that sounds funny but I think it made sense...lol)
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