Have you personally experienced racist remarks?

scratch

Senate Member
May 20, 2008
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I have personally been on the receiving end of racial slurs and epithets as a Canadian...from Canadians...while in Canada.

While I was an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company or privately travelling this country I experienced racist remarks.

Ontario: Bay Stores or Royal Canadian Legions.
: Kingston
: Aurora
: Richmond Hill
: Jackson's Point
: Windsor
: Harrow
: Kingsville
: Leamington

Saskatchewan: Bay Stores or Royal Canadian Legions
: Regina
: Saskatoon

Alberta: Bay Stores or Royal Canadian Legions
: Calgary
: Edmonton

British Columbia: Bay Stores or Royal Canadian Legions
: Vancouver
: Richmond

The racial comments were made because I was a Quebecer. No matter whether I was Anglophone or Francophone.

Canada' s Hidden Racism.

Something to be proud of and one of the reasons we will always be divided.

Definitions:

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]

Slur \Slur\ (sl[^u]r), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Slurred (sl[^u]rd);
p. pr. & vb. n. Slurring (sl[^u]r"r[i^]ng).] [Cf. OE. sloor
mud, clay, Icel. sl[=o]ra, slo[eth]ra, to trail or drag one's
self along, D. sleuren, sloren, to train, to drag, to do
negligently and slovenly, D. sloor, sloerie, a ****tish
girl.]
1. To soil; to sully; to contaminate; to disgrace.
--Cudworth.
[1913 Webster]

2. To disparage; to traduce. --Tennyson.
[1913 Webster]

3. To cover over; to disguise; to conceal; to pass over
lightly or with little notice.
[1913 Webster]

With periods, points, and tropes, he slurs his
crimes. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]

4. To cheat, as by sliding a die; to trick. [R.]
[1913 Webster]

To slur men of what they fought for. --Hudibras.
[1913 Webster]

5. To pronounce indistinctly; as, to slur syllables; to slur
one's words.
[1913 Webster]

6. (Mus.) To sing or perform in a smooth, gliding style; to
connect smoothly in performing, as several notes or tones.
--Busby.
[1913 Webster]

7. (Print.) To blur or double, as an impression from type; to
mackle.
[1913 Webster]


Slur \Slur\, n.
1. A mark or stain; hence, a slight reproach or disgrace; a
stigma; a reproachful intimation; an innuendo. "Gaining to
his name a lasting slur." --South.
[1913 Webster]

2. A trick played upon a person; an imposition. [R.]
[1913 Webster]

3. (Mus.) A mark, thus [[upslur] or [downslur]], connecting
notes that are to be sung to the same syllable, or made in
one continued breath of a wind instrument, or with one
stroke of a bow; a tie; a sign of legato.
[1913 Webster]

4. In knitting machines, a contrivance for depressing the
sinkers successively by passing over them.
[1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]

slur
n 1: (music) a curved line spanning notes that are to be played
legato
2: a disparaging remark; "in the 19th century any reference to
female sexuality was considered a vile aspersion"; "it is
difficult for a woman to understand a man's sensitivity to
any slur on his virility" [syn: aspersion]
3: a blemish made by dirt; "he had a smudge on his cheek" [syn:
smudge, spot, blot, daub, smear, smirch]
v 1: play smoothly or legato; "the pianist slurred the most
beautiful passage in the sonata"
2: speak disparagingly of; e.g., make a racial slur; "your
comments are slurring your co-workers"
3: utter indistinctly
4: become vague or indistinct; "The distinction between the two
theories blurred" [syn: blur, dim] [ant: focus]
[also: slurring, slurred]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]

182 Moby Thesaurus words for "slur":
accent, accent mark, affront, asperse, aspersion, attaint,
bad-mouth, badge of infamy, bar, bar sinister, baton, bedaub,
befoul, bend sinister, besmear, besmirch, besmoke, bespatter,
bestain, black eye, black mark, blacken, blink, blot, blow upon,
blur, brand, broad arrow, calumniate, calumny, cancel, cantando,
carefully ignore, cast aspersions on, cast reflections on, censure,
champain, character, cold-shoulder, custos, cut a corner,
cut corners, darken, daub, defame, defile, demilegato, denigrate,
dip into, direct, dirty, disapprove, discolor, discredit,
disparage, disparagement, disregard, dodge, dot, examine cursorily,
execution, expose, expose to infamy, expression, expression mark,
fermata, fingering, fudge, garble, gibbet, give the once-over,
glance at, glissando, gloss over, hang in effigy, hold, ignore,
imputation, innuendo, insinuation, insult, intonation,
key signature, lead, legato, libel, ligature, lisp, malign, mark,
mark of Cain, measure, metronomic mark, mezzo staccato, mumble,
music-making, notation, obloquy, odium, onus, page through,
parlando, pass over, pass over lightly, pause, performance,
personal remark, personality, pianism, pillory, pillorying,
pizzicato, point champain, presa, put-down, reflection, rendering,
rendition, repercussion, reprimand, reproach, rubato, scamp, scan,
scorch, sear, segno, sign, signature, singe, skid, skim, skim over,
skim the surface, skimp, skip over, slam, slander, slidder, slight,
slip, slip through, slubber, slubber over, slur over,
sly suggestion, smear, smirch, smoke, smudge, smutch, soil,
spiccato, spot, staccato, stain, stigma, stigmatism,
stigmatization, stigmatize, stricture, stutter, suggestion, sully,
swell, symbol, taint, tarnish, tear down, tempo mark,
thumb through, tie, time signature, touch, touch upon,
touch upon lightly, traduce, uncomplimentary remark, vilify,
vinculum, whispering campaign, zip through


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]

Epithet \Ep"i*thet\, n. [L. epitheton, Gr. ?, fr. ? added, fr. ?
to add; 'epi` upon, to + ? to put, place: cf. F.
['e]pith[`e]te. See Do.]
1. An adjective expressing some quality, attribute, or
relation, that is properly or specially appropriate to a
person or thing; as, a just man; a verdant lawn.
[1913 Webster]

A prince [Henry III.] to whom the epithet
"worthless" seems best applicable. --Hallam.
[1913 Webster]

2. Term; expression; phrase. "Stuffed with epithets of war."
--Shak.

Syn: Epithet, Title.

Usage: The name epithet was formerly extended to nouns which
give a title or describe character (as the "epithet of
liar"), but is now confined wholly to adjectives. Some
rhetoricians, as Whately, restrict it still further,
considering the term epithet as belonging only to a
limited class of adjectives, viz., those which add
nothing to the sense of their noun, but simply hold
forth some quality necessarily implied therein; as,
the bright sun, the lofty heavens, etc. But this
restriction does not prevail in general literature.
Epithet is sometimes confounded with application,
which is always a noun or its equivalent.
[1913 Webster]


Epithet \Ep"i*thet\, v. t.
To describe by an epithet. [R.]
[1913 Webster]

Never was a town better epitheted. --Sir H.
Wotton.
Epithetic

WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]

epithet
n 1: a defamatory or abusive word or phrase; "sticks and stones
may break my bones but names can never hurt me" [syn: name]
2: descriptive word or phrase

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]

63 Moby Thesaurus words for "epithet":
abuse, appellation, appellative, binomen, binomial name,
blackguard, byword, call names, catchword, cognomen, cryptonym,
curse, cuss, cuss out, cuss word, damn, denomination, designation,
device, dirty name, dirty word, dysphemism, empty title, epigraph,
epithetize, eponym, euonym, expletive, foul invective, handle,
honorific, hyponym, inscription, label, moniker, motto, name,
namesake, naughty word, no-no, nomen, nomen nudum, oath, obscenity,
profane oath, proper name, proper noun, revile, scientific name,
secret name, slogan, style, swear at, swearword, tag, tag line,
tautonym, title, trinomen, trinomial name, vilify, vituperate,
watchword
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
27,780
285
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bliss
I have experienced ACTUAL racist comments, not just bigotted comments about where I live (such as some of the tripe them damn BC pot heads spew.. lol).

I have been called an assortment of names meant to mock my skin color, having grown up in a school where white kids and reservation kids schooled together. I have been threatened and gotten into fights because of the color of my skin and nothing else.
 

scratch

Senate Member
May 20, 2008
5,658
22
38
I have experienced ACTUAL racist comments, not just bigotted comments about where I live (such as some of the tripe them damn BC pot heads spew.. lol).

I have been called an assortment of names meant to mock my skin color, having grown up in a school where white kids and reservation kids schooled together. I have been threatened and gotten into fights because of the color of my skin and nothing else.

Did it toughen you up? Did it make you more ambitious? Did you vow to yourself that this was wrong and that somehow you would change this ?
 

AmberEyes

Sunshine
Dec 19, 2006
495
36
28
Vancouver Island
I was the only white kid living in a neighbourhood of native kids. I was wearing a shirt that had an eagle on it...

Things didn't go so well for me. :) I had a few broken bones and bruises to account for the racism I experienced.... and often felt. -_-
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
27,780
285
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bliss
Did it toughen you up? Did it make you more ambitious? Did you vow to yourself that this was wrong and that somehow you would change this ?

hmm. I'm a very empathetic person, so, it definitely made me more aware of what it's like to be judged on skin color alone. Toughen me up though? No, not at all. Make me more ambitious? No.
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
27,780
285
83
bliss
I was the only white kid living in a neighbourhood of native kids. I was wearing a shirt that had an eagle on it...

Things didn't go so well for me. :) I had a few broken bones and bruises to account for the racism I experienced.... and often felt. -_-

that sucks Amber, sorry to hear it was so extreme.
 

AmberEyes

Sunshine
Dec 19, 2006
495
36
28
Vancouver Island
It was a long time ago :) I try not to think too badly on it.... I think most of it had to do with living in a poor neighbourhood and not understanding "boundaries."
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
27,780
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In my case, it was a very distinct case of segregation being the problem. The issues almost exclusively came up between 'town kids' and 'rez kids'. There were native students who went to the school who also lived in town, and they didn't have the same issues that there were between town and rez kids. They sort of just hung back and stayed out of all of it.
 

tracy

House Member
Nov 10, 2005
3,500
48
48
California
I've had the white girl comments here, but I think I'm too old and it's just too distant of an issue for it to really affect me.
 

AmberEyes

Sunshine
Dec 19, 2006
495
36
28
Vancouver Island
I never really experienced it myself in school, but I do know what you're talking about. I remember distinctly as a small child being in school that all the "native" kids hung out over there, and all of the "other" kids hung out over here. But again, I didn't really know boundaries... like a lot of kids, I didn't understand why it was that way, it just was.
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
27,780
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The only time I see that sort of behavior now is when a group incidentally (as in not purposefully) maintains social separation. For example, in my children's school, the Philippino students are very tight knit. Their parents attend social gatherings together, and the kids all know each other. So, they 'stick together' because it's what they're familiar and comfortable with. Thankfully they're all still young and it's not a big issue, but, I do think it will be moreso as they get older.
 

TenPenny

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 9, 2004
17,466
138
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Location, Location
I have been insulted and treated poorly because I am an English/White/Male in parts of NB and Quebec. I don't care. I do, however, care about my daughters, who are Chinese. I'm quite likely to beat the crap out of anyone who insults them.
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
27,780
285
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I have been insulted and treated poorly because I am an English/White/Male in parts of NB and Quebec. I don't care. I do, however, care about my daughters, who are Chinese. I'm quite likely to beat the crap out of anyone who insults them.

Because they're your daughters? Or because they're not white?

I find people are happy to excuse racism against white people. (not so much against their kids though ;-)) so I'm curious if you would be as ready to fight if they were to be insulted or treated poorly for the same reasons you were (aside from male ya know).
 

TenPenny

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 9, 2004
17,466
138
63
Location, Location
Because they're your daughters? Or because they're not white?

I find people are happy to excuse racism against white people. (not so much against their kids though ;-)) so I'm curious if you would be as ready to fight if they were to be insulted or treated poorly for the same reasons you were (aside from male ya know).

I guess it's because they're my daughters, but I'm more conscious of it because they're Chinese. If they were white, I probably wouldn't even consider the possibility, but as it is, it's something we're more or less expecting to encounter at some time.
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
27,780
285
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I guess it's because they're my daughters, but I'm more conscious of it because they're Chinese. If they were white, I probably wouldn't even consider the possibility, but as it is, it's something we're more or less expecting to encounter at some time.

Well, here's me hoping that you don't have to deal with such a thing tenpenny.
 

EagleSmack

Hall of Fame Member
Feb 16, 2005
44,168
95
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USA
Minorities can make all the racist and bigotted remarks they want...they justify it through leaders like Sharpton and Jackson.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
23,117
7,989
113
Regina, Saskatchewan
I happen to be a white male. My father was white, & my mother was (?) very dark skinned (?) and
was born just off a reservation in Saskatchewan. I don't think Grandma was too faithful to her Husband.

I spent the better part of (off and on) two decades as a second party collector (= repo man) so I've been
called everything imaginable that a white male could possibly be called, and been in & out of some very
dangerous situations where my skin color was definitely not a asset. I have been on and off 68 different
reservations (Alberta, Saskatchewan, & Manitoba) repeatedly and often...so I understand what it is like
to be in the minority. My surname (though an English occupational name) happens to be shared by many
Native folks in this chunk of land, so I learned early that if I didn't hand in a resume in person, I'd rarely
hear back from a prospective employer. The times are changing but not fast enough...

My Son is much darker than myself (but no where near as dark as my Mother was) with Native features
and deals with sh*t on a daily basis. Store detectives follow him in stores, etc...Luckily he happened to
grow into a 6'5" (not counting the height of the Mohawk) man weighing in right around 290lbs so he is able
to avoid many issues that he otherwise wouldn't be able to avoid. He makes a very large target though and
racism is still alive and well.
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
27,780
285
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I know what you mean about the name thing Ron. We're French, and I was sitting in a hospital room one day with my son (he had gone into respiratory crisis and needed to be admitted while his lungs recovered), when the shift changed, and new nurse walked in. She took two steps into the room and said 'you're the wrong color!' She trooped over to the crib, looked at my son and said 'he's white too!' She then sat and grilled me on why I'd have a 'native' name.

Duh.

I couldn't believe how rude it felt to me.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
23,117
7,989
113
Regina, Saskatchewan
Karrie, try being a white male (single parent since my boy was four years old) trying to go
through the process of obtaining my Sons treaty card. I'm pretty thick skinned due to the
prior occupation that I'd briefly mentioned, but this was REALLY ugly.

The Executive I was forced to deal with happened to be Native and Female...with a huge
hate-on for white people and males in general. On these forums you can sort of get an
idea as to a persons personality, so hopefully you might realize that I'm generally a pretty
fair and open minded (but very straight laced and law abiding) sort of guy. Few times in
my life have I wanted to drag someone outside and shake some sense into them as I did
with this person. In close to two decades as a repo man, this display trumped anything
I'd ever experienced, and still hasn't been exceeded by anything since...
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
27,780
285
83
bliss
Oh, I can only imagine Ron.

There is a lot of resentment in native communities over white people 'taking' their children, winning in custody settlements based on race, adopting out native kids, etc. Hubby's family have had to deal with it being foster families and adopting. It's not uncommon for people to get pretty ugly over a perception they have of why you've got that kid, your motives, etc.