In the article titled “Modern Racism”, Phil Fontaine challenges a nationalistic view most Canadians have of considering Canada an accommodating and tolerant society. These common myths he challenges include racism not existing in Canada and only bad people being racist. He identifies three types of racism that continue to affect Indigenous peoples and other minority groups in our contemporary society. These types include direct and blatant acts of racism, which is the type that would most likely come to mind when thinking about racism, indirect and subconscious racism, and systemic or institutional racism. The reality is that Canadian society is founded on racism through acts of settler colonialism, which is the physical act of taking land
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The mayor of Val-d’Or even attended a vigil honoring their SQ police officers who were accused of acts of violence perpetuated towards Indigenous women in Quebec. As mentioned in “Modern Racism”, racism can either be direct or indirect, both stemming from imbedded stereotypes and ignorance within the Canadian society. However, whether these racist attitudes are subconscious or not, intentional or not, the reality is that it continues to maintain the status quo of a system that was built to benefit the privileged …show more content…
These officials representing the Crown are trained to maintain a system that allows them to abuse their power without consequence. The physical violent and abusive actions perpetuated towards Indigenous peoples in Canada from police officers, very little support from other non-Indigenous Canadians, and the high numbers of unsolved missing and murdered cases are contemporary examples of the three categories of racism that Phil Fontaine discusses in “Modern Racism”. These three categories are (i) individual and direct racism, (ii) indirect and subconscious racism, and (iii) systemic racism.
These three types of racism exist in present day Canada, and while there may not be obvious red flags to the average person’s conscious, people from different minority groups continue to face a reality of systemic oppression and discrimination. Despite this reality, many individuals who benefit from this system continue to deny that there is racism within our social environment and political institutions. This common notion to deny the existence of direct, indirect and/or institutionalized systemic racism in our country has adverse effects on the people it continues to
The mayor of Val-d’Or even attended a vigil honoring their SQ police officers who were accused of acts of violence perpetuated towards Indigenous women in Quebec. As mentioned in “Modern Racism”, racism can either be direct or indirect, both stemming from imbedded stereotypes and ignorance within the Canadian society. However, whether these racist attitudes are subconscious or not, intentional or not, the reality is that it continues to maintain the status quo of a system that was built to benefit the privileged …show more content…
These officials representing the Crown are trained to maintain a system that allows them to abuse their power without consequence. The physical violent and abusive actions perpetuated towards Indigenous peoples in Canada from police officers, very little support from other non-Indigenous Canadians, and the high numbers of unsolved missing and murdered cases are contemporary examples of the three categories of racism that Phil Fontaine discusses in “Modern Racism”. These three categories are (i) individual and direct racism, (ii) indirect and subconscious racism, and (iii) systemic racism.
These three types of racism exist in present day Canada, and while there may not be obvious red flags to the average person’s conscious, people from different minority groups continue to face a reality of systemic oppression and discrimination. Despite this reality, many individuals who benefit from this system continue to deny that there is racism within our social environment and political institutions. This common notion to deny the existence of direct, indirect and/or institutionalized systemic racism in our country has adverse effects on the people it continues to