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Is pride justified? Canada Myths and Realities
To Rantburg's Canadian friends, I know that this article does not speak for you, but everyone here needs to go read this big stinky flaming bag of poop and then take a shower. Excerpt: Canadians often pride themselves on how different Canada is from the United States of America. But, on a fundamental level it shares much more than is commonly admitted. Both are avowedly colonialist, capitalist nation-states, with white-European and Christian origins. They were both built on the blood, sweat and tears of people (mostly non-white), the overwhelming majority of whom were not allowed to share in the wealth which a select few from the white elite have accumulated over time. Slavery was practised in both countries with varying intensity at various periods. While the United States has been the overt imperialist over the past century-and-a-half, Canada has lent its support to such endeavours; aside for its complicity in crimes in Iraq, it has been (or is currently) involved in Vietnam, Indonesia/East Timor, Afghanistan, Haiti, and Israel-Palestine, among others.[4] They have both employed immigration policies that primarily allow entry to immigrants and refugees from the South in order to meet specific needs in the labour market and/or to compensate for an otherwise slow population growth. Both governments are fraught with overwhelming conflicts of interests which favour corporate rule over public good. Finally, and perhaps of greatest importance, is the colonial history and holocaust of Indigenous peoples that characterises both these nation-states. Indeed, after originating from such shameful origins, it would in fact be a surprise if Canada had managed to truly distinguish itself from the United States on issues that actually matter.Posted by: Seafarious 2005-01-17 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=53879 |