This is the ugly side of our countries – both US and Canada. With the election of Barack Obama the real ugly side of the US started showing: the birthers, teabaggers, KKK, and other bigots and racists started coming out of the wood works.
Some Americans, especially in the south, are terribly upset that a black man is occupying the Whitehouse. That is why you saw these morons on TV, who call themselves birthers, questioning the legitimacy of Obama to be President contending that he was born in Kenya. Tell the truth birthers, that you're upset because he is black.
Then this teabaggers stuff started. Same racist groups. Both birthers and teabaggers are becoming an embarrassment for the mainstream Republicans and others who tried to embrace them. Similar manifestations came forth with the healthcare reform raising the issue of "death panels" and "pulling the plug on granny". Fear mongering of the most repulsive kind is succeeding which shows how racists can be effective at influencing the general public and at causing damage.
The real death panel and those who pull the plug on grannies are the private health insurance companies. It is frightening that healthcare is based on profit motives where, if there is no profit, the plug is pulled and to hell with granny's health or for that matter anyone else's health. My personal belief is that healthcare must be free of any profit motive otherwise it is deadly to our health with the exception of the very rich. The only way profit motive can be removed is through public healthcare. Americans are making a stupid mistake if they do not go for meaningful reform and the public option.
Similar racism showed up when Obama planned to speak to schoolchildren. The racists came out in full force to stop him. They conveniently forgot that practically all former Presidents spoke to schoolchildren. What is different in the case of President Obama is that he is black and how dare he play a role model to the children of these racist folks. Their excuse is that Obama is going to indoctrinate these children. If he wants to indoctrinate children by telling them to work hard and stay in school then which parent will disapprove of it other than racists.
I included Canada because since Harper took over racism started showing its ugly face more blatantly. First Harper indicated that certain dress means terrorism such as the turban forgetting that there are a few Sikhs in Parliament. Then there were the positions taken on minority Canadian citizens such as Maher Arar, Suaad Haji Mohamud, Omar Khadr and many others.
Then when a white man from South Africa applied for refugee status stating that he was afraid of black men beating him up in South Africa he was given refugee status in no time – how dare black men scare this "poor" white guy. Who got the title of racist country in the world because of this incident? Canada.
What happened to the Trudeau's human rights policy, multiculturalism and Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
What is happening now are dangerous trends. I see no difference between the KKK, birthers, teabaggers and many other manifestations of the deadly diseases of racism which have plagued many societies over the centuries.
This racism is being carried out on the international level. For example when our soldiers are killed in Afghanistan (which is indeed a terrible tragedy). Our soldiers should not be there and our politicians must not use them as sacrificial lambs. Now the corrupt government of Karzai has removed any legitimacy which might have been there. The terrorists are considered bad (and rightly so) but if we kill hundreds of civilians through bombing then it is just collateral damage.
We are all humans and equal respect must be shown for all human life. As long as these discrepancies exist there is no chance for peace in the world.
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