FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Jan 19

Race Relations Still Have a Ways to Go in Both Canada and the U.S.

by bcurry

Saturday Night Live did a brief satirical piece on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., where his ghost returned to comment on the advances that African Americans have made in the last 47 years since his death.  The comic portraying him kept referring to the ever elusive climb to the top of the mountain alluded to in one of Rev. King’s many memorable and inspirational speeches.  The mountain seems to have gotten higher and the climb harder.  Indeed, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day the nation and the President are still struggling with issues of race and discrimination.

Although in Canada, I lived through the sixties’ civil rights movement as covered extensively by American and Canadian media on television and in news print.  As a teenager in High School, I remember the coverage of the now famous Selma march, the assassination of Rev. King and subsequent civil rights’ activity by the American federal government.  The images of police brutality against peaceful demonstrators and the resulting public outrage are burned into my memory.  I knew then as I know now that race relations in both countries would never be the same.  Testimony to this was the election of a black President.  African Americans today have the right to vote.  Their civil rights are protected under law.  All of which can be largely attributed to Rev. King and his calls for justice, action and civil disobedience in the 1960s.

However, President Obama has had to tread a fine line when it comes to matters of race relations.  His game plan is one of seeking steady progress within the system, most often with calls for restraint, lawful demonstrations and commissions of inquiry.  Following the fatal police shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, he deployed the U.S. Attorney General to investigate whether a young black’s civil rights had been violated.  The President also wants to work with law enforcement officials to improve race relations, often incurring the wrath of black constituents.  Sometimes the President is caught between a rock and a hard place, damned if you do and damned if you don’t.  No easy task, especially for a black President — so give the guy a break!

Here in Canada, race relations are a bit better largely due to our history and laws.  However, when it comes to our native population that’s another matter.  Just as blacks make up a disproportionate number of inmates in U.S. prisons, so do native males and females make up a disproportionate number of inmates in Canadian prisons.  Crimes against native women far outweigh those against Canadian women in general.  Canadians have a ways to go to improve native relations.  There is also a need to deal with the higher number of visible minorities living below the poverty line in both countries.  While access to higher education has improved, access to better paying professions is still a concern for visible minorities, in particular recent immigrants.  Much more work needs to be done on improving race relations in both countries in order to more quickly climb that intangible mountain.

Canada Race Relations

Leave a comment »
Jan 8

Media Under Terrorist Attack — Let’s Not Hit the Panic Button Just Yet

by bcurry

With the blatant attack by armed extremists on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris on January 7th, Western societies are viewing the horrific incident as a direct attack on the freedom of the press and freedom of speech.  Why the unfortunate staff of this particular publication were targeted is pretty well self-explanatory.  After all, Charlie Hebdo’s offices were fired bombed in 2012 by extremists because of satirical cartoons depicting Islam’s prophet Mohammad.  The cartoons angered many Muslims who view such depictions as heresy.  Moreover, some don’t see the humour in such depictions, in extreme cases bringing out the crazies who then invoke various forms of terrorism in retaliation.

Unfortunately, such tragic events also often lead to different forms of backlash in the countries where they occur.  Governments may impose more security laws, reduce immigration from certain countries, and increase surveillance of certain domestic groups.  Other national extremist groups may rev up their anti-Muslim activities, such as was the case in Sweden where Christian terrorists recently destroyed mosques in that country.  One has to remember that there are the larger numbers of peaceful and law-abiding Muslims in the centre of almost every city on the European continent.  However, economic and social strains already exist between Muslims and those whose roots in Europe are far deeper.  Although Muslim communities vehemently condemn such violence, there will nevertheless be immediate public backlash in various forms.

In the case of the attack on Charlie Hebdo, it is seen as a deliberate attack on some of our fundamental freedoms.  Journalists everywhere are outraged, and rightly so.  However, media attacks are not something new.  Remember the attacks on media sources during the civil rights movement in the U.S. in the early sixties, or attacks on Quebec media sources following the FLQ terrorists attacks and kidnappings in the early seventies — with the subsequent federal implementation of the War Measures Act in Canada invoking martial law.  In both cases, journalists were jailed and denied their legal rights.  Journalists knowingly take risks in pursuing certain stories every day, including those who have written about organized crime syndicates in the Americas and Europe.

Journalists are a tough breed often in a thankless and misunderstood occupation.  They tend not to scare very easily, which is a good thing for a free and open society.  For this reason, tragic events such as that in Paris will only strengthen the resolve of these brave men and women to pursue their stories and publish their findings.  As in any democratic society, they represent an important asset in ensuring our rights to know more about the issues we all face on a daily basis.  For all these reasons, let us not push any panic buttons.  Let us continue to support and respect the work of all media.

Terroism and the Media

Leave a comment »
Blog at WordPress.com.