HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1959-10-28, Page 10PAGE ° TEN
THE LUCKNOW SENTINEL, , LITCKNOW, ONTARIO
Sear and Spice
By W. B. T. Smiley
I#' there is one 'thing on which
'Canadians pride themselves, it is
their lack of. racial prejudice,
their "tolerance," Perhaps that's
why the Toronto papers, with a
fine: show. of indignation, gave a
,big play to the recent rejection
'of a Negro girl by :a university,
girls' 'sorority., • '
' Beating their drums' and their
breasts •with equal fervour, the'.
Toronto dailies .turned loose .re-
porterson every aspect ' of the
*tory, dragged' In sociologists: and
anthropologists to write " article s
ter. Who •elected us, or anybody
else, to "tolerate" other . human
beings: The arrogance of it!
,** so•
Despite what. I've said, I have
high hopes for, •Canada. :The old
religious bitterness between the
French and English-speaking Ca-
nadians is mellowing. There is a
minority, but a vocal and, intel-
ligent .one, of liberalcitizens who
are not afraid to attack prejudice
wherNver it appears,,
**:*
• In the service clubs and the
Canadian • Legion, there are no
colour, •religious or racial bars.
There has been a heavyinflux
of .new people from Europe to
break down the old,. and artifi-
sial, prejudices
But ,:most important,' the pre -
and . created, a fine fury. For •judices.' .of . Canadians are only
about three days.: skin-deep. They are not based on
l a century. of fear and' mistrust
and violence, as are the feelings
of whites in the • southern states
and Africa. They are based solely
on ignorance.'
* * *.
• There, is a basic decency in . the
Canadian: people, .a casual readi-
ness to accept a man . for what he
is and what he can do. Given' a'
chance, this will break through
The truth is, as anyone who is the thin crust of : prejudice that
not deaf and : blind knows well,
After that, apparently satisfied
that they had struck a mighty
blow against race prejudice, the
papers went back. to their normal
round, They had appeased their
liberal -minded readers, they had
declared that we'll 'ave none o'
that there the
and that was the
end of .the matter..
u. /.
*: **'
• that Canadians' are just: as preju-
diced as the next fellow, when it
(tomes, to race, colour or religion.
They are not so violent 'about` it
'as some oilier peoples, but it Is
• there, it is a mistak eable, and `. It:
is, widespread.
Don't 'worry,' I'm 'not' ,going to
• try to solve the . whole. problem n
the space of'this column, But let's
not kid ourselves. Let's not 'look
across the border with theholier-
than-thou attitude. Let's not -pre-
tend'that this is one country in
which everybody. has the' same I.
.muporturiity, regardless of his re-
• • :li,gion or the colour of his • skin.
***:
• It j ist. isn't:.• se. If my name
Klein, I've got to be :.`twite.as
.smart as McLean, to, get as,far, if
any skin is ' black, I've got. to be
?n ;Oscar Peterson to get out of
,the Pulhnan porter economic,
bracket. And even if Pm ' pure
.white and : Protestant and " my.
' r:randfather carne toCanada 80
years .ago,. M my: name's . Podrii-
ski or';Soychuck, I'm on the out
side looking: in
*•:* *. •
.
: • Ask . the Negro frorr . Michigan
or ; Ohio what .happened when he
, made; a reservation .at an. Ontario
tourist' • resort. He arrived,:.was
Mack, had black children,; and
the proprietor• told him, with the
• utmost regret,• •that he must thave.
got' the :reservations mixed uo,
`arid he didn't. have a ` thing left,
but if he went, on a piece :he'd be
• • sure to find . something nice. • It
happens every: summer:.•
Those, are just' examples, not
far-fetched. It'.s funny when -you
tbink'of it,. when you remember
where the .ancestors of us 'Anglo
Saxon, white, Christian, preju-
diced Canadians 'came from.' I
fancy there were more . shanties,
crofts 'and. slums.: in' the', •back-
ground than there were nianor�
houses. ..
* * *
How did we get this way? . The
Irish aren't prejudiced: Except
against Catholics or Protestants,
• as the case may be. The Scotch
baren't prejudiced. Except against
:the English.' And the English cer_'
tamly aren't prejudiced , against
anybody. Except the Yanks.
• Now you'll 'notice Y 'haven't
said Canadians are intolerant,, Y
Prejudiced.; yes, but not • intol-
• erant, Oh, we're tolerant. Tole-
rant means "put up with." We
1 *ut up with the niggers and
kikes, ' the wops and hiinkies,
the chinks and. frogs. We don't
accept • them, ,
The 'sooner that word. " `toter-
., `s nce" is kicked out of the' racial
probleri jargon, and replaced :'by
the word "acceptance," the bet
T.HE•.::
PARSON'S PEN
"Is there ,any business arising
out of the minutes of the last
meeting?" This` . is one • of . the
first questions the chairman.
asks as he opens a meeting of
business. Sometimes the last,
meetingis. so far ,' behind, that
members • have difficulty ' re-
membering what did go on.
Unfinished business • is always
an item 'on the agenda, not .only
of a ibusiness meeting., .• but . of
Our daily life., Some of us may
pride ourselves on doing some-
thing "once and for ally" But'
sooner or. •.'later,. we discover
that there is' nothing( on theface
of•'this earth that is .in a finished
• state. No matter what we think
about, we find . this . situation, to
be true. Every area oflife is in:
a 'state of change.' •
Let us apply this. truth first of
all to our . understanding of
"right and wrong." Some of us
imagine that we. have reached
• 4he ultimate in making *hue
we' have inherited or developed,
and will -make .this land what it
must 'be a country where hu -
Man !beings- are, accepted, 'not
"tolerated," regardless of colour
or creed.
.WEDNESDAY, OCT.. ,2804 " 1955,,
WALTER SRECKLES '
KINLOUGH, .ONTARIO Phone 18-20 Ripley
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Arc and Acetylene' welding . , .Machine Work Pioneer
Chain Saws, Lawn and Garden 'Equipment
For your best buy in diesel tractors,, see the :"David' Brown"
judgements. We would. do well'.
`to .ask . ,ourselves;• . from .time . 'to.
time, "whether or not we have
grasped all the implications . of
our moral' standard. Undoubted-
ly We wilt find ourselves with
unfinished business on our
hands.
Or again, • we can, Took . at . ou'r
community., life. Is • there. 'any.
'Unfinished business here? . Are
the conditions under which we
live so good. that no changes.
need ever again be made? Are
the • .words , "WAS, • IS NOW,'
AND EVER mon .SHALL BE"
words that we live Eby? Do we
all 'undertake our civic respon-•
sibihties as we ought?' Are
,there "sufficient playground fac-
ilities for the young? • Is there '
adequate parking space for visi
• tors to town? Do ,we as citizens'
foster respect' for the law? Are
all, : the people in' our community
related' actively to: the •Christian •
church?
Next time • you have a few mo-
ments to spare—think about the
unfinished . business all . about
you. It, is' worth thinking. about, ..
and acting en
Have You Renewed 't ow!,
scriptiora • '
•
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Tommy is saving up for a bike. Dollar by dollar,
week .by week, his bank account is growing...
bringing the Big Day nearer.
But meanwhile, Tommy's 'dollars' -are serving a
second useful purpose.
Bank `credit is based on the dollars Canadians '
keep in 11 million ;deposit accounts in the
chartered banks -and Tommy's account is one
of them. Bank. loans are constantly being made
to . meet the needs ofbusiness and personal"
borrowers in all parts of Canada.
So every time you make a deposit you are —
like Tommy—building toward something worth-
while
orthwhile for yourself, and at the same time keeping
,your dollars at work 'for the benefit of all.
• 0
tl
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THE CHARTERED BANKS.
• SERVING
YOUR COMMUNITY
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