The Calgary Herald recently published an article about white supremacists marching in downtown Calgary. This group was also followed by an anti-racism group and I guess the two groups traded insults with each other. The police were involved keeping the two groups separated from each other and actually made a couple of arrests.
One of the white supremacists refused interview requests and just said that all they wanted to do was say that they were “proud to be white.” This has got to be the dumbest thing I’ve heard in 2008. However having said that, a few months ago I was with one of my Chinese buddies and he said pretty much the exact same thing when he said he was “proud to be Chinese.” I don’t really know what spurred him to say it but I was actually kind of offended when I heard it. To me making that kind of statement implied that being Chinese made him better than someone who wasn’t. I’m sure this was his intent but I call it like I see it.
I realize that in this day and age people feel that they should be proud of their heritage but I can’t really understand that. Whatever race you happen to be born in to is not something that you had anything to do with, it just happened that way. My Father just happened to be from Scotland and my friend’s parents just happened to be Chinese. The Chinese civilization is amazing but to me saying that your proud to be a member of your race is like me saying that I must be like William Wallace (a.k.a. Braveheart) because my background is Scottish. “They make take our lives, but they will never take our freedom!!!”
My name is Michael McKinlay and I live in Calgary, Alberta Canada. Although I was born here, I have lived in a few other places in Western Canada such as, Saskatoon, Regina, Medicine Hat, and Edmonton. I also spent time in Hong Kong and Japan. [
If I may quote Natalie Maines from the Dixie Chicks:
That’s an interesting question. Yeah, why do you have to be patriotic?
Humans are just like dogs Mike. We like to piss out our area and that is just what it is!! Hate to agree with the Dixie chicks but in this case I do!
It is fun to support your country in sport or whatever but mmm we do not know how far to take it. I have often said that we should get rid of borders and stop keeping third world countries down.
Geez Mike you are starting to sound like Nick and I and keep the good work of voicing decent issues up on your blog!!
It is just people who maybe insecure about their own personal achievements and want to
feel better about themselves, so they latch on to the achievements of others, drawing
a relation to them through race. It goes the other way through guilt where people may feel guilty for what people did of their same race did hundreds of years ago to others. Or people feeling they are entitled to cash hand outs because their great great grandfather was mistreated by another group. People should be treated equally and to treat one group differently simply promotes racism. I believe Canada is a great country which allows people to succeed in whatever they want to succeed in, if they put in the hard work to do so. To comment on something else I am patriotic to the Canada, it has allowed me to live a happy life. If I lived in another country, my life and achievements probably would have been drastically different, most certainly for the worst. I am not so stuck up on myself to believe I could have the life I am now without being Canadian. Therefore any Canadian unpatriotic to Canada irritates me because Canada has given them a lot, or at least given them the opportunity to do a lot, whether they have capitalized on it or not. I am not saying brag that you are Canadian, and to claim achievements of past Canadians because you are Canadian also, but to respect and be grateful to the people before who helped create this country. In most cases what seperates a third world country from a Country like Canada, is the government, and how well it is run and how fair it is, so sadly most leaders in third world countries are the reason for their peoples suffering. A strong fair government, law, order system is what allows people to succeed or not succeed, and if you are not patriotic to Canada you are simply and idiot. Saying I am proud to be Canadian isn’t the right word, it is more I am grateful to be Canadian. I see a patriot who loves their country and loves it enough to defend it if needed. I think people should be proud or guilty of their achievements, not proud or guilty of something they had nothing to do with, like being Chinese, White or Canadian.
Thanks for the comment G. I pretty much agree with everything you said!
Thumbs up G!!!!!