Incident at Disney on Ice performance in Winnipeg

[skateycat]

Indigenous mom of 2 says racist taunts aimed at her family during kids' 1st trip to Winnipeg: Incident happened at Disney on Ice performance in Winnipeg Saturday

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/mom-speaks-out-says-racist-kids-bullied-family-1.4571816

Poor mom, poor kids! But there's been a lot of people reaching out to the family to offer their support and encouragement. I actually first noticed the story on Twitter when Jay Odjick, an Algonquin artist, was trying to figure out how to send some books and encouragement to the kids. https://twitter.com/JayOdjick/status/973711302207131649

 

[Twilight1]

It sad to say that many people in this country continue to sicken me.

Kids are not inherently racist. Kids are taught that crap from adults around them.

I am so sorry that that woman had to have a conversation she did with her kids. No parent should ever have to do that.

 

[Japanfan]

I've observed some awful racism towards Indigenous people in Winnipeg. I think part of the reason for this is that Winnipeg has a very large Indigenous population, but part of it is reflective of racism in general I guess.

I like to think that we have more progressive views of Indigenous people here on the west coast, where First Nations have a stronger presence than they do elsewhere in the country - the inclusion of several nations in the 2010 Olympic ceremonies was significant (and necessary) IMO. But of course the people I know are likely to be tolerant and supportive of diversity, whereas the population at large may be less so. And racism here is more likely to be directed at Asians, because there is a such a large number of them here.

 

[WildRose]

This type of behaviour is completely unacceptable anywhere in Canada.

 

[alj5]

There are racist a$$holes everywhere.

 

[Tinami Amori]

Seems like not just words but violence was involved against the kids, sweater pulling, seat kicking. Mother chose to ignore words/sounds, which is understandable, but should have called security once the physical aggression started. Kids should be taught to defend themselves, at least by involving the law. I wonder how CBC learned about it, if police was not involved. Finding the offenders would be a good idea.

 

[misskarne]

Seems like not just words but violence was involved against the kids, sweater pulling, seat kicking. Mother chose to ignore words/sounds, which is understandable, but should have called security once the physical aggression started. Kids should be taught to defend themselves, at least by involving the law. I wonder how CBC learned about it, if police was not involved. Finding the offenders would be a good idea.

As always, trust Tinami to come in with a dose of victim-blaming! Always reliable.

 

[Tinami Amori]

As always, trust Tinami to come in with a dose of victim-blaming! Always reliable.

 

[skateboy]

What a sad, sad story.

 

[Quintuple]

Depressing. I feel awful for the mother, her kids, her family.

I live in the Bay Area and feel like a racist incident happens twice a day to me. So Winnepeg is not special in that regard. Many people need to get with it.

 

[Japanfan]

Seems like not just words but violence was involved against the kids, sweater pulling, seat kicking. Mother chose to ignore words/sounds, which is understandable, but should have called security once the physical aggression started.

Many Indigenous people have little trust in persons of authority, as too many such persons have displayed racism towards them and/or demeaned and denigrated them.

 

[Mozart]

Depressing. I feel awful for the mother, her kids, her family.

I live in the Bay Area and feel like a racist incident happens twice a day to me. So Winnepeg is not special in that regard. Many people need to get with it.

In my city Nova Scotia I hear racist comments towards the First Nations all the time. I think I notice it more as I taught in a Mi'kmaq school on reserve for almost 7 years.

 

[LarrySK8]

She had every right to directly confront those little racists and their guardian to protect her children and herself. She complains the guardian just sat there and did nothing, but apparently, she too enabled the racism by telling her kids to ignore it and do nothing. Speak up! She had every right, but did not exercise it, to protect her kids and stand-up to stupid children (ages 6 - 10) and show an example of strength through Motherhood. Opportunity lost. SAD.

 

[ToFarAwayTimes]

What kind of animals behave like this? Teach their children to behave like this? Shameful.

 

[Vash01]

Indigenous mom of 2 says racist taunts aimed at her family during kids' 1st trip to Winnipeg: Incident happened at Disney on Ice performance in Winnipeg Saturday

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/mom-speaks-out-says-racist-kids-bullied-family-1.4571816

Poor mom, poor kids! But there's been a lot of people reaching out to the family to offer their support and encouragement. I actually first noticed the story on Twitter when Jay Odjick, an Algonquin artist, was trying to figure out how to send some books and encouragement to the kids. https://twitter.com/JayOdjick/status/973711302207131649

I am trying to give this post a like. Instead of letting me do that, it shows a long list of those who liked it. I tried three times and still can't give a simple like to this post. Whats going on? Is something wrong with the board?

 

[Twilight1]

This is honestly a symptom of a much bigger issue in this country.

Fragmentary history taught in schools of indigenous history and issues (i.e. Broken treaty agreements, residential schools, indian hospitals, 60's sweep etc), mistaken belief of Indigenous taking "advantage" of Canadian tax money, lack of accountability around missing Indigenous women, over representation of indigenous in jails, ongoing marginalization and segregation of indigneous peoples. I could go on.

I love many aspects of Canada... but the racism against Indigenous peoples is a huge and heartbreaking issue. It is baffling that we can purport to be so kind and caring yet many reserves in this country do not have clean drinking water and haven't since the 80's!!

Are some Canadians so willfully ignorant? Or simply don't care?

 

[MacMadame]

Click on the word like, not on the thumb with a number by it.

 

[Tinami Amori]

She had every right to directly confront those little racists and their guardian to protect her children and herself. She complains the guardian just sat there and did nothing, but apparently, she too enabled the racism by telling her kids to ignore it and do nothing. Speak up! She had every right, but did not exercise it, to protect her kids and stand-up to stupid children (ages 6 - 10) and show an example of strength through Motherhood. Opportunity lost. SAD.

I agree 100%. Speak up and teach your kids to speak up, and even punch back, if violence is involved.

Many Indigenous people have little trust in persons of authority, as too many such persons have displayed racism towards them and/or demeaned and denigrated them.

you don't know, till you try it. it does one no good to "assume" what response may be IF there are laws which protect one's rights. if there is a law, one can always at least try to enforce it, if it does not work immediately, then later. some things take more effort, but their are worth fighting for.

 

[VGThuy]

It takes a lot to stand up and fight especially when one is probably so used to it to the point where they simply don't want confrontation. Victims of racism are often told to stand up and speak out but also to be good, stay quiet, don't invite trouble and when they find themselves in a situation where they are clearly wronged many blame them if they are victimized further and for accelerating the incident and/or playing the race card.

 

[MacMadame]

It takes a lot to stand up and fight especially when one is probably so used to it to the point where they simply don't want confrontation. Victims of racism are often told to stand up and speak out but also to be good, stay quiet, don't invite trouble and when they find themselves in a situation where they are clearly wronged many blame them if they are victimized further and for accelerating the incident and/or playing the race card.

Yes. Can you imagine what people would have said if the mother did stand up to the other family and some sort of fight ensued with them all being thrown out? I see that sort of scenario play out all the time in the media and the family who got picked one now becomes some vulgar brawler.

 

[Japanfan]

Yes. Can you imagine what people would have said if the mother did stand up to the other family and some sort of fight ensued with them all being thrown out? I see that sort of scenario play out all the time in the media and the family who got picked one now becomes some vulgar brawler.

All more so if the family happens to be Indigenous - or an ethnic minority that is labelled according to a negative stereotype.

 

[Japanfan]

It takes a lot to stand up and fight especially when one is probably so used to it to the point where they simply don't want confrontation.

Indigenous people in Canada have been very beaten down by a system that aimed to destroy them through the appropriation of their lands and residential schools, which isolated children from their communities and ostensibly aimed to assimilate them (almost all the children in those schools were abused, and an alarmingly high percentage were sexually abused) - and though the denigration of their culture (i.e. construction of the 'Indian' as savage/primitive, disallowing the Indigenous tradition of the potlach).

Indigenous women are the most marginalized group in Canada, or at the least, among the most marginalized groups. As such, they are unlikely to stand up to white authorities.

Indigenous people are mobilizing as a group collectively, but to expect one individual Indigenous woman to stand up to white authority is a very high expectation (though I'm sure there are instances in which it has occurred). Especially if the woman has had bad experiences with white authorities in the past, as many have.

 

[Japanfan]

you don't know, till you try it.

Unfortunately, many Indigenous people have good reason to think they do know.

it does one no good to "assume" what response may be IF there are laws which protect one's rights. if there is a law, one can always at least try to enforce it, if it does not work immediately, then later. some things take more effort, but their are worth fighting for.

I don't disagree with this statement in general, but will point out that the law has been quite unjust to Indigenous people in Canada and not always/exactly protected their rights. The reason for this is that they are perceived as lesser or inferior people by law enforcement and society at large. Racism against Indigenous people persists in Canada, including racism on the part of people in positions of authority.

 

[Coco]

I agree 100%. Speak up and teach your kids to speak up, and even punch back, if violence is involved.

You are many things, but I've never thought of you as ignorant. But this is an ignorant comment. The reality of being a person of color, particularly a young male, is that your actions are far more likely to be seen as criminal and treated harshly. This is well documented. Engaging in a physical confrontation, or escalating (such as pushing a person in response to your seat being kicked) would likely result in being arrested. What constitutes valid "self-defense" is based on assumptions about how serious a threat was and what your options were. People of color are not given the benefit of the doubt on these or other issues.

I'm all for speaking up to bullies or finding some verbal way to take the wind out of their sails, but responding to physical provocation with physicality never ends well for people of color, or lots of people, generally.

 

[pat c]

She had every right to directly confront those little racists and their guardian to protect her children and herself. She complains the guardian just sat there and did nothing, but apparently, she too enabled the racism by telling her kids to ignore it and do nothing. Speak up! She had every right, but did not exercise it, to protect her kids and stand-up to stupid children (ages 6 - 10) and show an example of strength through Motherhood. Opportunity lost. SAD.

Yes it is. But right now in the prairies, the white vs indigenous problem is emotionally charged because of two court cases. It's not a good situation, and I despair at the crap that is being posted right now. But I understand why she ignored it. It would seem safer rather than a time to prove a point. I have no solutions, and I don't think this whole situation is going to get better any time soon.

 

[Mozart]

Also about fighting back, some non Native people assume that all Natives are violent alcoholics and drug addicts. I can imagine what people would say if there was violence.

The racism is systemic. My small city has a Mi'kmaq reserve in the middle of it (where I taught and they welcomed me into their community so I know many lovely Mi'kmaq people) so I see them around town all the time. I hear the comments from the non Natives. One of the worst places is in the ER. The stereotype of drunken, high Natives is common there even by medical staff. One of my friends brought her mom in several times with stomach pain, confusion, etc. They just sent her home every time saying she was nothing (one nurse said it is from drinking- this elder didn't drink at all). After about 6 months of going every week she finally had a scan which showed advanced stage 4 gastric cancer and she went straight to palliative care and died within a month.

 

[Twilight1]

I am appauled that people assume all indigenous people drink. They, in fact, have higher rates of abstinence than the general population.

 

[MacMadame]

Also, there are plenty of us white folk who, in such a situation, would grit their teeth and say nothing, at least at the verbal stuff and even the seat kicking. Maybe once it escalated to spitballs, they might go get the manager.

Of course, that means missing the show and the woman would either have to take all her kids with her or leave them there. Would you leave your kids if someone was throwing things at them and shooting spitballs at them? I wouldn't.

To insist that this woman do what many of us wouldn't when she was in a situation that was heightened because of her race is not realistic.

 

[Tinami Amori]

What happened is: physical abuse, verbal abuse, infringement on one’s enjoyment of an event for which one paid to attend, all in context of “ethnic slur” and “attack on minors by other minors, inaction of the adult supervising the attackers”.

Proper action by an adult in charge of victims is:
ask supervising adult of the attackers to stop. Video-tape on smart-phone the slurs, sit kicking, clothes pulling. Leave the arena (with kids), find manager or security guard and report (record the conversation with the authorities).

Whatever happens after the complaint, cooperation of the authorities, non-cooperation/dismissal of complaint, and/or possible negative reaction of the authorities against the complaining party, is documented. The attempt is made to take proper actions, and it is recorded. All that can be used to seek compensation, to find and punish the offenders, alert the media and bring further attention to this specific and the bigger issue. Most important, it would teach the kids how to address such situations properly.

What happened is:
the mother decided it is more important to enjoy the show than to engage in, yes!, unpleasant process of confronting the other parent, and to notify authorities. However, some issues are more important than viewing an ice show, such as discrimination against your family and! one’s own people (or any discrimination situations regardless).

She perhaps assumed (based on history) that authorities will not help, and may turn against her. One never knows until one tries, and one should try using legal/legitimate methods, when there are written laws even if they are not always used properly.

She contacted media post-factum, “somehow, somewhere”, and now she has no proof, unable to identify, locate and punish the offenders, to seek compensation from the venue (if they did not act to protect her), and worst yet: she set a bad example for her children – “to avoid and push under the rug, instead of confronting injustice in a proper manner”.

(and if anyone tells me that i have not been in woman’s shoes, pls remember I am Jew (so are many of my friends) who grew up in USSR in the late 60’s/early 70’s where there were NO laws protecting "ethnic groups" and "limitation quotas" for jews in schools and employement, and that should say it all. Besides the most blunt anti-semitic verbal and physical attacks I experienced as a teenager and as an adult in “liberal progressive California” were from white righteous Lefties and Blacks. And I am still here… and without “victim” mentality, and not on welfare, or crying into my mother’s sleeve about “evil humans”.)

Now the woman’s words to the press are just that – words. Good that some people believed her and are concerned. But! she left a possibility now for her opponents to claim she made it up for sympathy or personal gains. Yet she could have helped her family and her people, and taught her kids to be proud.. if she MADE a blimey effort!

 

[misskarne]

What happened is: physical abuse, verbal abuse, infringement on one’s enjoyment of an event for which one paid to attend, all in context of “ethnic slur” and “attack on minors by other minors, inaction of the adult supervising the attackers”.

Proper action by an adult in charge of victims is:
ask supervising adult of the attackers to stop. Video-tape on smart-phone the slurs, sit kicking, clothes pulling. Leave the arena (with kids), find manager or security guard and report (record the conversation with the authorities).

Whatever happens after the complaint, cooperation of the authorities, non-cooperation/dismissal of complaint, and/or possible negative reaction of the authorities against the complaining party, is documented. The attempt is made to take proper actions, and it is recorded. All that can be used to seek compensation, to find and punish the offenders, alert the media and bring further attention to this specific and the bigger issue. Most important, it would teach the kids how to address such situations properly.

What happened is:
the mother decided it is more important to enjoy the show than to engage in, yes!, unpleasant process of confronting the other parent, and to notify authorities. However, some issues are more important than viewing an ice show, such as discrimination against your family and! one’s own people (or any discrimination situations regardless).

She perhaps assumed (based on history) that authorities will not help, and may turn against her. One never knows until one tries, and one should try using legal/legitimate methods, when there are written laws even if they are not always used properly.

She contacted media post-factum, “somehow, somewhere”, and now she has no proof, unable to identify, locate and punish the offenders, to seek compensation from the venue (if they did not act to protect her), and worst yet: she set a bad example for her children – “to avoid and push under the rug, instead of confronting injustice in a proper manner”.

(and if anyone tells me that i have not been in woman’s shoes, pls remember I am Jew (so are many of my friends) who grew up in USSR in the late 60’s/early 70’s where there were NO laws protecting "ethnic groups" and "limitation quotas" for jews in schools and employement, and that should say it all. Besides the most blunt anti-semitic verbal and physical attacks I experienced as a teenager and as an adult in “liberal progressive California” were from white righteous Lefties and Blacks. And I am still here… and without “victim” mentality, and not on welfare, or crying into my mother’s sleeve about “evil humans”.)

Now the woman’s words to the press are just that – words. Good that some people believed her and are concerned. But! she left a possibility now for her opponents to claim she made it up for sympathy or personal gains. Yet she could have helped her family and her people, and taught her kids to be proud.. if she MADE a blimey effort!

Because one classic Tinami victim-blame isn't enough for this thread, let's beat it in some more!