Just Sayin

Guest editorial

People of colour

By Arnold Malone

I once read an article by an anthropologist who made the case that race does not exist. He offered that when we think of race, we imagine different species such as different plants or animals. His contention was that what we observe today as “race” is merely adaptation.

From his work, he proffered that the humans emerged somewhere in Africa, and that those humans, in time, migrated north and south. As they migrated to new environments, their bodies needed to adapt.

Dark-skinned persons in less sunlight had difficulty absorbing enough vitamin D. Those who had lighter pigmentation had a better a chance of survival. Then the further north the migration moved, the lighter the skin evolved. The Nordic countries have many fair-skinned persons.

The article fascinated me since it had some possibility, given the million-year duration of human existence. Importantly, if all humans have derived from the same base, then we should be gracious towards our brothers and sisters.

As a child, I lived in a region that was entirely Caucasians.

During my university years, I came in direct contact with persons of colour and a good number were fine friends. When you truly become friends, you can talk and not notice colour. The connection is in the eyes. When the eyes signal friendship, nothing else is unusual. Moreover, we can all be more inclusive and encourage a wider level of friendship by engaging with others. When we send a friendly signal, we greatly enhance the chance of receiving a like signal in return.

What I know with certainty is that our acceptance or rejection of others, based on appearance, is a learned behaviour. It is not an innate characteristic. If you are a doubter, then observe children on a playground as they intermingle with others of mixed races.

In my second year of university, my roommate Jay and I were offered an award to attend an encampment for citizenship at the Berkley Campus in California.

One day, we saw a poster on a power pole advertising that Martin Luther King was to speak at the Cow Palace across the Bay in San Francisco.

Jay and I decided to attend.

We were among the one per cent who were Caucasians along with 22,000 African Americans. Reverend King gave a rousing hour-long speech. The only line I can quote this many years later is, “White people ask us to wait just a little longer. We have waited over 200 years. How much longer do we have to wait?”

When the speech was over, Jay and I got on the first of three busses that would connect us back to the campus. The bus was filled to over capacity with African Americans, along with two nervous white boys. The chatter was highly charged. Persons were excitedly voicing their disdain about their oppression from white people. We were the only white persons on the bus. There was some relief when we transferred to the second bus and the mix of races became a little more equal.

There was not one single reason for our concern. No one directed any sharp comments towards us, yet we were a tiny minority in a worked up crowd so we were anxious. Our previous notion of a minority had reversed. We were the minority. I now have a small sense of how coloured people feel when their safety is connected to unending shades of fear.

Over time, our society has gained some understanding about our misguided opinions that have robbed us from the fullness of our humanity. It has also dictated how much more we need to change to reap the reward of a fully inclusive society.

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Right decision

Thank you to City councillors who declined a raise at this time. It’s heartening when people in power show more concern for the community than their own reward.

But, as often happens, there is another side to this decision. As long as we pay councillors less than a living wage, people who can’t afford to do this as a sideline can’t afford to run.

I believe City councillors made this choice out of generosity, but we also need to pave the way for council to represent the broader Camrose population. Deanne Morrow, Camrose

Our country

When traveling in the United States, you cannot find news or weather for Canada on US television. In Canada, half of the news and weather is American. I am Canadian, not American. Their problems are not my problems.

We did not have a civil war over slavery and had hundreds of slaves escape the US and come to Canada to be free people through the underground railroad. We accepted them here.

During the war between native Americans and the US Army, hundreds of native Americans escaped to Canada. We accepted them here.

During the Vietnam War, hundreds of Americans came to Canada as draft dodgers. We accepted them here. Americans want to destroy its history, riot, loot and burn cities–let them. Do not let this stupidity come to Canada. We are Canadians, not Americans.

Statues are part of our history. They are put up for the good things the person has done for the country. We cannot judge them for things that are not acceptable at this time today.

Show me a person who has not done something wrong in their lifetime and learned it was wrong. This is called growth and history. No person is perfect.

There was a slave ship captain that dealt in the slave trade for years. One day, he realized slavery was wrong and the things he had done were wrong. He changed his life.

He was the one to write the song “Amazing Grace”. That is part of history. If you have no history, there is nothing to improve, correct or learn from.

You cannot change or hide history. To change the names of cities, towns, buildings, streets, etc., would be non-ending. Next we will be burning books. Destroying the pyramids, Roman Colosseum and anything else slaves built would never end. In the end, we will have no history and nothing to improve. We will be perfect.

Crime, theft and shooting are on the rise in Canada. There are people who want to defund police. Are you out of your mind? This is Canada, not the United States. Glenn Dunn, Camrose

Leadership race

Way back when I was filling out my mail-in Conservative leadership race, I just had received a friendly call from Erin O’Toole’s campaign office by this very friendly young lady.

She took the time to listen to my concerns for over 15 minutes. I was clueless who I should vote for, so I put Erin O’Toole for my first selection, thinking this underdog should at least get one vote.

I placed Peter MacKay as second, which at first was my first selection. After the vote, I was really impressed with who this guy really was. I had no idea that this man had a seat and he was in one of the ridings in Ontario where the party needs to win seats in.

I thought Peter MacKay still had a seat in Parliament. Now that I found out that O’Toole came first in Alberta, I am beginning to see why our Premier endorsed this candidate. It is a good sign when my friends who

are NDP supporters tell me that they are not too pleased that this man won. They want a leader whom their party could defeat in the next election. If there is a man who could lead a majority Conservative government, he is the one. Canadians go back to the voting booths in our next election, which will be held by the spring of 2023. Lorne Vanderwoude, Camrose

Recent visit

On a recent visit to Camrose to visit my parents in one of the senior homes, I was shocked and dismayed at the apparent lack of concern and precaution to keep this pandemic at bay. At the home, they only recently allowed visitors, they were good taking temps and having visitors fill out questionnaires. Yet I go out into the community and no one seems to be concerned or care.

I was in Superstore, Home Hardware, Peavey Mart and Save-On, no one was wearing a mask or social distancing – neither staff nor customers. When I stated my concern to one staff member, I was told she had heard that Walmart was trying to, but they really were not enforcing it.

In Edmonton and Sherwood Park, there is a 95 per cent compliance rate. I don’t understand why the Camrose community believes they are immune to this crisis. In a community that has such a large portion of elderly residents, you could have so much to lose. I think about my parents’ caregivers out and about in this environment and it scares me.

It only takes one small match to start a wildfire and it might only take a cashier or clerk to start a COVID wildfire to race through your community. I will not be doing any more shopping on my trips into town anymore. Time to wake up, Camrose. Dale Fournier, Sherwood Park