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EmmyNoetherRing t1_iz5d2l4 wrote

Reply to comment by anon2282 in How racial bias can affect 911 calls and what dispatchers in Montreal are learning to stop it | CBC News by ChrisOntario

So… your thesis is that race doesn’t exist but racism does?

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anon2282 t1_iz5eqwq wrote

Surely race exists but it's an unscientific and unproductive framework in which to discuss human beings.

If you're American and this is tough to swallow, I understand. Your country frequently conflates race and culture. There is an white American and a black American culture. These cultures are distinct but they share some characteristics with the overall "American" culture.

You cannot say that of "white" or "black" people in my city because the "white" person could be french, Greek, Turkish or Ukrainian in background--these are all distinct cultures with little overlap. The "black" person may be Jamaican, Barbadian, Nigerian, or Somali,--these are all distinct cultures with little overlap.

They speak different languages, eat different food, worship different gods, and have different traditions. Of what use is it to group them together by race?

It's also worth noting that Nigerians in Toronto will often (unsurprisingly) identify with their particular ethnic group: Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Edo etc. I have met Nigerians from all of these groups.

Most people in Canada do not identify by their race but certainly, and unfortunately, this is an increasing trend I am observing.

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BoundingBorder t1_iz5fvft wrote

You do understand, (clearly you don't) that the reason why "black culture" in America is as such is because most black Americans don't have the luxury of knowing the tribe their family originates from, due to slavery.

That difference does not mean racism does not exist in Canada, and it surely does. You're just ignorant.

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anon2282 t1_iz5pixs wrote

I certainly know that's part of it but a majority of "old stock" white Americans don't identify with their British, German, Irish etc. Roots, either. White American culture is quite different from the western European cultures the people descended from, too.

Those that immigrated more recently, not unlike Canada, likely identify more with their ethnicity/country of origin.

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Geenst12 t1_iz5i3zz wrote

Even if you forget about black people entirely, the US determines your race by your skin colour. That's how the American race system works. What the person you're replying is saying is that the Canadian race system uses different criteria. He's not saying racism doesn't exist, he's saying the rules are different.

If you want an example, I can give you one. It's clear that American race categories like 'African American' or Asian American' aren't based on geography when you consider what category people from Morocco or from the Middle East fall in. If you look white, you're white. That's the American system.

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