Racism is one of the worlds major issues today.

Many people are not aware of how

much racism still exists in our schools workforces, and anywhere else where social
lives are occurring. It is obvious that racism is bad as it was many decades ago but
it sure has not gone away. Racism very much exists and it is about time that people
need to start thinking about the instigations and solutions to this matter. Many
people believe that it depends on if a person was brought into the world as a racist
or not but that is not the case at all. In fact, an individual cannot be born a racist but
only learn to become one as they grow from child to adulthood. Basic causes,
mainstream, institutions, government, anti racism groups, and even some hidden
events in Canadas past are a few of the possible instigations and solutions to
racism.
To begin with, frustration is a very common cause of racism. If one is having
some sort of a social problem, they tend to get very angry with people who are not
even concerned with their situation. For instance, when a person is having a tough
time economically, they find it easy to blame immigrants for taking away their jobs
or creating fewer opportunities (Abanes 1992,12-15). This type of an analysis is very
easy to make but when one makes this assumption, it usually leads to hate towards
any minority group. The psychological factor is also common disturbance that is
found as the root of racism. People with tough childhood may sometimes produce
anger and hate towards others (Hayes 1995, 4-5). This kind of person is inclined to
dominate others as these qualities attract to racism because of the way racism
divides the world into superior and inferior. In these types of situations, one can only
picture of what might go through the heads of such individuals. However, in some
cases aggravation is only created by the mental thought. Change is a particular
device that people cannot handle at all times. People are more comfortable around
the recognizable and they find it hard to adapt to a culture that they are not familiar
being with. Since 1987, Chinese have been settling in Vancouver, as the suburb of
Richmond went from one in twenty to one in three of its residents being Chinese, in
two decades. This rapid change was not acceptable for many people who moved
out for that very reason so they can live in a white town again (Rupet 1996,1315). On the other hand, one does not have to be a racist to increase the racism
around them. For example, silence does not necessarily mean it can prevent racism
but it may actually provoke it. Studies show that people are reluctant to speak out
towards their friends or family who like to express their racist views. The report
shows that such silence encourages the racists from voicing their opinion to direct
violence (Rupet 1996,16). Most causes just are all based on or created by some sort
of stereotype, which clearly develops discrimination. Many blacks may find that they
have limits set around them when they are stereotyped as good athletes and
musicians(Hayes 1995,27). This makes it very difficult for blacks to be taken
seriously in any other fields of goals. It is quite evident that frustration is the root of
all these common causes of racism and such annoyance is only produced by a
vulnerable mind of an individual who is confused because of the troubles they are
experiencing.
Furthermore, the mainstream is one of the most powerful impacts on racism.
When extremists such as skinheads(white racists with clean shaved scalps) create

violence or bombings, usually the derivation is the mild intolerance of some

mainstream thoughts. When politicians and radio talk show hosts complain about a
minority group or immigrants, there is a huge population of people out there who
are nodding their heads in agreement. Torontos own Ernst Zundel believes that the
Holocaust never happened and that it is all a Jewish conspiracy. This man is known
for his views and is said to be a very powerful influence in Canada among those who
promote racial hatred (Lethbridge 1997,3). Racist groups look up to these types of
individuals as spokespeople who are expressing these revolting views publicly and
are reaching out to many people who are dealing with stress. People believe
extremists just recruit their children or other family members to join their group, but
that is far from the truth. When recruiting, extremists such as the Wolfgange
Dreoge target the younger audience on the Youth Street. Providing them with food,
clothing, an area to stay, just brings them closer to the group. Once there in the
group, they are prepared for the racial holy war against blacks, Jews, and Asians
who they believe are responsible for their misfortunes (Randall 1994,9). Most
groups are becoming more sophisticated, as they are sugar coating their hate
messages so their views can make their way into the political agenda. In 1995,
Canadas reform party immigration critic spoke about the links between violent
crime and immigrants, while the U.S. representative, accused immigrants of
murdering our children (Whitton 1998,30). However the mainstream is not only
being used by racist groups, but by anti-racism groups as well. There are many
groups such as the Anti-racist action (ARA) who use violence to achieve their goals.
The ARA trashed the home of spokesperson Gary Schipper, in June of 1993. In 1995,
an arsonist set fire to the home of Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel (Hayes 1995,4143). Aside from targeting the people and firms they consider being racist, this type
of violence serves the purpose of publicity. The media cannot ignore these activities,
and in giving them news coverage, it widely publicizes the views of these
responsible groups. Clearly, the mainstream or the media can be used for both for
and against racism but it is palpable that extremists have more advantage on the
media than the anti racism groups do. When racist groups voice their negative
opinions in public, the media will be all over it, but if it is a anti-racism group that is
talking about solutions to prevent racism, it is very rare that one will hear about it
on the radio or read about it in the paper.
Finally, the most multifarious cause of racism in Canada is our institutions. The
criminal justice system is not consistent enough and studies show a lot of
discrimination occurring in our prisons and courts. In many cases, it is the people
who protect our rights who commit injustices. The report of the Commission on
Systemic Racism in the Ontario criminal justice system says it is the police, judges,
and lawyers, who are largely responsible for the lack of confidence in the fairness of
the criminal justice system. It is these people who make decisions based on
assumptions and stereotypes. The report also says blacks are much less likely than
whites to be granted bail under similar circumstances. Blacks are 27 times more
likely to be imprisoned before their trials on charges of drug trafficking and about 20
times as likely as whites to be incarcerated for drug possession charges (Buford
1996,1). It seems that the police is stopping black males more often than whites.
Police has released more whites than blacks after being charged under similar

circumstances (Johnson 1999,1). Blacks are more likely to be denied pretrial bail.
The educational system is also a big portion of the instigation of racism. Many say
blacks have been unfairly stereotyped and put into lower academic levels by
teachers who have low expectations of their scholastic abilities (Whitton 1998,19).
Some say, that ignoring black history and achievement leaves black students
without a sense of identity and self esteem. In 1994, Toronto Board of Education
study confirmed that black and Portuguese students are disproportionately
represented into the lower academic levels. The Royal commission stated there is a
crisis in black education in Ontario (Johnson 1999,1). The contributions of Natives,
blacks, and Asians to Canadas development have been ignored routinely in the
past. Most historians have not given their race bias a second thought. Most of them
have come from European tradition and it simply never occurred to them to try to
view history from a different racial or cultural perspective (Abanes 1992,7-10). An
obvious solution to all these problems in our institutions is the government. The
government does not only have to play the role of preventing the situation of our
institutions but also try to minimize racism by other activities. The Quebec Human
Rights Commission was concerned with groups such as the Klu Klux Klan becoming
more wide spread, so they wanted to amend the Quebec charter of human rights
and freedoms to read anything that would appropriately protect minorities (Hayes
1995,22-23). Other provinces such as British Columbia and Saskatchewan had
similar clauses in their civil rights legislation. The government can also appoint
commissions to investigate specific areas such as the Ontario Governments
commission on Systemic Racism in the criminal justice system. Education is the key
to changing lopsided attitudes in the general public too. It is best that it starts in our
schools. The Nova Scotia government spent a million dollars in 1995 to establish
programs to try to end systemic racism that it admitted had prevented many blacks
from receiving a proper education (Demsey 1992,20). Including courses like black
history would help make a big step towards minimizing racism. Discrimination has
led to under representation in the workforce. Many people would agree that this is
not healthy for a multi-racial society. To redress workforce imbalances, governments
use affirmative action. If two people with equal qualifications were applying for a
job, then the person from the minority would receive the job. Many individuals
argue that this is reverse discrimination. A big problem is that companies may have
to hire less qualified members of minority groups to meet the quotas. This means
that affirmative action does not eliminate stereotypes and in some cases, it may
even make it worse.
If students also learn about the problems immigrants faced in the early 1900s,
they would respect them more. Around 1917, Chinese immigrants were forced to
pay a head tax of 500 dollars. In 1923, a law was passed which banned any further
Chinese immigration, as the exclusion law was repealed in 1947. The Chinese were
denied the rights that all other immigrants enjoyed simply because they were
Chinese (Demsey 1992,5-8). However, East Indians were also suffering the official
racism of Canadian governments. In 1914, a businessman Gurdit Singh loaded up a
Japanese ship with 376 Indian passengers and headed towards Canada. When the
ship arrived, everyone on board was vaccinated and then they sailed for Vancouver.
There, the harbor was lined up with angry citizens who were concerned there would

be a flood of East Indian immigrants. For two months, the ship sat in Vancouver,
carrying hungry and scared passengers and the ship was eventually sent back
(Rupet 1996,19-21). These groups suffered because of laws enacted against them
but no group suffered as much as the aboriginal people did. In 1876, Canadian
governments set goals to make the whole race disappear. Blacks had to go to all
black schools, they were banned from many hotels, and churches made them sit in
a back gallery called nigger heaven. Edmonton banned blacks from swimming
pools; public parks and Victoria banned them from good seats in movie theatres
(Lethbridge 1997,1). If people learn about these events when they are young, they
might grow up with more respect toward other racial or cultural groups.
In conclusion, racism is not an ability that people are born with but it is based on
how an individual is raised and what they learn when they are younger. There are
many solutions in the world to prevent racism. However, this does not mean that
such attempts would put and end to racism because racism will always exist as long
as we live. But what the government and institutions and rest of the public can do is
help minimize racism. It is a shame that many people feel such hate towards a
group but maybe if they try to deal with the change and personal frustrations
maturely, they can be able to get more comfortable around the minority groups.
People are people and if one can be broader minded, and does not base other
individuals on their skin color and accept them for who they are, it would be a
significant step towards minimizing racism.