In this post, Bambi will share a quick translation of an article by Mr. Mario Dumont published yesterday in the Journal of Montreal:
https://www.journaldequebec.com/2021/03/20/chacun-son-enclos-la-triste-division-identitaire
Food for thought, thank you Mr. Dumont.
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“For years, the fight against racism was about breaking down barriers. There was a time in the United States when black people were excluded from certain schools, restaurants, golf clubs, and a host of other establishments. Without having reached destination, we can say today that several partitions have fallen.
This is the conception that I have personally cultivated in the fight against racism: to break down walls. Give everyone their chance in a world that opens doors. Let me recall one of Martin Luther King’s famous quotes: “Let’s build bridges, not walls”.
This week we learned that Columbia University, one of the most prestigious in the United States, will be holding several convocation ceremonies. One for Blacks, one for Asians, one for Indigenous people, one for the LGBT community and so on. Silent ceremonies, divided by ethnic or sexual orientation criteria.
Each his own enclosure
The university has dismissed the charges of segregation, saying these events are additions and a grand ceremony open to all will take place as usual. This in no way erases this new tendency to divide the celebrations.
A division that forces everyone to stand in their identity enclosure. Asians have no place at the Indigenous celebration, Indigenous people are not welcome at the Black event, etc. Don’t we force everyone to a little bit of racism to deal with all these distinctions?
Then what do we do with this youth whose father is black and mother is Asian? Is he/she invited to both snacks? Or excluded from both? Unless it all depends on the colour of his/her skin and hair, which are the result of genetic hazards for mixed-race children.
No more sharing
Speaking of the new walls being erected, the translation of Amanda Gorman’s poems also made me feel very uneasy. After her Super Bowl performances and Joe Biden’s swearing-in, the young black prodigy’s work is in demand around the world.
A young Dutch woman and another Catalan were not allowed to translate her poems into their respective languages … because they are white. So sad. Poetry is a work of sharing, a universal work. Anyone who respects the work and its author should be able to do the translation regardless of their skin colour.
The tendency to create new partitions is global. Canada is no exception to this fashion. Need I recall this amazing program created by the Canadian government to help black entrepreneurs?
Entrepreneurs of all origins should have the right to support from all available programs, without any discrimination. But the creation of economic programs on ethnic grounds is another example of the enclosures that are recreated, of the walls that are installed [Bambi agrees, as per the older post shown below].
I don’t see how these new silos are approaching us to a more just society” [She does not know about you, but Bambi can only agree…].
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