Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Welcome to Horouxville

Is Horouxville xenophobic and/or un-Christian?

Most people seem to have decided that yes, those dam Quebeckers are as backwards as can possibly be. Comparisons have been drawn, almost immediately too, to the KKK, the Know-Nothings, and all the other sad examples of race/culture based prejudice. Jean Charest, the premier of Quebec, publically denounced the town and defended the rights of immigrants to express themselves.

The 'edict' or whatever is silly. It is heavy handed and it is offensive. But it is wrong? Canadians seem to forget that integration and inculturation are the most beneficial things most immigrants can hope to achieve. By this I mean following and respecting the norms of the society you find yourself living in. Japanese Canadians, for example, are the most successful non-white ethnic group as whole in Canada, far ahead of Indian, aboriginal, black, and other Asian groups. Why? Because after the Japanese ghettos were broken up post-WW2, Japanese people had to integrate into the larger, non-Japanese society.

Rather than condemn the residents of Horouxville, Canadians should really take this moment to stop and ponder what multi-culturalism really entails.

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