Canadians are so nice. Huh.

[agoodwinsmith]

So, there is a current news story about how Tommy Douglas was spied on, and files were kept about the spying, and copies of the files were requested under the Freedom of Information acts, and the papers released show missing pages - all sort of standard low-grade pathetic evasion.  But that's not the thing that made me disappointed to be a Canadian of the era.

Apparently, during the years when we were accepting Vietnam war sevice evaders (the acceptable name for this keeps changing - I still think of them as Draft Dodgers - which sounds rather sporty, or possibly gustatory), we were quietly escorting black draft dodgers back across the border.  Oh geeze.  Go us.

http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/national/article/133866--dozens-of-pages-disappear-from-intelligence-file-on-tommy-douglas

Comments

[jessie-c.livejournal.com]

But Canadians are not racist at all. The First Nations people in jail can tell you that. So could the passengers of the Komogata Maru, the Chinese railroad workers who built the CPR and the Jews we turned away before World War II. No, wait! They can't because they were rounded up by the SS and exterminated.

But Canadians aren't racist. Just ask Harper the next time one of his minions wants us to dress up in our ethnic costumes.

Draft dodgers? Not really. I don't care whether the beer comes in a bottle or a pitcher.

[agoodwinsmith.livejournal.com]

I know. It's just so ... disheartening, you know? 'Cuz we haven't stopped that crap. Nice Canadians. My hairy bum.

[jessie-c.livejournal.com]

Canadians' racism is quieter and less demonstrative than that in the US, but it's still alive and ...I was going to say "alive and well" but racism is never "well". Alive and kicking perhaps? Alive and sucking? Alive and repressing? Alive and being wrong anyway.

[agoodwinsmith.livejournal.com]

How 'bout "alive and thriving" since it sure ain't withering up and blowing away.