☀️ JOIN SPN MOBILE
Forums
New posts
Guru Granth Sahib
Composition, Arrangement & Layout
ਜਪੁ | Jup
ਸੋ ਦਰੁ | So Dar
ਸੋਹਿਲਾ | Sohilaa
ਰਾਗੁ ਸਿਰੀਰਾਗੁ | Raag Siree-Raag
Gurbani (14-53)
Ashtpadiyan (53-71)
Gurbani (71-74)
Pahre (74-78)
Chhant (78-81)
Vanjara (81-82)
Vaar Siri Raag (83-91)
Bhagat Bani (91-93)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਝ | Raag Maajh
Gurbani (94-109)
Ashtpadi (109)
Ashtpadiyan (110-129)
Ashtpadi (129-130)
Ashtpadiyan (130-133)
Bara Maha (133-136)
Din Raen (136-137)
Vaar Maajh Ki (137-150)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗਉੜੀ | Raag Gauree
Gurbani (151-185)
Quartets/Couplets (185-220)
Ashtpadiyan (220-234)
Karhalei (234-235)
Ashtpadiyan (235-242)
Chhant (242-249)
Baavan Akhari (250-262)
Sukhmani (262-296)
Thittee (296-300)
Gauree kii Vaar (300-323)
Gurbani (323-330)
Ashtpadiyan (330-340)
Baavan Akhari (340-343)
Thintteen (343-344)
Vaar Kabir (344-345)
Bhagat Bani (345-346)
ਰਾਗੁ ਆਸਾ | Raag Aasaa
Gurbani (347-348)
Chaupaday (348-364)
Panchpadde (364-365)
Kaafee (365-409)
Aasaavaree (409-411)
Ashtpadiyan (411-432)
Patee (432-435)
Chhant (435-462)
Vaar Aasaa (462-475)
Bhagat Bani (475-488)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗੂਜਰੀ | Raag Goojaree
Gurbani (489-503)
Ashtpadiyan (503-508)
Vaar Gujari (508-517)
Vaar Gujari (517-526)
ਰਾਗੁ ਦੇਵਗੰਧਾਰੀ | Raag Dayv-Gandhaaree
Gurbani (527-536)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਿਹਾਗੜਾ | Raag Bihaagraa
Gurbani (537-556)
Chhant (538-548)
Vaar Bihaagraa (548-556)
ਰਾਗੁ ਵਡਹੰਸ | Raag Wadhans
Gurbani (557-564)
Ashtpadiyan (564-565)
Chhant (565-575)
Ghoriaan (575-578)
Alaahaniiaa (578-582)
Vaar Wadhans (582-594)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸੋਰਠਿ | Raag Sorath
Gurbani (595-634)
Asatpadhiya (634-642)
Vaar Sorath (642-659)
ਰਾਗੁ ਧਨਾਸਰੀ | Raag Dhanasaree
Gurbani (660-685)
Astpadhiya (685-687)
Chhant (687-691)
Bhagat Bani (691-695)
ਰਾਗੁ ਜੈਤਸਰੀ | Raag Jaitsree
Gurbani (696-703)
Chhant (703-705)
Vaar Jaitsaree (705-710)
Bhagat Bani (710)
ਰਾਗੁ ਟੋਡੀ | Raag Todee
ਰਾਗੁ ਬੈਰਾੜੀ | Raag Bairaaree
ਰਾਗੁ ਤਿਲੰਗ | Raag Tilang
Gurbani (721-727)
Bhagat Bani (727)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸੂਹੀ | Raag Suhi
Gurbani (728-750)
Ashtpadiyan (750-761)
Kaafee (761-762)
Suchajee (762)
Gunvantee (763)
Chhant (763-785)
Vaar Soohee (785-792)
Bhagat Bani (792-794)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਿਲਾਵਲੁ | Raag Bilaaval
Gurbani (795-831)
Ashtpadiyan (831-838)
Thitteen (838-840)
Vaar Sat (841-843)
Chhant (843-848)
Vaar Bilaaval (849-855)
Bhagat Bani (855-858)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗੋਂਡ | Raag Gond
Gurbani (859-869)
Ashtpadiyan (869)
Bhagat Bani (870-875)
ਰਾਗੁ ਰਾਮਕਲੀ | Raag Ramkalee
Ashtpadiyan (902-916)
Gurbani (876-902)
Anand (917-922)
Sadd (923-924)
Chhant (924-929)
Dakhnee (929-938)
Sidh Gosat (938-946)
Vaar Ramkalee (947-968)
ਰਾਗੁ ਨਟ ਨਾਰਾਇਨ | Raag Nat Narayan
Gurbani (975-980)
Ashtpadiyan (980-983)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਲੀ ਗਉੜਾ | Raag Maalee Gauraa
Gurbani (984-988)
Bhagat Bani (988)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਰੂ | Raag Maaroo
Gurbani (889-1008)
Ashtpadiyan (1008-1014)
Kaafee (1014-1016)
Ashtpadiyan (1016-1019)
Anjulian (1019-1020)
Solhe (1020-1033)
Dakhni (1033-1043)
ਰਾਗੁ ਤੁਖਾਰੀ | Raag Tukhaari
Bara Maha (1107-1110)
Chhant (1110-1117)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕੇਦਾਰਾ | Raag Kedara
Gurbani (1118-1123)
Bhagat Bani (1123-1124)
ਰਾਗੁ ਭੈਰਉ | Raag Bhairo
Gurbani (1125-1152)
Partaal (1153)
Ashtpadiyan (1153-1167)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਸੰਤੁ | Raag Basant
Gurbani (1168-1187)
Ashtpadiyan (1187-1193)
Vaar Basant (1193-1196)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸਾਰਗ | Raag Saarag
Gurbani (1197-1200)
Partaal (1200-1231)
Ashtpadiyan (1232-1236)
Chhant (1236-1237)
Vaar Saarang (1237-1253)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਲਾਰ | Raag Malaar
Gurbani (1254-1293)
Partaal (1265-1273)
Ashtpadiyan (1273-1278)
Chhant (1278)
Vaar Malaar (1278-91)
Bhagat Bani (1292-93)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕਾਨੜਾ | Raag Kaanraa
Gurbani (1294-96)
Partaal (1296-1318)
Ashtpadiyan (1308-1312)
Chhant (1312)
Vaar Kaanraa
Bhagat Bani (1318)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕਲਿਆਨ | Raag Kalyaan
Gurbani (1319-23)
Ashtpadiyan (1323-26)
ਰਾਗੁ ਪ੍ਰਭਾਤੀ | Raag Prabhaatee
Gurbani (1327-1341)
Ashtpadiyan (1342-51)
ਰਾਗੁ ਜੈਜਾਵੰਤੀ | Raag Jaijaiwanti
Gurbani (1352-53)
Salok | Gatha | Phunahe | Chaubole | Swayiye
Sehskritee Mahala 1
Sehskritee Mahala 5
Gaathaa Mahala 5
Phunhay Mahala 5
Chaubolae Mahala 5
Shaloks Bhagat Kabir
Shaloks Sheikh Farid
Swaiyyae Mahala 5
Swaiyyae in Praise of Gurus
Shaloks in Addition To Vaars
Shalok Ninth Mehl
Mundavanee Mehl 5
ਰਾਗ ਮਾਲਾ, Raag Maalaa
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
New resources
Latest activity
Videos
New media
New comments
Library
Latest reviews
Donate
Log in
Register
What's new
New posts
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Welcome to all New Sikh Philosophy Network Forums!
Explore Sikh Sikhi Sikhism...
Sign up
Log in
Discussions
Hard Talk
Interviews
Canadian Intolerance - A Melting Pot's Racist Streak
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Admin" data-source="post: 111192" data-attributes="member: 1"><p>This week I had a dim sum lunch at the Empire Mandarin in Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver, Canada: succulent barbecued pork buns, prawn dumplings and crunchy braised bok choy. At noon on a Tuesday amid dozens of tables, my companion and I were the only white faces and the only English speakers; indeed the waitstaff showed no signs of speaking English, though we were able to order using a bilingual form. Up and down the streets surrounding the Empire Mandarin are mini-strip malls also catering to Chinese customers.</p><p></p><p>What's wrong with this picture? Nothing, of course, but that's not how some Canadians see it. Another Western Canadian metropolis, the city of Calgary, recently published on its Web site a consultant's report it had commissioned on retail development. Among the high-priced advice--$140,000 from city coffers--was this: "Avoid the development of Asian malls that cater only to a specific ethnic group. Avoid the concentration of ethnically dependent developments in any specific region or node."</p><p></p><p>The report had been available online since December, but it appears that no one had read all the way through it until last week, when the Calgary Herald published a story about the report and several other publications picked it up. Outrage ensued. Reasonable questions were asked: Was the city about to ban Chinatowns? Or, say, Ukrainian and Jewish neighborhoods? Would the no-ethnic-enclaves rule apply equally to white, English-speaking neighborhoods? And, on a more practical level, where would one now go for deals on fresh seafood? The city promptly scrubbed the offending lines from the report, then thought better and pulled the whole publication.</p><p></p><p>That, though, is not really the end of the story. The kind of thinking behind the report, a mix of plain old-fashioned racism with a penchant for social engineering, pops up all too often in Canada. Paradoxically, Canada takes great pride in its immigrant origins and its diversity, and not just on an official level. Torontonians will tell you with satisfaction that, ethnic origin for ethnic origin, their city is the most diverse in the world. But an ugly streak of thinking is also emerging, as descendants of the Europeans who first appropriated the land balk at the fact that new immigrants don't look and speak and behave just as they do.</p><p></p><p>Bruce Allen, for example, a music promoter and member of the committee planning the 2010 Vancouver Olympic ceremonies, ranted on a Vancouver radio station in 2007 that immigrants seeking special treatment in Canada should take off, eh. "If you don't like the rules, hit it. We don't need you here. You have another place to go--it's called home. See ya," he said. Fair enough, if he had been talking about, say, the observance of democracy. But Allen also claimed incorrectly that immigrants with the common Sikh surnames of Singh and Kaur were required by Canadian law to change them. Calling people by their names is apparently too much special treatment of immigrants for him.</p><p></p><p>A final example: In 2004 the Richmond Review, of the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, published a story about an Atlanta couple who was treated rudely in a local Chinese restaurant. It received a slew of letters in support of the couple, along the lines of "yes, those Chinese shopkeepers are so rude." One correspondent claimed a Chinese cashier had insulted him in a language he couldn't understand. "I'm appalled at how many signs there are on storefronts where English has a smaller font than the Chinese characters, if there's an English word at all," wrote L. Quest of Richmond.</p><p></p><p>As Richmond has become predominately Chinese over the last two decades--more than half of the population of 188,100 is Asian--these kinds of citizen gripes have become common. There have been complaints that Richmond's public high schools are "too Chinese" and suggestions that Richmond should pass a law forcing shop clerks to speak English.</p><p></p><p>To be sure, these cavils are just one side of an ongoing argument. But they are the marks of a paranoid and adolescent culture. They create a debate that is pretty much over in truly cosmopolitan cities, where change and the existence of the unfamiliar--before our very eyes--are facts of life regarded as benign, even welcome.</p><p></p><p>Ethnic enclaves were once forced to exist in North America. San Francisco's Chinatown emerged because it was the only place the Chinese were allowed to own businesses. Those laws, thankfully, are long gone. But mandating an end to ethnic enclaves is just as misguided. Today's Richmond emerged out of people choosing where and how they wanted to live, and its business owners are freely responding to the market. As likely as not, those businesses will start catering to English speakers when the demand arises. I just hope that as demand shifts, the quality of the pork buns remains intact.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Admin, post: 111192, member: 1"] This week I had a dim sum lunch at the Empire Mandarin in Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver, Canada: succulent barbecued pork buns, prawn dumplings and crunchy braised bok choy. At noon on a Tuesday amid dozens of tables, my companion and I were the only white faces and the only English speakers; indeed the waitstaff showed no signs of speaking English, though we were able to order using a bilingual form. Up and down the streets surrounding the Empire Mandarin are mini-strip malls also catering to Chinese customers. What's wrong with this picture? Nothing, of course, but that's not how some Canadians see it. Another Western Canadian metropolis, the city of Calgary, recently published on its Web site a consultant's report it had commissioned on retail development. Among the high-priced advice--$140,000 from city coffers--was this: "Avoid the development of Asian malls that cater only to a specific ethnic group. Avoid the concentration of ethnically dependent developments in any specific region or node." The report had been available online since December, but it appears that no one had read all the way through it until last week, when the Calgary Herald published a story about the report and several other publications picked it up. Outrage ensued. Reasonable questions were asked: Was the city about to ban Chinatowns? Or, say, Ukrainian and Jewish neighborhoods? Would the no-ethnic-enclaves rule apply equally to white, English-speaking neighborhoods? And, on a more practical level, where would one now go for deals on fresh seafood? The city promptly scrubbed the offending lines from the report, then thought better and pulled the whole publication. That, though, is not really the end of the story. The kind of thinking behind the report, a mix of plain old-fashioned racism with a penchant for social engineering, pops up all too often in Canada. Paradoxically, Canada takes great pride in its immigrant origins and its diversity, and not just on an official level. Torontonians will tell you with satisfaction that, ethnic origin for ethnic origin, their city is the most diverse in the world. But an ugly streak of thinking is also emerging, as descendants of the Europeans who first appropriated the land balk at the fact that new immigrants don't look and speak and behave just as they do. Bruce Allen, for example, a music promoter and member of the committee planning the 2010 Vancouver Olympic ceremonies, ranted on a Vancouver radio station in 2007 that immigrants seeking special treatment in Canada should take off, eh. "If you don't like the rules, hit it. We don't need you here. You have another place to go--it's called home. See ya," he said. Fair enough, if he had been talking about, say, the observance of democracy. But Allen also claimed incorrectly that immigrants with the common Sikh surnames of Singh and Kaur were required by Canadian law to change them. Calling people by their names is apparently too much special treatment of immigrants for him. A final example: In 2004 the Richmond Review, of the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, published a story about an Atlanta couple who was treated rudely in a local Chinese restaurant. It received a slew of letters in support of the couple, along the lines of "yes, those Chinese shopkeepers are so rude." One correspondent claimed a Chinese cashier had insulted him in a language he couldn't understand. "I'm appalled at how many signs there are on storefronts where English has a smaller font than the Chinese characters, if there's an English word at all," wrote L. Quest of Richmond. As Richmond has become predominately Chinese over the last two decades--more than half of the population of 188,100 is Asian--these kinds of citizen gripes have become common. There have been complaints that Richmond's public high schools are "too Chinese" and suggestions that Richmond should pass a law forcing shop clerks to speak English. To be sure, these cavils are just one side of an ongoing argument. But they are the marks of a paranoid and adolescent culture. They create a debate that is pretty much over in truly cosmopolitan cities, where change and the existence of the unfamiliar--before our very eyes--are facts of life regarded as benign, even welcome. Ethnic enclaves were once forced to exist in North America. San Francisco's Chinatown emerged because it was the only place the Chinese were allowed to own businesses. Those laws, thankfully, are long gone. But mandating an end to ethnic enclaves is just as misguided. Today's Richmond emerged out of people choosing where and how they wanted to live, and its business owners are freely responding to the market. As likely as not, those businesses will start catering to English speakers when the demand arises. I just hope that as demand shifts, the quality of the pork buns remains intact. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Discussions
Hard Talk
Interviews
Canadian Intolerance - A Melting Pot's Racist Streak
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…
Top