Canada’s GG and Minorities and an Ivy Education
Posted by chinesecanuck on June 3, 2008
Another interesting post from Racialicious.
First Comment (originally from Womanist Musings):
Canada’s current Governor-General, Michaëlle Jean is black. A well-known Quebecois writer, Victor-Lévy Beaulieu, recent called her La Reine-Nègre (The Negro Queen), which sparked controversy. He claims that he didn’t mean anything racist, just her attitude.
What’s interesting is that the last Governor-General, Adrienne Clarkson, is of Chinese descent. She was also criticized about the way she did things, but I don’t recall anyone calling her the Empress Dowager. People DID say something about her being female, and that no one would have said anything about the spending if she had been a guy.
Second Comment (Originally from Blackline):
“If you are a minority, chances are you will run into a teacher who seems to like you a lot, and at this point they will make it their life mission to save you (kind of like Dangerous Minds). These teachers are extremely condescending and take it personally when you disagree with them in any way (you’re seen as fighting them, preventing them from helping you). In their minds, you grew up in a single parent shack, your mother works three jobs, and you have 10 brothers and sisters, rather than being a son of a physician and a lawyer. It’s one thing to be admired by your teacher, it’s another being their charity, because in the end all your other classmates will win the awards, and you will get a pat on the back.”
I’d say that CERTAIN minority groups are thought of as living in a shack, with a single mom who works several jobs. In my case, I’m more likely to be thought of as a foreigner than some poor kid from the wrong side of town.
