Different Strokes For Different Folks
Q. What does a Polish man give his bride on their wedding day that is long and hard?
A. A last name.
I went for a walk around my neighbourhood this evening. It was a lovely evening and I wanted to post some flyers for our play on local lamp posts. Twice my work was interrupted by people telling me not to post any flyers.
"You're not allowed to do that, ya know. They'll just rip them down again."
How are we supposed to advertise our play, Ms J? And what harm is there in posting a few little bits of paper around the hood?
"Oh well," was my retort. "I'll keep putting up signs until I'm arrested and imprisoned."
I wonder why people don't just mind their own business?
A number of times, I encountered folks on the sidewalk. Couples, families, friends out strolling. I would approach them and ask if they were interested in seeing a play. Time after time, I found people who couldn't or wouldn't speak English. After a few such encounters, I began to preface my spiel with "Do you speak English?"
I don't mean to sound xenophobic, Ms J, but I found myself getting upset with the lack of English speaking Canadians here in Mimico. I mean, there I was, not three kilometres from where I grew up and I may as well have been strolling the streets of Warsaw. Or Leningrad. Maybe they were just not interested in what I was "selling", but a simple no thank you would have sufficed.
"Polish. No English."
"I am Russia. English no."
I would smile each time and nod my head and walk away, but I wanted to say, "Canada. No Poland." Or "I am Canadian. We speak English here, or French." I didn't say any of that, of course. That would have been rude. But I tell you truly, Ms Journal, if ever I were to emigrate to a foreign country, I would make it a top priority to learn to speak that language. That's the kind of guy I am. I would want to fit in. I would want to be accepted as one of them, an equal.
Many years ago, Canada officially adopted a policy of multiculturalism. It's good, Ms J. It's right and I'm proud we accept other cultures and other religions and ideologies. Toronto is, according to recent studies, the most culturally diverse city in the world. More even than New York or London. Literally hundreds of languages are spoken here and from every country on the planet.
But perhaps school children here in Mimico should be taught Polish or Russian instead of the compulsory French. They'll have few opportunities to speak French, but they won't have to walk far to find a "no English" Pole or Russian.
***
Mused by Dale @ 10:15 pm
At 6 June 2006 at 02:07, 
said...
At 6 June 2006 at 05:20, said...
At 6 June 2006 at 07:28, 
Jennytc said...
At 7 June 2006 at 08:30, PBS said...
4 Comments:
Re: "Many years ago, Canada officially adopted a policy of multiculturalism. It's good, Ms J. It's right and I'm proud we accept other cultures and other religions and ideologies."
I used to think that multi-culturalism was a good thing, too. But now I'm convinced that it just may be the most fatal thing that Western civilization has ever done. The "melting pot" philosophy that Canada, the US and the UK used to hold to meant that immigrants were expected to BECOME Canadian, American, British, etc. Now, however, immigrants are pretty much ENCOURAGED to keep their culture intact, not learn English, and associate only with their own. The result? The Mississaga 17 - caught planning to blow up something Canadian. Multiculturalism has spawned literally thousands of cancerous "cells", just waiting to metasticize and kill their host countries.
A point of comparison, Dale. My 4 best friends as I grew up in the 60s on Royal York Drive in Mimico were Polish, Ukrainian, German and Dutch. All had parents who were first-generation immigrants. The parents all made it a point to speak English (except to their own elderly parents). Their kids, my friends, spoke accent-free English (except to their elderly grandparents).
I'm not Xenophobic by any stretch, but conditions have changed, and not for the better.
This is an interesting post, Dale. I too think that when people move to another country, as well as keeping their own language and customs, they should learn something of those belonging to their new land. Otherwise, what's the point? Probably the people you met were first-generation immigrants themselves, though, as I find it hard to imagine that children born and brought up in Canada would not be able to speak English. They wouldn't be able to get through school, for one thing.
Sometimes it becomes hard to balance our desire for an open, accepting society and our need to protect ourselves from malign outside influences. It's a very complicated thing.
Living here in Exeter, in the UK, where most people are white and Anglo, I miss being in the midst of other cultures. Mono-culturalism may be safe (?), but it's also a bit dull.
I signed in to say more or less what Steve has already said so eloquently, so I'll leave it to him and just say, I agree.
That's a touchy balance, keeping one's own culture and the surrounding culture. I think a little of both would work. In Canada immigrants can choose between two official languages!
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