Do Businesses Have the Right to Refuse Service Based on Moral/Religious Objections?

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by betenoire

But I don't think you can say "Canada has less POC ergo less racial tension". And the reason that I say/know this is because where I grew up (Toronto) things were pretty smooth. I wasn't witness to people walking around scared, or angry....

But the town I live in now is not like that. White people say the craziest shit when they think nobody is listening, seriously. For white Canadians it seems like the less contact we have with POC the more xenophobic we get.

Right. Usually the greater the level of contact between ourselves and people that differ from us in some way (sexual orientation, race), the lower the discrimination. So, it makes sense to me that Toronto would have less racism and there would be more racism in an area that has a lower number of POCs.

It is actually interesting to me b/c I have always assumed that Canada was more diverse than us, and that this was the reason there is less racism. But, I guess if it is actually accurate (less racism?), it is just ANOTHER case of you guys being a rockin' place to live!

[betenoire]

Originally Posted by DapperButch

Right. Usually the greater the level of contact between ourselves and people that differ from us in some way (sexual orientation, race), the less the discrimination. So, it makes sense to me that Toronto would have less racism and there would be more racism in an area that has a lower number of POCs.

It is actually interesting to me b/c I have always assumed that Canada was more diverse than us, and that this was the reason there is less racism. But, I guess if it is actually accurate (less racism?), it is just ANOTHER case of you guys being a rockin' place to live!

I think that your average small-town Canadian is probably just as likely to have racist ideas as your average small-town American. The difference (and that's a cultural difference between our two countries) is how that Canadian acts about it v how that American acts about it.

True Story: I had never seen a Confederate Flag in real life (seriously!!) until last summer in Detroit. I managed to get through 33 years of life without ever seeing one.

Another thing I've noticed is that people here are less likely to say something negatively racist (not that there is positive racism, I just don't know how to phrase it) and more likely to spout off a stereotype that they think is a compliment. You know "Such and Such a group is so intelligent!" "Such and Such a group has such a good head for business!". It's still racist, of course. But we spin it differently. (ETA - which is probably a big part of the perception that Canada is less racist. I have no idea if that's true or not, because there's no real way to quantify that. I think that there IS less tension and less evidence of it - but as for how people actually feel in secret in their own homes, I can't speak to that)

OMG Series Finale of Big Love is on now! Gotta go!