Thursday, March 25, 2010

Sensitivity of MY People

This morning, I was walking and there was a dead bird on the side of the road. I thought, what a dumb bird, it could've flown away but it was dumb enough to get hit by a vehicle. There were crows flying up high, but there was this big raven right by the dead bird, eating the flesh and removing the feathers off of it. I watched it carefully and a white lady pass me by and she said "eww Gross!" I didn't know what to do but smile because i've seen too many ravens eating who knows what in my lifetime.

In a way, the lady was offended by the raven and thought it gross to do what is normal for the bird, eat flesh.

I'm not comparing people to ravens but that would be appropriate sometime as we eat who knows what from all sorts and as i write this, you are eating my words and you are eating who knows what, even i am not sure. I am trying to take this somewhere but I am having a hard time, because i might just offend you.

There has and always will be offensive remarks made by people about certain people, especially minority groups, its inevitable. It has happened, as aboriginals like to say, since time immemorial. All you have to be is different and a a little far from their reality and they have all the comments they can regurgitate and feed to the masses.

Inuit internet world has been hit by another derogatory article made by some girl named Kristina who wrote for Vice magazine, which is a satirical magazine that people should never take seriously, its like junk food for the brain. Anyways, she wrote, second hand experience, nonetheless, and made comments about suicide, drinking and taking drugs among other things in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

I am writing this because i take no offense at all about it because i know it's just literature. From what i have read, government and Inuit organization reports can be even more offensive and sometimes outright oppressive with all there statistics of a grim life for everyone in the north. To me that is more damaging than the ignorant author of the Vice magazine article. The Inuit orgs. and governments have been telling us and recreating us the picture of poor Inuit, amongst dilapidated housing, rampant drug and alcohol abuse, angry wives and husbands and uncared for Inuit children. That to me is what we should get riled about because they are the ones that supposedly make decisions regarding the people that live in their jurisdiction and the author of the Vice article is just commenting - with binocular and sitting in an arm chair. While the people that give us information about the prospects of life in the Arctic, the Inuit orgs. and governments, are actually dissecting and doing lobotomy on the people of the north and we don't give them crap for writing all the crap they regurgitate.

What are magical words that Inuit just love to use?
- sustainable
- resilience
- traditional
- survival
- environment
- pride
- colonialism
- and so on....

Maybe that lady Kristina has just hit the angry bone in inuit because someone has even started a facebook page demanding that they remove the story, but they don't realize that the website has never received so much comments and these people are pissed off, just makes Vice even happier.

c'mon Inuit, I know we had a weak immune system to the viruses and bacteria that people brought to our parts of the world, but do we have to have a weak immunity to simple words? Are you not stronger than she is and take the words she wrote and forget them? Can't you "forgive and forget" about all the things that have happened to Inuit, historically or modern?

The time words are suppose to hurt is when they come from someone you respect and admire so much that you cry and get angry about, but this is a stranger and we'll probably never step in Nunavut again, because that is what these people do, make money and then leave. Have a little backbone and try not to get offended by every little remark regarding Inuit, whether it be suicide or tuberculosis. When we all come together and rant about the misrepresentation of our lives, we are only encouraging people to poke fun at us, because the easiest people to offend are the people that get offended all the time.

Maybe it's time we stop demanding apologies and re-compensation all the time for the bad shit that happens to everyone. We are on this blue and green ball just as everyone and everyone makes remarks and make fun of someone, it's bound to happen and next time just take it.

Here, let me try to offend the girl named Kristine about her world.

Ottawa is a government town, where people have no sense of humour and wear ties and suits everyday to work. They are so boring that it's like learning about Scientology. They all have drinking and drug abuse problems but never admit to it and live life as if they are the masters of the universe. They are so dumb that they forgot the most important thing about the three R's: Reduce, Recycle and Reuse. They forgot the Reduce part and follow the other two which don't have much affect when you don't redce your intake. They are so dumb. The city is filled with crackheads and they gladly smoke out on the streets. People like Kristina have no sense of direction in their lives that as soon as they are done school, they go just go another environment and is a lot like school and "work". They all have bad breaths. They are all tall. They are very good at pretending to care.

There, I hope to get many comments from non-Inuit who are genuinely offended by this.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I do not have bad breath, and I refuse to reduce my intake of breathmints which would invalidate my first statement. I am, however, considering a reusing and recycling program for chewing gum. There's a goldmine of fresh breath stuck to the underside of cafeteria tables everywhere, it would be foolish not to buy in.

Unknown said...

apparently i just wasn't offensive enough a friend suggested this dialogue:

"Ottawa: The City where Fun went to DIE!"

Peter Mansbridge, CBC News: "Hey Fun, I've never seen you in Ottawa before, does you're being here this weekend mean that Ottawa is finally becoming a 'fun' place?"

Fun: "No. Not at all Peter. I, umm, well, i'm kinda sick, doctor says it's cancer.... only got a few days to live.... so, i.... ummm... came here to die...."

PM: But why here? Why not go somewhere where you're more recognized--like New Orleans or Montreal?

Fun: Well--it's true, that i have more friends in those places, but it's a bit like being a popular celebrity---the paparazi, photographers--- everybody wants my autograph or to hang out..... But here in Ottawa, no one even knows what Fun looks like! It's easy for me to be just another sick white ghost like all these govt workers here, just trudge around the streets and talk about American Idol or whatever......"

Unknown said...

oh it might be a good idea to be listening to Bob Dylan's "dignity" while reading this because that is what i was listening to when i wrote it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOU_j0BuZI0

sometimes you just need something to keep you going and i figured mr. dylan has some dignity to pass around and decided to take it.

Anonymous said...

That summed up most of Southern Ontario, he he!

The flip side of the coin, it is pretty nice to know who 'your people' are. To know your own stories and traditions. After the past 6 generations of immigration and movement, mine is so watered down that I don't even know who 'my people' are : Hungarian, Irish, Welsh , Scot, Spanish, Danish, West Coast Salish ...to name a few. Somewhere along the way, my people came from various parts of the green and blue ball. I suspect there are a number of people out there like me who don't really now much about their roots.
Knowing, living, experiencing something about your heritage... be proud!! ;-) The rest be damned. Opinions are like assholes, we all have one.

JP

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