[kEiThZ]

What a load of BS. The only time you’ll get a second glance anywhere in Ontario is if you walk in nude.

As a member of the CF I have had the opportunity to travel all over Canada. Try being the only brown guy in Moose Jaw, SK or stopping at a truck stop in Northern Ontario. I assure you that I do get the second glance when I enter a store in some of our more rural areas. I would never call that racist. It's just human nature to take note of people who are different. I have never said nor implied that I have been mistreated because of my skin colour. But to say that nobody would take a second look is BS. Unless you've had my experiences you simply would not know, now would you.

My wife attended a medical conference in Dubai last fall. She described the city as chaotic, racist and destined to fail due to its poor planning. As a woman she was verbally and sexually harassed when she went out shopping.

It's unfortunate that she had such a negative experience. It's not the UAE I remember. Hopefully, if she ever finds her way there again, I hope she has a better experience.

@wonderboy416...have you actually done any research or have any knowledge of Dubai beyond reading articles like these?

Didn't you get the memo? Google and Wikipedia beat out a decade of actually living in any country.

Definitely. A lot of kids here are going to grow up thinking that this is the norm, that tolerance is the modern way of doing things, and then realize that actually, Canada is more or less an outlier compared to the rest of the world.

I won't say it's perfect but it's definitely better than any other place on this planet.

Exactly. Canada is by far the best place in the world on this front. Every American or European I have ever met always asks me when i moved to Canada. There is never any assumption that I was born in Canada despite the fact that I am as much a hoser as any other Canadian that I travel with. The only folks who never ask that question: Brits or Aussies....because they have very multi-cultural societies too. And those questions often come from educated people. I got asked that question at least half a dozen times while attending a course at the NATO School in Germany with other NATO military officers.

 

[jenny_zhang]

People always get looks when they look out of place.

Nobody stares at me when I'm in Toronto or Vancouver. When I go to the more rural areas of Canada I get some looks.

It's not a bad or offensive thing. Though some people overreact to it.

 

[adma]

Besides, wouldn't a white urban hipster get "looks" when doing some ethnic Scarberian shopping? No overt hostility, mind you; just seeming out of place...

 

[Towered]

Brits or Aussies....because they have very multi-cultural societies too.

At 92% and 90% white, those are hardly multi-cultural societies.

 

[Blovertis]

Having visited Dubai twice, I can say that some of the comments on this thread are way over the top. No one can say it is a model of progressive urban planning, but the sheer futuristic exuberance of the place is charming if you're not actively looking for things to condemn.

No, it's not Toronto or Amsterdam or some other bastion of tolerance, but it is the most liberal place in the Islamic world. I found it surprisingly cosmopolitan and relaxed.

I can't figure out why a white woman would feel so singled out when I saw them everywhere, many of them dressed in fairly revealing clothes.

 

[wonderboy416]

@wonderboy416...have you actually done any research or have any knowledge of Dubai beyond reading articles like these? I have never been to Dubai, but I don't understand the point of comparing them Singapore or Korea....I mean I guess you're east Asia fan #1 after a whole few months living there but I don't think that qualifies as an all knowing world citizen just yet. In particular, Singapore is not what I would call a "full democracy" by any stretch of the term despite what the wikipedia page tells you , speaking as a native Singaporean. Democracy is a curtain to hide what is essentially one-party rule with opposing voices quickly shot down (or bankrupted). I've also lived in Korea, where I came across some awful anti-foreigner (particularly anti-Chinese) sentiment. They may have a first world economy but the mindset and social perspectives haven't changed, despite the tame impression that Western tourists may get.

Did I claim to be a "world citizen"? Did I claim to be Korea and Taiwan's biggest cheerleader? Do you even know my past or anything about me? - although if you were on this forum since its humble beginnings you'd probably low a lot more about me as I was a very heavy poster here. I didn't bring up Korea and Taiwan and I was merely pointing out that it was pointless to compare them to Dubai. And yes I did some research and I was appalled at much of what I found. I guess none of it is true though, I have to go physically live somewhere to know anything about it right? I can tell you that 90% of what I read and heard about Korea was true... people tend to embellish things sometimes but that doesn't make them untrue.

I don't see how any bickering or sidetracking (nice one though, trying to discredit the posters while ignoring their key points is surely a great way to make your point...) gets Dubai off the hook for the ecological and human rights atrocities being committed there. You also seem to agree with kEITHz that they should get a free pass on a lot of things just because this is their turn to boom? (although unlike most cities it's far from organic). I also think most forumers here are curious over the fact that they built this skyscraper utopia in a place full of draconian laws while completely forgetting what makes a city a special place to live in to begin with. Maybe all the eye witness accounts are wrong, maybe it truly is Disney Land for adults. Maybe it just needs another 10-15 years, who knows... it certainly does seem to be a place with very different priorities from anywhere else though...

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Early on in Pacific Mall's existence, whether or not I'd get "looks" depended almost entirely on if I was with Asians or just other white people (or alone). The remainder depended on which stores I was in - restaurants or those discount computer joints would be "look"-free (though you may not get the same service) but other shops, especially those not selling stuff white people like, were different. It's definitely gotten better over the years...I've heard stories of white people being denied service, though a lot of these issues are language barrier-based, not so much skin-based.

Heck, as a person of colour, I get stared at when I go into a corner store in small town Ontario.

If anything, the one place in small town Ontario where you'd stand the best chance of finding persons of colour is the corner store...

 

[billy corgan]

As a member of the CF I have had the opportunity to travel all over Canada. Try being the only brown guy in Moose Jaw, SK or stopping at a truck stop in Northern Ontario. I assure you that I do get the second glance when I enter a store in some of our more rural areas. I would never call that racist. It's just human nature to take note of people who are different. I have never said nor implied that I have been mistreated because of my skin colour. But to say that nobody would take a second look is BS. Unless you've had my experiences you simply would not know, now would you.

Meh still BS. I think you are a little too sensitive. You know people do look at other people.

 

[jenny_zhang]

Sorry, posted on my roommate's account:

scarberiankhatru

If anything, the one place in small town Ontario where you'd stand the best chance of finding persons of colour is the corner store...

Yeah, cause all immigrantz are poor uneducated convenience store owners anyways.

@wonderboy16

I don't see how any bickering or sidetracking (nice one though, trying to discredit the posters while ignoring their key points is surely a great way to make your point...) gets Dubai off the hook for the ecological and human rights atrocities being committed there.

I wasn't trying to get Dubai off the hook. I was commenting on some overtly positive things you said about countries, particularly Singapore, that I felt were not true, and commented on it, being a native to that country. This is a discussion board, isn't it?

Do you even know my past or anything about me? - although if you were on this forum since its humble beginnings you'd probably low a lot more about me as I was a very heavy poster here.

I haven't posted until now but I have visited this forum and my roommate posts here a lot. I do recall your thread as to why you were moving to Seoul. It doesn't seem much different from a lot of other young Western males I saw there, let's just leave it at that....As I said, I haven't been to Dubai. If Keithz has lived there for ten years I do take his opinion somewhat seriously. I agree with the idea that it is trying to skip the fundamentals and impress the world...but I am more skeptical about the big racism against a woman for looking at her, or big human rights violations.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Sorry, posted on my roommate's account:

scarberiankhatru


Yeah, cause all immigrantz are poor uneducated convenience store owners anyways.

Please read posts before you respond to them. It's not difficult. I didn't say anything about immigrants...but if I did, I would have said that small town Ontario is an ideal place for entrepreneurial immigrants to settle.

And since when do poor people own stores? That would, by definition, mean they are not poor.

 

[jenny_zhang]

I didn't say anything about immigrants

Oh, sorry, you're right. You weren't stereotyping immigrants, just dem colored people. That changes everything.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Oh, sorry, you're right. You weren't stereotyping immigrants, just dem colored people. That changes everything.

It's not a stereotype if it's true.

 

[jenny_zhang]

Ah. Well that clears up a bit about this/you.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Ah. Well that clears up a bit about this/you.

Try spending some time in a small town. In the absence of a university or branch of a multinational, small businesses (including convenience stores) are probably the major gateway for immigrants of colour into small towns...it's called reality.

 

[adma]

...I've heard stories of white people being denied service, though a lot of these issues are language barrier-based, not so much skin-based.

Well, language *and* cultural barrier-based; and whitey might not help through condescending behaviour, or just a woodenheadedness like Americans bringing snowshoes to Canada in July...