AgainstPrejudice.ca

Have you ever heard someone say that rich people, in order to amass wealth, must have exploited others or must have done something illicit or illegal? Have you ever heard that making money through business or banking is a bad thing?

Have you ever heard someone say that poor people have no one to blame but themselves for their poverty? Or that poverty is a sign of their own degeneracy and corruption? That a poor people are bad people?

To what extent do you think these statements are true? How do you react when someone else says things like this? Are the comments about rich and poor the same or is one type of comment worse than the other? Why?

This is a post about hatred and threats, not prejudice.

Someone in a friendly discussion group says that Harper should have his head cut off.
He goes on to say that that is only way to put an end to this blot on the body politic of Canada.

What is your reaction?

That was very funny.

That's not funny; it sounds like a threat.

I'm not sure if it was a joke or serious so I will keep quiet.

What if someone made the same comments about Barack Obama?

What do you think? Are these two cases similar and there was an overreaction against Williams? Or are they different cases that called for different reactions?

In 1996, Jesse Jackson made the following comment and stimulated debate and soul searching in the United States, particularly among Blacks:

There is nothing more painful to me ... than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery, then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved (Reverend Jesse Jackson, as quoted in US News, 3/10/96).

On October 18, 2010, Juan Williams made the following comments on the Bill O'Reilly show on Fox TV. He was fired by NPR for these comments and there was little debate just accusations of racism and defense against these accusations:

Look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.

Williams also warned O'Reilly against blaming all Muslims for "extremists," saying Christians shouldn't be blamed for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

Labels: What's the difference?

Against Prejudice is a new program in Ontario, bringing together newcomers and those who serve them, to deal with prejudice.

JFS Ottawa initially undertook the Against Prejudice program in response to prejudiced attitudes expressed by individual newcomers toward Jews and other groups in Canadian society. In cooperation with Local Agencies Serving Immigrants (LASI) in Ottawa, a workshop of two half-days or one full-day was put into place for the professional development of front-line workers serving newcomers, in order to deal with prejudices involved in a range of issues including as anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, sexism, homophobia and racism. Today, Jewish Immigrant Aid Services (JIAS) Toronto and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) provide promotional and logistical support so that JFS can serve all of Ontario.

This web site features our work with newcomers and those who serve them but also highlights how all Canadians can use our resources and information to deal with prejudice.

If you wish to learn more about our work with newcomers or seek to learn more about the application of Against Prejudice materials and resources for dealing with all forms of prejudice, please contact us:

Ottawa: 613.722.2225
Toronto: 416.973.4469
info@againstprejudice.ca

Labels: Welcome to Against Prejudice new blog.