No one can deny that racism exists in the Flin Flon area.
But nor can one refute that racism is often seen where none exists.
I was reminded of this fact while reading, of all things, a recent Washington Post column by political scientist Sarah Anzia.
Wringing more ink out of unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, where an unarmed black teenager was fatally shot by police last month, Anzia argues that even after things cool down, important questions will remain for that city.
Among Anzia’s questions: “How did a city where two-thirds of the residents are black elect an almost entirely white city government?”
Anzia goes on to cite a low turnout among all voters, and particularly among black voters, in Ferguson’s last civic election.
What a loaded premise. Why must Anzia presume that voters are so obsessed with skin colour that white people and black people should or will only vote for “their own”?
I’m sure Anzia would have similarly patronizing questions if she examined our municipal councils in Flin Flon, Creighton and Denare Beach.
After all, the makeup of those councils is far from a perfect racial match for our increasingly Aboriginal demographics.
This is unfortunate, but it’s not the fault of residents voting only along racial lines.
The truth is that Aboriginal candidates for our councils have historically been few and far between. If there are no Aboriginal candidates, there can be no Aboriginal councillors.
As a non-Aboriginal resident, I hope many Aboriginal candidates will run for Flin Flon city council or school board in next month’s election.
I say this not because race would make an Aboriginal candidate “better” than anyone else, but because this significant segment of our population has a perspective and history that is impossible for white people like me to fully grasp.
Marginalized
But I also recognize that our Aboriginal residents, just like the black residents of Ferguson, are often marginalized by society and overwhelmed by personal challenges.
Until that changes, we will likely continue to see too few Aboriginal candidates step forward for elected positions and too few Aboriginal residents participate in civic elections that garner stunningly low turnouts.
In fairness to Anzia, she wasn’t overtly assigning racism as a factor behind Ferguson’s “almost entirely white city government.” Her point is that voter turnout is low and that white residents are far more likely to cast ballots than black residents.
But again, isn’t it at least a little bit racist to suggest that colour reigns so supreme for those voters?
I am not saying that your skin colour has no bearing at all.
I would imagine that in Ferguson, some people would not vote for a candidate because he is black and some people would vote for him because he is black. I think we would see some of the same happening in our area if an Aboriginal candidate ran.
But I believe that the vast majority of us, in the Flin Flon area and in Ferguson, don’t care so much about colour. We are looking at far more tangible matters, like infrastructure, taxes, safety and leadership.
Yes, racial issues do exist – in Flin Flon, in Ferguson, in probably just about every place on earth. Sometimes they are quite serious and have no obvious solution.
That said, it’s often ivory-tower types like Anzia, incessantly and needlessly viewing the world through a racial lens, who hinder the cause of greater unity.
Local Angle runs Fridays.
