Fun article, Mely.  Another QED of how all BS (belief systems) have some bs in them AND that they don't "fit" or account for all of reality :3

I still get gobsmacked at all these different ethnicities that are living together in the USA & Canada, like Germans, Polish, Norwegians, Iclanders, Scots, Belgians, Spanish, Dutch, etc etc all, somehow and somewhere, called by some governments "White".

Simply amazing at how these people of differning identities can fit together.

Mely, my impression of you in the early days was that you are a thoughtful and intelligent woman. I still believe that to be so. When I read the threads started by you on this topic, frankly, it's confusing since I don't see this belief-system surrounding anti-Islamic sentiment as rational. From this admittedly limited point of view through the internet and then the Wcafe, it appears as though the "Islamist" interpretation has negatively captivated you (would that be "captured"?).

I have fond memories of online conversations with you when you first became involved with the United Church. You expressed excitement about your new-found faith and seemed thrilled to be on a Christian journey. While I recognize that we all change in our lives and grow in our exploration of faith, I can't help but be saddened by the contrast between those conversations and the ones of today. It seems as though a dark spell has been cast.  

I know that there has been much back and forthing on this subject already. Research is showing that we generally aren't persuaded from the positions we adopt especially when they are strongly held. I don't offer it to pressure you into changing your mind or even with the expectation that you will read it. Instead, I offer it as another view to others who might be reading this thread. It's more hopeful than what I see as the cynical analysis being promoted by those whose interests are served by doing so.

"Fear, Inc." Exposes the So-Called Experts and Donors Behind Islamophobia in the United States

To be taken to the report, "Fear, Inc." upon which this interview is based, click here.

From the introduction to the article:

A new report by the Center for American Progress called "Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America" shows how a small group of self-proclaimed experts backed by a host of donors are spreading fear and hostility toward Muslims in the United States. According to the report, these so-called experts peddle Islamophobia in the form of books, reports, websites, blogs and carefully crafted anti-Islam talking points. It also notes that right-wing Norwegian murderer Anders Breivik repeatedly cited these "experts" in his so-called "Manifesto." Among those the report highlights is Robert Spencer, author of a blog called "Jihad Watch" and leader of the group Stop Islamization of America, which coined the term "victory mosque at Ground Zero" to refer to a local effort to build a moderate Islamic center in New York City, turning it into an international spectacle. We speak with one of the report’s authors, Faiz Shakir, vice president of the Center for American Progress and editor-in-chief of ThinkProgress.org. "[Spencer] wants basically a society in which we are concerned about the presence of all Muslims in America," says Shakir. "This is the running theme of all the Islamophobia network."

All cultures overlap far more than they differ. we have a tendency to look at what is different, and call that our culture. When we do that, we are looking at only a tiny part of that culture. There are also vast differences of cultures within any one country, even within a town.

Racism is out of fashion. so we don't call it that anymore. we call it cultural difference. dangerous word, culture.

You read an article by a Sunni Muslim who was born in Calcutta? So what? There are many millions of sunni muslims some of them more "culturally" differest from other sunni Mulims born in Calcutta than they are from a Moncton Baptist.

Mely - To say that Canada has democracy is a bit of a stretch.  Not nearly such a stretch as to say the US does - but still a stretch. Both Canada and the US are riddled with gross corruption. In both cases, our "democracies" are dominated by the big money needed to win elections. (a system of reliance on big money that Harper is now encouraging.)

My other countries don't have democracy because we don't let them have it. We have imposed and we support corrupt and undemocratic states all over the world.

Almost all our news media (the source for our "democratic" decisions) are owned by multi-millionaires who feed us a steady diet of propaganda.

We have Laws made by the rich to satisfy the rich. For example, it's against the law to throw litter on the street. But if shale gas drilling is destroying your land and water, it's prefectly legal.It's also perfectly legal to pollute with millions of gallons of oil - just so long as you can think of an excuse.

And the laws are NOT enforced fairly. We have had recent reports of the federal and provincial governments hiding reports of illegal damage being done by corporations.

The whole economic crisis we are living through was largely caused by illegal behaviour. And they got paid for it.

It's true we can't kill a Canadian. But we're allowed and even encouraged to kill  foreigners of any age and gender - and with government help. Yes, some of them are young women. Some are even babies. We have killed far more moslem women than the most fundamentalist moslem men have.

President Obama has the power to order the imprisonment or assassination of any american - with no law, no charge, no trial.

We don't livv in a world of angels and devils.Mely, you are very naive.

liberals think neocons are equal to socialdemocrats, just different.  That is why liberal democracy isn't real.

Mely - why don't you go live in Israel if you think the world is so anti-semitic?

Now, I think of it, why didn't George Washington just leave the British colonies if he didn't like them?

Beating one's wife was legal in Canada and the US into the 1920s. It was like corporal punishment for children - quite acceptable so long as it was used to maintain discipline.

A unifying Canadian culture, shaped by enlightenment?

Bring it on, bring it on!

Thank you Mother of Five...you eloquently wrote what I could not capture in my posts....but are at the core of my frustration....the logic of who is "evil" totally bypassing all other aspects of the dynamics of power / wealth.  thank-you.

For those who may not be aware, India has an amazing democracy...which requires significant collaberation and co-operation due to the number of parties.  Quite fascinating actually

Mely -- you aren't getting the point, are you?

This inhumane treatment of workers that happened in that incident happens everywhere, all of the time. It happens for a variety of reasons and the agricultural sector is particularly vulnerable. That's not because they are primarily made of up South Asians, it's because we all want cheap food and an easy way for stores to supply it is to squeeze farmers for low prices. Also, American produce is produced cheaply (employers down there don't have to provide medical coverage for example) and allowed to flow, without tariffs, into Canada. 

Two more major factors contribute to the poor treatment of workers in this and numerous other cases around BC and Canada. The  first is that, here in BC, the agricultural sector is exempted from providing the same working conditions as for other workers. For example, under the Employment Standards Act, farm workers are treated quite separately and have numerous disadvantages, such as no entitlement for statutory holidays or overtime pay. You can read more about that at Information for Agriculture Workers and Employers  . Also, enforcement of the Act is complaints driven, each complaint takes months to reach a decision, the identity of the employee is revealed making the worker vulnerable to firing or harassment and I know a few people who, when wages were the issue, have been told they have a better chance for some degree of positive outcome by going to small claims court. So, that's Employment Standards...poor standards and not really enforced.

The second major factor is WorkSafe BC, formerly known as BC Workers' Compensation. They also have a different sets of rules by sector, which are based on risk as determined by the frequency of claims within that sector. For example, when workers are hurt on the job site, many employers will actively try to discourage the injured employee from filing a claim because they don't want their premiums to increase. that's the background...

The agricultural sector is high risk - there is a lot of risk in working with farm equipment, with farm chemicals, outside in all kinds of weather, doing piece work, and exposed to wildlife and insects and the pressure is on to deliver food cheaply. Again, as per with Employment Standards, a lot of what happens with WorkSafe is complaints driven, again putting the employee at risk so many don't complain to the employer or "WCB".

Farm operators know this. Some are conscientious, treat their workers well and others do not. This happens regardless and has nothing to do with whether or not "the immigrant community" is involved. Seasonal farm workers are particularly at risk as has ever been the case - The Grapes of Wrath got to the heart of the vulnerability of workers, and migrant farm workers in particular. As times change and we lose more and more of the elements that gave us a higher standard of living such as reasonable access to health care, unemployment insurance, etc, we are all at increasing risk of being mistreated in the workplace.

I think it's a mistake to link employee mistreatment and vulnerability with race or culture. Here's a good example of another sector that's at risk in different ways -  Hyatt Workers Suffer Abuse . From it:

"In a study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine examining a total of 50 hotel properties from 5 different hotel companies, Hyatt housekeepers had the highest injury rate of all housekeepers studied when compared by hotel company.

"Studies show that hotel workers have an injury rate 25 percent higher than all service workers, and among hotel workers, housekeepers experience the highest injury rates. In a survey of over 600 housekeepers, 91 percent of housekeepers reported having suffered work-related pain."

Immigrants to Canda have always been dreadfully exploited. The whole purpose of bringing them here has been to exploit them. Why do you think Canada suddenly developed an enthusiasm for chinese immigrants in the 1880s, for Italians and East Europeans in the 1890s, and for Haitians today?

That scarcely indicates that immigrants cause corruption. We do that all by ourselves.

That, I guess, it part of our "unifying culture".

What does that make those of us who prefer not to drink it at all?

An extreme example of what Graeme is talking about, that might get through:

I suspect that the incidence of broken homes in African-descended families in the American south 200 years ago was much higher than the national average.

What conclusions could we draw about African culture, based on this hypothetical statistic?