Being Black or White in Canada Two Nations

Question: Discuss about theBeing Black or White in Canadafor Two Nations. Answer: Introduction Canadians have a habit of asking people the question of their origin (Veenstra Patterson, 2016, p. 53). This especially happens when one is not white. It is until they know one's race and geographical coordinates that they can relax. They are always curious to know the exact place that one comes from, what one's race is and who one's parents are. Lawrence Hill, the author the of the article The Question has been asked the question about his origin so many times by the Canadians which makes him feel offended ( Lawrence, 2001, p. 29). According to Lawrence Hill, the Canadians who are asked the question of their origin are the black and mixed race people. Rarely do black people ask others of their origin because they have been asked the question countless times which have made them sophisticated through their experiences. Lawrence Hill is convinced that the Canadians do not ask the question about one's race out of curiosity, but they are interested in knowing one's ancestry. The Canadians will not ask a Canadian who is indisputably white and whose accent is similar to traditional Anglo-Canadian of his origin. The black people are the ones who are faced with this question since the Canadians feel that they have the right to know the exact place where they originate (Lawrence, 2001, p. 45). They view the black people as different from them because they do not resemble them and they are clearly not Canadians. The Canadians teach their children etiquette such that by teenage they understand what is polite and what is n ot. However, they do not warn them of asking people of their origin which Lawrence Hill views as impolite (Hacker, 2010, p. 64). Lawrence Hill interviewed several people in the greater Toronto area who gave different views on how they responded to the question of their origin. One of the people who was interviewed was Tyson Brown who said that when he was asked the question of his origin, he took it as an advantage to educate people concerning issues of blackness and mixed race. He responded to the question by saying that he was mixed white Canadian and African Canadian. Tyson was in a high school which was largely white, and he explained to Hill how he came to embraced his identity as a young black man. However Dan another interviewee narrated that the question was an unpleasant experience when he was growing up since people did not believe when he told them that he was half black (Lawrence, 2001, p.22). Karyn Hood said that she often got mad at people who asked her about her race. Karyn explained that she was perceived as exotic, preferred to date black men and cultivated friendships with black community which she finds annoying. Natalie wall said to Lawrence Hill that the question of his origin was a very rude one. People he encountered on the streets were always guessing about his origin and when he told them that he was Canadian and they still insisted on knowing the exact place he came from. Jaz Miller is sick of being asked the question so many times that she has invented a way of responding to the question with the aim of embarrassing the person asking it. Aaron Cavon narrated that people were always surprised when he refused to answer the question since it irritated him. People in Toronto felt offended when they were constantly asked about their racial background (Fanon, 2008, p. 35). Lawrence Hill finds the question of his origin offensive because it makes a false assumption about the identity of black and mixed race people. The race is used as a factor to base their identity. He records that when he gets up in the morning, he does not consider whether he is black and carries on his activities normally. He cares less of the whiteness and blackness within him which the society reflects back at him. Lawrence Hill feels that interrogating someone especially a stranger of their identity is very wrong (Lawrence, 2001, p. 23). One vivid experience I encountered was when I was in an exchange program in one of the universities in the United States. Every student was curious to know of the country that I came from since I looked different from them. The questions ranged from who my parents were to what their origin was. I was asked this many times that it offended me. I wondered how my origin mattered to them. Just like Hill, I feel that it is the high time that people stop questioning people about their race and appreciate them regardless of their colour or origin. Conclusion Personally, I find the question about my origin offensive just like Hill. It is wrong to judge people based on their race because it most often leads to discrimination. It is not edifying at all since it makes a person feel alone in a strange country where people are of a different race. It feels offensive when people bombard you with questions about your race instead of being hospitable. References Fanon, F. (2008). Black skin, white masks. Grove Press. Hacker, A. (2010). Two Nations: Black and White, separate, hostile, unequal. Simon andSchuster. Lawrence, H. (2001). On being white or black in Canada. Canada: HarperCollins Publishers. McKinnon, B., Yang, S., Kramer, M. S., Bushnik, T., Sheppard, A. J., Kaufman, J. S. (2016). Comparison of blackwhite disparities in preterm birth between Canada and the United States. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 188(1), E19-E26. Ramraj, C., Shahidi, F. V., Darity, W., Kawachi, I., Zuberi, D., Siddiqi, A. (2016). Equally Inequitable? A cross-national comparative study of racial health inequalities in the United States and Canada. Social Science Medicine, 161, 19-26. Veenstra, G., Patterson, A. C. (2016). BlackWhite Health Inequalities in Canada. Journal Of Immigrant and Minority Health, 18(1), 51-57.