All good points, regarding institutional racism, and the casual racism of language, the racial nature of the dispensation of justice, and the enforcement of poverty by reason of race and ethnicity.

And it is very true, that those of us that could hide our ethnicity have had the historical advantage, however shameful a betrayal of our parents that must have felt at one time or another.

The tendencies of humans as a species to declare the Outsider, the one who is different in appearance, speech, culture, as inferior or bad seems to be deeply rooted in prehistory. There has to be a way to start with young children and teach them that suspicion of those who are different is wrong, no matter how instinctive it may be. We rise above other instincts. There has to be a determination to make sure our leaders and politicians know that we will not accept their pandering to such prejudices, that such tactics will not win them votes or power.

I see such tactics used with success far too often, sometimes over the most trivial of differences, let alone visible ones - how many times over the years has some Alberta or British Columbia or Ontario politician used the job-seeking immigration from other provinces in the same 'enlightened' country of Atlantic Canadians as an example of a 'problem' he will address? It should disgust us all.