The above photos courtesy of Danny Ponomar at http://www.dapo.ca/



Monday, March 30, 2009

Unedited Reader Comment - Racism in Lethbridge

I was asked to post this message and am happy to. I also assumed you wanted to remain anonymous and did not give you credit for the letter. I also I have no idea who you are. I do not agree or disagree with any of the following:



"The letter that I sent you was in response to the article in the Herald last week about the protest ralley to end Racism in Lethbridge"


"Hi, I drive for one of the other companies and was wondering if you could post this on your blog. It was a letter to the editor that I had written. But since it don't praise the XXXXXX , it will never get printed.

I am also afraid that this could cause some real tension between the XXXXXX and XXXXXX, but I believe it needs to be said.

Thanks and I also love your work, people need to open their eyes and see what this town is really like. It is far from the nice sweet innocent Mormon town that people think it is.

The People of Lethbridge are NOT Racist...

I have driven cab in this town for quite a few years and I have to say, racism is not the problem. The problem lies with a select a select number of the population of this town that are crack heads and drunken bums. This unfortunately shows the XXXXXX population as being in majority. Unfortunately, this attracts negative attention towards the good natives of Lethbridge and makes it ten times as hard for them to support their families and raise their kids. These members of the XXXXXX society should be commended for the roles they play. It is not easy having to live thinking everyone is watching you to make sure you don’t steal, or whatever.

I want to focus on the other side of the fence. People are good or bad. We should not paint any race with one brush. However, it seems that there is quite a number of XXXXXX in this town that have 0 respect for themselves, yet alone others which are not of their own ethnic background. For some reason there is a growing number of people (which seem to be primarily XXXXXX) that are commiting crimes such as; theft, physical violence and yes, I will say it RACEISM TOWARDS XXXXXX. Most of the crimes you hear of around here are perpetrated by XXXXXX persons. Whenever you read the court pages in the paper you see that most of the defendants are of XXXXXX decent. Most of the time you see drunks passes out in the parks, storefronts and malls, they are usually XXXXXX. 9 out of 10 times that I have been ripped off in my cab it has been by a XXXXXX person that knowingly don’t have any money to pay for my services, but they take the trip any way. These are the reasons why XXXXXX seem to get signaled out. They find it hard to find affordable housing because that landlord has had XXXXXX living in their apartments before and have found them to be destroyed after several months, to the point of being condemned. These are the true reasons why the XXXXXX are being signaled out. I admit, I get concerned when I pick up XXXXXX customers, because I am afraid of not getting paid. I hate myself for feeling this way, but as previously mentioned, most of my nonpaying customers are XXXXXX.

I have also had XXXXXX in the car that say they hate XXXXXX, and enjoy committing injustices against XXXXXX. They see it as we owe them. Sorry, I never took your land. I moved here from the East.

Yes, there were many horrible injustices committed to a once proud nation, and these should never be forgotten. Now for the, butt! This happened hundreds of years ago. So, don’t blame the great grand kids for what their forefathers did. Let’s try and live together, and help one another.

I do not hate XXXXXX, however I hate the XXXXXX that are a drain on society. If all they want to do is get drunk or stoned, then go back to the Reserve and do it. However, if you wish to be a contributing member of this fine city, then welcome my friend how can we help you.

I have had friends, co workers and employers from every walk of live, and I can say that I have nothing short of the utmost respect for them. It is not easy to leave their families, friends and even their own kids behind to come to Canada and make a better life for themselves. I believe these people deserve our utmost respect. It is the dregs of our society that I believe should be sent on a one way trip to an abandoned island and left to fend for themselves."

A Taxi Driver

4 comments:

Unknown said...

That was a very honest letter. Not to say that I agree with every point. I have more to comment as soon as I have the chance.

Unknown said...

I have read your message to me, a few times, and I have a response for you.

I believe your message was truthful and accurate. I also believe your message was full of racism. Perhaps you have become accustomed to native people ripping you off or committing crimes, sometimes against you.

I have equally been ripped ripped off by natives and white people. Perhaps I am able to recognize a bad trip and have not been ripped off by natives as much as you have, but I doubt that because you have been driving for much longer than I have.

I really am not quite sure how to respond to your letter. You say that Lethbridge is not racist, although within the letter you sent you are somewhat/very racist yourself.

Of course neither you or I want to admit it but I believe that most white people in Lethbridge are racist towards natives.

It only takes one negative experience.

I grew up in a multicultural community and have had and still have friends that are Hindi, muslin, black, Chinese, etc. After becoming a cab driver in Lethbridge I honestly believe that has caused me to become prejudice and even racist towards certain natives.

I have had a few drinks tonight and normally I do not speak about this issue. I agree with you that it is mostly the select few natives that do not give a shit about themselves that portray a negative image about their race.

In conclusion I have to disagree with you that there is not racism in Lethbridge towards the native population. Most people that I speak with are racist towards natives.

I am saddened that I live in a community where racism against natives is abundant.

Also I have no idea who you are and that is OK with me.


D

Anonymous said...

The cab driver bashing natives. By the way he is a crack user and pill popper and drinker.

Anonymous said...

Marcel Trinkaus stays at the Lethbridge Shelter.
I know because I am there as well but doesn't look like he might be staying there much longer.
Due to him posting something he wasn't.
So if anyone wants to beat him down that's a good place to start.

Comments

All comments are welcomed.


I will only delete comments that are spam/advertising or comments that are not written in English.