It is offensive that Canadians should be implicitly labeled racistsfor upholding democratic ideals over willfully blind multiculturalism.
Now that its battle on free speech issues with certain Human RightsCommissions is settled, you’d think Maclean’s magazine would be thelast to accuse anyone of thought crimes.
Maybe it’s a delayed case of Stockholm Syndrome, but a Maclean’spoll-based feature story in the May 4 issue, “Divided by religion: WhatCanadians think of Sikhs, Jews, Christians, Muslims…,” reads asthough conceived and interpreted by the very HRCs that harassed themagazine.
Like the HRCs, the article assigns a pre-emptive judgment of racismarising from opinions rather than any actual racist speech or acts:Readers are informed at the outset that Canadians hold “deeplytroubling biases” because fewer than one in three Canadians “can findit in their hearts” to view Islam or Sikhism in a positive light.
This Angus Reid poll, a survey of only 1,002 randomly selectedCanadians, does not seek to offer a disinterested overview ofCanadians’ views on religions other than their own. Rather it is aforegone conclusion cloaked in the respectability of scientificmethodology, “proving” that Canada is a racist society.
Through selection bias the poll reveals what “we” think, but notwhat “they” think. It permits “old stock” Canadians (Christians orCanadians of Christian heritage) to be held up for public shaming. Butthe views of specific minority groups such as Muslims, Sikhs and Tamils— who might have revealed themselves to be insufficiently celebratoryof religious diversity — are spared public exposure.