Who Am I?
Had an interesting thought come across me yet again, it happens sometime so I just go with it. I know that there are some titles and labels that we, as people, get which is just a regular thing that is accordance with society. As a human race we don't seem to be comfortable unless we can class and name something. If we could just let things be as they were, we wouldnt have developed languages and named things to make it easier to talk to other humans. Though boring as the life would be (Imagine meeting up with someone smiling and then not being able to talk since you couldnt say "so, where have you been?" because the person couldnt give you the response "down by the river" since there is no name for river (location) or down (direction)) it would be easier in other areas.
For instance, how do you classify a person or human? there are some set rules that will apply that you can definitly say about a person. That person is white, or that person is black is a pretty simple classification. No grey area in that one. You are white, you are white. You are black, you are black. Not like someone can be born white but then all of a sudden take an oath and become black (though many many MANY white rappers have tried, they are still white and just damn foolish looking*G*). But then what about asian, Inuit or any other racial background? by birth, that is what you are. If your parents were chinese, then there is definite possibility that you are going to be chinese by birth. If your mom/father was caucasian and your father/mother was native, then you are going to be metis. No two ways about it. You can not have a native mother, caucasian father, be born Metis and then move to china, swear on a book before the gov't and viola you are now chinese. Not going to happen. So, in the end, there is a classification that is set in stone, your blood.
But, then what about allegiances and where you live? I am Canadian and some people have asked what it means to be Canadian. Recently there has been some uproar in the papers about the 17 people that were arrested in Toronto for conspiracy for terrorist planning and plotting. All of the 17 individuals (ranging from 2 youths to 15 adults between the ages of 21 and 43) were muslim. One of the individuals who is in the early 20's is described by the media as having been born in Egypt but having moved to Canada with his parents when he was 4 years old. They are all being called Canadians. Now, I know that I am Canadian and people have asked me what it means to be a Canadian. I try to put it into words but I dont think that it is possible. The best way that I have been able to explain it to myself is that "being Canadian is like being rich...you cant tell people that you are rich, you only know that you are rich" After all, a person could own $5 billion dollars worth of items with another billion in the bank but without family he may feel lost, lonely and poor, whereas others with the same place may feel rich and fulfilled; a man with $10,000 in debt and nothing to his name but has a family that loves him may feel like the richest man in the world but another in the same boat may look at his family and call them money sucking leeches for making him so poor. So, in the end, you can only tell what you are by what you feel. By no means does that mean that this is restricted totally to Canadians. A person born in Egypt that moved to Germany could call himself a German if he feels like he is German. Any nationality can become any other nationality just by feeling that nationality.
But then by feeling does that mean by acting against that nationality you stop being that nationality? Does the piece of paper saying "Canadian Citizen" stop being valid and make me no more of a canadian if I go against Canada for some reason? That boy that was born in Egypt and moved here to get his Canadian papers, does his action of obtaining terrorist material make him no longer a Canadian but now make him an Egpytian again? and, no I dont think I am being extreme in saying 'terrorist material' considering that the 17 individuals had among them 3 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate (a common fertilizer that when mixed with diesel fuel becomes a powerful explosive) considering that the bombing in the States a few years ago that destroyed a building and killed 187 people was only one tonne of the stuff. So, while 3 tonnes does not necessarily mean an increase in people death (since a nuke bomb detonated over an abandoned island may kill only 2 people who happened to be lost there, but a grenade tossed into a busy fairground could kill 20 people) it does mean that it would increase property damage to buildings 3 fold. Now, this guys papers say "Canadian" but he was engaged in an activity that would hurt Canada, so is he no longer a Canadian but a terrorist? of course he is a criminal for breaking the law. But is he a Canadian criminal or a (select a terrorist nationality of your choice) terrorist?
and, of course, with the court proceedings and the peoples religion and race coming into play, there have been attacks on religious buildings and people in the last couple of days. Now, that would say to me that the people doing the attacking have made up their minds and say that these people are not Canadians but in fact are, what, Egyptian, muslim? after all, if the people doing the attacking were attacking those places and people that the criminals were, then wouldnt they be attacking other caucasian canadians? or perhaps what they are doing is attacking the subgroup catagory...after all, a muslim canadian is as much a canadian as a greek canadian right? the people doing the vandalizing are therefore just picking the half of the label that is common to their anger. Luckily we cant have more than those two labels right? imagine the confusion in some poor persons face when he is attacked for being a Muslim Greek Canadian. Or would the fact that he has more different titles (greek canadian) than like titles (muslim) save him from the beating?
Though, when it comes to me, I am afraid that I dont have any other title but the simple Canadian. My ancestory ranges as far and diverse as any. I have a bit of blood from every single country in Europe. You could say that I am European Canadian but since I have pretty much no ties in language, religion, relatives or culture to any specific European country, I am simply just a Canadian. So, I guess when I think of it, that is who I am...I am I, the I that I wanted to be and the I that I will remain for a long time to come. Just wish that we all could be I's and not 'thems' or 'those people' or 'us' or 'we'. Think that would solve a lot of hurt, anger and hatred, dont you?
For instance, how do you classify a person or human? there are some set rules that will apply that you can definitly say about a person. That person is white, or that person is black is a pretty simple classification. No grey area in that one. You are white, you are white. You are black, you are black. Not like someone can be born white but then all of a sudden take an oath and become black (though many many MANY white rappers have tried, they are still white and just damn foolish looking*G*). But then what about asian, Inuit or any other racial background? by birth, that is what you are. If your parents were chinese, then there is definite possibility that you are going to be chinese by birth. If your mom/father was caucasian and your father/mother was native, then you are going to be metis. No two ways about it. You can not have a native mother, caucasian father, be born Metis and then move to china, swear on a book before the gov't and viola you are now chinese. Not going to happen. So, in the end, there is a classification that is set in stone, your blood.
But, then what about allegiances and where you live? I am Canadian and some people have asked what it means to be Canadian. Recently there has been some uproar in the papers about the 17 people that were arrested in Toronto for conspiracy for terrorist planning and plotting. All of the 17 individuals (ranging from 2 youths to 15 adults between the ages of 21 and 43) were muslim. One of the individuals who is in the early 20's is described by the media as having been born in Egypt but having moved to Canada with his parents when he was 4 years old. They are all being called Canadians. Now, I know that I am Canadian and people have asked me what it means to be a Canadian. I try to put it into words but I dont think that it is possible. The best way that I have been able to explain it to myself is that "being Canadian is like being rich...you cant tell people that you are rich, you only know that you are rich" After all, a person could own $5 billion dollars worth of items with another billion in the bank but without family he may feel lost, lonely and poor, whereas others with the same place may feel rich and fulfilled; a man with $10,000 in debt and nothing to his name but has a family that loves him may feel like the richest man in the world but another in the same boat may look at his family and call them money sucking leeches for making him so poor. So, in the end, you can only tell what you are by what you feel. By no means does that mean that this is restricted totally to Canadians. A person born in Egypt that moved to Germany could call himself a German if he feels like he is German. Any nationality can become any other nationality just by feeling that nationality.
But then by feeling does that mean by acting against that nationality you stop being that nationality? Does the piece of paper saying "Canadian Citizen" stop being valid and make me no more of a canadian if I go against Canada for some reason? That boy that was born in Egypt and moved here to get his Canadian papers, does his action of obtaining terrorist material make him no longer a Canadian but now make him an Egpytian again? and, no I dont think I am being extreme in saying 'terrorist material' considering that the 17 individuals had among them 3 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate (a common fertilizer that when mixed with diesel fuel becomes a powerful explosive) considering that the bombing in the States a few years ago that destroyed a building and killed 187 people was only one tonne of the stuff. So, while 3 tonnes does not necessarily mean an increase in people death (since a nuke bomb detonated over an abandoned island may kill only 2 people who happened to be lost there, but a grenade tossed into a busy fairground could kill 20 people) it does mean that it would increase property damage to buildings 3 fold. Now, this guys papers say "Canadian" but he was engaged in an activity that would hurt Canada, so is he no longer a Canadian but a terrorist? of course he is a criminal for breaking the law. But is he a Canadian criminal or a (select a terrorist nationality of your choice) terrorist?
and, of course, with the court proceedings and the peoples religion and race coming into play, there have been attacks on religious buildings and people in the last couple of days. Now, that would say to me that the people doing the attacking have made up their minds and say that these people are not Canadians but in fact are, what, Egyptian, muslim? after all, if the people doing the attacking were attacking those places and people that the criminals were, then wouldnt they be attacking other caucasian canadians? or perhaps what they are doing is attacking the subgroup catagory...after all, a muslim canadian is as much a canadian as a greek canadian right? the people doing the vandalizing are therefore just picking the half of the label that is common to their anger. Luckily we cant have more than those two labels right? imagine the confusion in some poor persons face when he is attacked for being a Muslim Greek Canadian. Or would the fact that he has more different titles (greek canadian) than like titles (muslim) save him from the beating?
Though, when it comes to me, I am afraid that I dont have any other title but the simple Canadian. My ancestory ranges as far and diverse as any. I have a bit of blood from every single country in Europe. You could say that I am European Canadian but since I have pretty much no ties in language, religion, relatives or culture to any specific European country, I am simply just a Canadian. So, I guess when I think of it, that is who I am...I am I, the I that I wanted to be and the I that I will remain for a long time to come. Just wish that we all could be I's and not 'thems' or 'those people' or 'us' or 'we'. Think that would solve a lot of hurt, anger and hatred, dont you?
posted by Capt_Canuck at 2:04 PM
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