Canadian Residential Schools

The first shame I ever felt as a Canadian related to learning of (and then reading voraciously about) Canada's treatment of our own citizens (and otherwise) through the establishment of interment camps for Canadians of Japanese descent and Japanese nationals who were making Canada their home when Japan entered WWII. Simply, we collectively robbed people of their possessions (homes, businesses, property), split up families and stuck 'em in prisoner of war camps in the name of national security.

I bring that up, as a shame of wider (not greater, for shame is surely not comparative in determining depth ) scope was certainly ignored, other than some minor history text acknowledgment of the existence of Canada's system of residential schools for Native Canadians. our aboriginal peoples, until relatively recently. Simply, we dragged children (in great numbers) from their parents in order to civilize them, beat them out of their beliefs and languages, bugger them, diddle them, and kill them (in great numbers) and bury them, many in unmarked graves. Oh, we didn't forget to make them eat their own shit when they were bad (bad meant weeping for their lost families or speaking their native language) It was a nice collaborative effort too -- organized by governments; operationalized by the sadistic churches and an unimaginative bureaucracy.

The kicking and screaming and defensive nature of governments and their henchmen in this mess, Christian churches in this country, has only added to the shame as the tragedy gets more light and begins to focus on the victims not the process or fiscal implications of the nightmare. The most pathetic irony is most certainly church cries that to pay (more, or adequate) compensation will bankrupt the churches. Sounds good to me. Government should consider that to raise dollars for its paltry court ordered compensation levels it could always begin to tax the churches and apply those monies....

Anyway, these pictured protesters are at a United Church of Canada franchise at Queen & Jarvis streets on Sunday. They were asked to leave the church, they asked to speak to parishioners during the service and were refused, they left the church and the cops were called.

This is not about guilt, btw. I feel no guilt about the crimes committed against Aboriginal Canadians. I do, as a citizen of this country however, assume my responsibility in wanting and advocating for justice to be done, punishment meted out, and (real) compensation paid.