ROTHENBURGER – Would you jump in to stop someone’s racist tirade?
(Image: Facebook)
HAVE YOU EVER been in a convenience store or a restaurant and heard people speaking in a foreign language?
Did it bother you? It bothers the hell out of some people, who believe that when someone is in an English-speaking part of the country, they should speak English, no matter what their background.
A video surfaced this week of a woman in a Shoppers Drug Mart in Burnaby berating at length a couple of clerks she said were speaking Chinese and should be speaking English.
“Speak English in Canada,” she yelled.
Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and newspaper editor. He writes five commentaries a week for CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
Some people just speak their mind when they see loutish behaviour. Recently, at a local deli two burley men in a hurry, without using thongs or gloves started grabbing buns out of a basket and stuffed them into a bag. A woman customer just unleashed on one of them with “its disgusting grabbing the buns with your dirty hands. Have some respect for others who might want to purchase some bun without your dirt on them.” . The man just slinked away trying to hide in a crowd of shoppers.. The woman, without batting an eye, and as if nothing had happened, turned to a lady behind her and said, “my that is a lovely fragrance that you are wearing, what is it?” One of the men that was scolded turned and said to her, “you are such a busy-body”.. She responded, “there is a reason for the thongs next time use them”.
Fear stops people from speaking truth to power because of uncertainty how power will respond. “Oops, sorry.” would have gone a long way to defuse the situation in the deli Still, exposing one’s failings after getting caught is not a signature move of a bully its more like a punch in the head .It’s rare in life that an outburst to defend someone has a clear beginning, a middle, and an end. I would hope that others are paying attention and that would make a difference with them, but never with a bully unless someone stands up to him/her..
Those who see themselves as non-migrant obviously haven’t been following their ancestry. Should we tolerate their outbursts? No! Otherwise, in the near future, as migration for all sorts of national,international and environmental reasons increases, we’ll have to listen as their screams reach a crescendo. Let’s nip this trend in the bud.