There is a satisfying feeling we seek when we look at the worst of us and say "that is not me."
A video of a woman from British Columbia on a racist tirade against a group of men in Lethbridge went viral this past week. In this video, she told these men to go back to their country and questioned whether they paid taxes.
Politicians of all stripes waded in to say how her words did not represent Canada or Alberta. Social media was filled with similar commentary.
I too believe she does not represent me or Canadian values. But I wonder about the value of our collective self-protective instinct.
The viewpoints she espouses are alive and well throughout Alberta and Canada. The amount of vitriol over Canada's efforts in Syrian refugee crisis is a strong example of this. That did not just go away.
At times like this, I fear our rush to defend ourselves can cause us to avoid the critical thought we need to make progress. We need to reflect on what the existence of these racist views say about our society today. We need to reflect on how we can better foster acceptance and avoid the dog whistle politics that feeds these viewpoints.
It is easy as a white person, shielded by one's skin, to pretend our country is close to a flawless bastion of racial acceptance. But the reality is we have a long way to go to get there.
