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WOMEN'S CENTRE ANNUALGENERAL MEETING-: Mar 27, 5pm.

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'TOWARDS EQUITY IN GLOBALHEALTH: Palliative Care, HIV & Ethics'in International . Health. Conference bystudents from the Faculty of Medicine.Friday, March 21, 6:30-10:30pm @Chan Auditorium (28th & Oak), Wine& cheese to follow. No fee. Contactjraudzusgthotmadocorn orknovak@interchange.ube.ca to register.-

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There's a rockHigh aboveOn the edgeOf a cliffQuite smallIt sits unnoticedBy the peopleFar below.BatteredBy the windAnd the rainAnd the snowIt teetersBarely balancedAlmost rolling.Almost fallingOff the edgeTo destructionOn the groundFar below:`What holds itUp from slippingUp from slidingOff the edge?A speck of sandA dab of dirtScarcely stoppingBarely blockingYet securingIt from tumblingOff the edge.Would you noticeIf it lost ,itIf it fell of

-To its. end?Would you cardIf you saw it?Would you save it?Would you stop it?Would it matterIf it slid offAnd it fell offFor forever?It is just a, rockOn the edgeOf a cliff.

by Gitatijali Ko1,4,t‘4,1

e4e,Mact.14.6a044

by A.K. Sharma

The tractor and the wind have madepure sweat become a suspension of

sulphur particles, dust and leafof timothy grass —

things that don't belong on thismotah larkha who doesn't belong on this

British Leland Massey-Ferguson farm equipment,on the grass that doesn't belong to

The Italian farmer who has the title toa quarter section of God's Country

are welcome.

It's standing right there by the sofaIt's lumbering on down the hallIt's huge and it's rude and it's standing right thereBut no one will say that it's true.

It steps on your toes by the doormatIt throws the dishes all over the roomIt falls down the stairs and nobody caresBut no one will say that it's there.

It's always at family gatheringsIt makes no attempt to hideContently it sits right in our midstAs we drown it out with our noise.

I guess it could be kind of funnyIn a way that makes me cry.They all sit with a sheet over itAnd try to eat crumpets and pie

The teapot is spillingThe china is crackedYet they deny that it's there and /augh without care„As hysteria joins them for tea

Watching it destroy all their livesAnd sitting'comfortably byMakes nee want to scream and shatter the dreamThat's trapped them all here in this lie.

.They say' I'm crazy,. I'm nuts.Because I no longer visit for tea .But I cannot stand to be ripped in halfAnd have my head crushed from inside.

a mirroiis insufficient and an out-of-,body experience wouldn't have the same scope as

in the shower, against the white ceramic tiles

my hand rests .„Anda smile blossoms when I see my

clean skin is the samecolour

as' . -

dirt.

by Amy McLacklan

FILMICED IN BLACK BC Gas-trans Mountain Pipe LineCinema at SFU Friday, March 21

The Iced in Black film festival features .up-and-corning Canadian Filmmakers whose work is ded-icated to portraying the Black' CanadianExperience.

National Films Board's Reel DiversityCompetitionSubmission Deadline, April 04

The NFB is awarding a total of $1 million in fund-ing to the winners of the Reel DiversityCompetition. The filmmaking competition is tar-geted towards emerging filmmakers of colour.$20,000 will be awarded to one winner from eachregion in Canada: BC, Western, Ontario, Quebecand the Atlantic. The money will be put towardsthe funding of a 40 minute NFB documentary,which will be later televised. For more informationgo to www.nib.ca/reeldiversity. 0

Ujjal Dosanrn on Racism in The MootCourtroom at UBC's Curtis Law BuildingWednesday, March 26 at 12:30pm

BC's Former Premier will be speaking on'Racism: Global Implications, LocalAction: sponsored by the UBC EquityOffice, in support of the International Dayfor the Elimination of RacialDiscrimination.

Check our 'tween classes andWeekend listings every Tuesdayand Friday E-mail submissionsto production @ ubyssey.bc.ca

FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2003VOLUME 84 ISSUE 44

1\ALI•c.

.;\ Glbyssey

/"Zia-t/..kv ptcc-e-cee,EDITORIAL BOARD

SPECIAL ISSUE -COORDINATORS

Tejas EwingJohn Hua

ACTINGCOORDINATING EDITOR

Nic Fensom

NEWS EDITORSKathleen DeeringChris Shepherd

CULTURE EDITORMichael Schwandt

SPORTS EDITORSarah Conchie

FEATURES/NATIONAL EDITORDuncan M. McHugh

COPY EDITORAnna King

PHOTO EDITORNic Fensom

PRODUCTION MANAGERHywel Tuscano

COORDINATORSVOLUNTEERSJesse Marchand

RESEARCH/LETTERSParminder Nizher

The Ubyssey is the official student newspaper of the University'ofBritish Columbia. If is published every Tuesday and Friday by TheUbyssey Publications SocietyWe are an autonomous, democratically run student organisation,and all students are encouraged to partitipate.Editorials are chosen and written by the Ubysseystaff. They are theexpressed opinion of the staff, and do not necessarily reflect theviews of The Ubyssey Publications Society or the University ofBritish Columbia.The Ubyssey is a founding member of Canadian University Press(CUP) and adheres to Cu p 's guiding principles.All editorial content appearing in The Ubyssey is the property of TheUbyssey Publications Society. Stories, opinions, 'photographs andartwork contained herein cannot be reproduced without theexpressed, written permission of The Ubyssey Publications SocietyLetters to the editor must be under 300 words. Please include yourphone number, student number and signature (not for publication)as well as your year and faculty with all submissions. ID will bechecked when submissions are dropped off at the editorial office ofThe Ubyssey, otherwise verification will be done by phone."Perspectives" are opinion pieces over 300 words but under 750words and are run according to space"Freestyles" are opinion pieces written by llyssc . , staff members.Priority will be given to letters and perspectives over freestyfesunless the latter is time sensitive, Opinion pieces will not be rununtil the identity of the writer has been verified.It is agreed by all persons placing display or classified advertisingthat if the Ubyssey Publications Society fails to publish an adver-tisement or if an error in the ad occurs the liability of the UPS willnot be greater than the price paid for the ad. The UPS shaft not beresponsible for slight changes or typographical errors that do notlessen the value or the impact of the ad.

EDITORIAL OFFICERoom 24, Student Union Building6138 Student Union Boulevard

Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1tel: 604-822-2301fax: 604-822-9279

web: www.ubyssey.bc.cae-mail: feedback@ubyssey.bc.ca

BUSINESS OFFICERoom 23, Student Union Building

advertising: 604-822.1654business office: 604-822-6681

fax: 604-822-1658e-mail: advertising@ubyssey.bc.ca

BUSINESS MANAGERFernie Pereira

AD SALESKaren Leung

AD DESIGNShalene Takara

Dear Dennis W. Visser. Tam having trouble with my john Hue.I know he doesn't love me anymore and is cheating on me withDuncan M. McHugh and Parminder Nizher. What should I do.Signed, a brokenhearted-lover, Aman Sharma. Dear broken-hearted lover, I feel your pain. My Anna King once went on anall night crazy binge and ended up in seedy hotel with MichaelSchwandt, Dave Gaertner, Tim Shand and Jesse Marchand.Sometimes you just have to let go of yo. Chris Shepherd andstart looking for a new Gina Pam. But then again an AnnieThompson or a Hywel T.cano is always nice. But before youmove an try making your Jana Holbrook feel jealous by lettingher see you with a Kathleen Deering or two. Then move on.Closure from your Tejes Ewing or NM Fensom is the mostimportant thing. Anger is good for people like Kate Hamm butyou must let is go to be a truly happy Lori Charvat My sincerestwishes for yon- future, love Sarah Conchie.

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As Special Issue coordinators for this year'sColours Issue, we were faced with an array of pos-sible themes to choose from. Released specificallyon the International Day for the Elimination ofRacial Discrimination, we decided this year'sissue should have a widely focussed ldirectiontowards the elimination of racism and discrimi-nation. A key element in the battle against theseproblems is acceptance at every level. Not onlymust we accept the cultures of others, but also ourown.

For this year's Colours Issue, we chose thetheme of 'finding your roots.' With that in mind,our contributing writers were able to learn aboutthemselves and their roots, through writing high-ly personal pieces. However, we hope that readerswill gain an appreciation of all cultures, by con-sidering the stories and the processes that wentinto writing them. This is our way of bringing

Unity indiversity: A

culturalkaleidoscope

Here we are again, winding down the winteruniversity year and winding up for ,the annualFESTIVA event. FESTIVA, the most popularmulticultural festival on campus, is known forits wonderfully diverse international food, glob-al displays, interactive workshops, cultural per-formances and dance party.

Organised by International House and ateam of enthusiastic volunteers (between 50and 75 people offer to help annually), FESTIVApromises to be the biggest UBC multiculturalcelebration of the year. This year's theme is'Unity in Diversity: A Cultural Kaleidoscope,'and was chosen by the FESTIVA SteeringCommittee for its message of appreciation foreach other's cultural differences. As Winnie L.Cheung, the executive director of InternationalHouse, says, 'I have heard from so many stu-dents every year, no matter which culturalbackground they come from, that FESTIVA issuch a joyful occasion, winch reassures themthat they don't have to be someone else to feelthey belong.'

She would know, as someone who has wit-nessed the unity demonstrated by UBC'sdiverse community year after year since thefirst FESTIVA was dreamed up by a group ofstudents and staff at International House in1992.

Each year since its inception, FESTIVA hasaimed to build a sense of multicultural commu-nity, foster student leadership and encourageinter-cultural partnerships. Everyone L-stu-dents, faculty and the broader community—isencouraged to come out and participate in anyway they would like. Each year the 400 FESTI-VA tickets sell out and the event is packed. Thisyear International House and the GraduateStudent Society have joined forces to prepareand host the event. Tickets can be purchased atboth places.

A lot of work is going into FESTIVA by a lotof volunteers who have been involved in the..event previously, or want to become a part ofthe team for the first time. Joydeep Sengupta,chair of FESTIVA 2003, has a unique reason tobe involved in the planning this year. "FESTI-VA has enriched my grad life at UBC

he says. 'The event provided me withample opportunities to meet people from sev-eral countries and cultures, and most impor-

acceptance to the forefront, because all the storieschallenge racial discrimination from the past,present and future.

One might notice that there are only a fewpieces that touch on one of Canada's greatestfaults, the maltreatment of First Nations people.We highly regret that this matter was not fullyaddressed. We didn't do enough to solicit piecesfrom the Aboriginal community on campus, andwe deeply regret this omission. It is our responsi-bility to seek out contributions from a multitude ofvoices, in order to create acceptance for people ofall colours.

Today, these issues are even more importantThe world is facing a war, partly between culturesand beliefs. Paranoia and bigotry follow closely atthe heels of any conflict, threatening the progressthat we have made towards cultural acceptance. Itis important to keep an open mind when boin-

tent of all, it got me connected with the vibrantmulticultural campus life that exists in UBC.'

So come out this year on March 26 and expe-rience the kaleidoscope of cultures for yourself.Each FESTIVA is unique, but the one thing thatremains the same is the energy and vibrancy ofthe DEC community canting together to cele-brate their diversity, -

FESTIVA 2003Unity in Diversity: A Kaleidoscope of

CulturesWhat: --An annual party celebrating the cultural

richness on our campus .-Multicultural performances (songs, poetry,

drama, dance, martial arts) and displays

barded by stereotypes and difficult decisions. Wehope that this issue will allow people to do that

We are fully aware that the conflict in Iraq is oneveryone's mind, overshadowing the positiveimpact that was meant to be achieved on this day.In that sense, we have purposely avoided piecesthat are directly related to racism resulting fromwar. Before we can address these issues, we mustaddress racism on a very basic level. Racism anddiscrimination are problems that affect everyoneon a regular basis, and it should not take a war tobring this to our attention.

Finding comfort with our ethnicities and thoseof others will equip us with the open mindednessneeded to accept each other equally as humanbeings. With this appreciation for all cultural back-grounds, we can deal with the inevitable conse-quences ofwar in the fight against racism and dis-crimination. 0

-International Food Court sampling booths-Great music and dancingWhy:-To promote multiculturalism, provide lead-

ership opportunities and build a sense of com-munity

Where and When:-March 26th, 2003, 5-7pm, International

Food Festival and displays at InternationalHouse

-7-9pm Performances at the GraduateStudent Centre

-9-12pm Dance PartyBuy your tickets at International House or at

the Graduate Student Centre (tickets are5.00/person), 0

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SEAN PAULDotty Rock[VIP Records]

Lo and behold, on the week thatour multicultural issue comes out,four perfectly suited CDs cross mypath. I started with Sean PaulHenriques, a part Portuguese, partChinese (but fully Jamaican)dancehall reggae deejay (which issimilar to an MC over here) whohas become a true crossover hit. Ihave listened to other Jamaicandeejays, such as Beenie- Man andBounty Killer, and Sean Paul is aslegit as it gets. What's interestingis that in the, past his multi-racialbackground and appearance madeit hard- to get respect, despite thefact that he grew up in Jamaicaand has lived there most of hislife. Sean Paul grew up known tohis friends as the 'copper-colour_Chiney bwoy,' and looking at theCD liner notes I can see why. Theguy looks about as Jamaican asJackie Chan:' r ' -

Because of the difficulties hefaced, he is one of the later dee-jays to hit North America. But,while Beenie Man is singing withJanet Jackson, and Bounty Killer isin No Doubt's "Hey Baby,' SeanPaul is keeping things true to hisJamaican roots. The CD itselfreflects this by not compromisingon the true dancehall sound. Themusic is not filtered for Westerntastes, nor is Sean Paul's accentand slang cleaned , up to make itMore easily understandable toWestern ears. The title of thealbum itself, Duty Rock, repre-sents a phonetic translation ofhow Sean Paul says 'dirty rock.'The authenticity continues intothe lyrics in the liner notes, ofwhich I'll provide you a -sample:"Unu fi listen to the lyrics 'pon deriddim weh we state up...if youlove how we sound let me see youhand dem wave up.' That's prettymuch what you can expect fromhis music, which sounds great.The lyrics flow smooth as butter,and the beats are catchier than thehip-hop that's sweeping the air-waves these days. What's more,you won't hear stuff like this everyday on the radio.

SNOWTwo hands clapping[EMI]

After hearing Sean Paul, I wasready to instantly dismiss Snow as

a wannabe joke. However, Ithought back to the discriminationthat Sean Paul himself had faced,and I vowed to keep an openmind. I'm glad I did so because Ifound a lot to appreciate in Snow'snew CD Two Hands Clapping.Doing a bit of research on DarrinO'Brien, I found that our ownIrish-Canadian reggae star has asmuch credibility as anyone. A lotof dancehall deejaying involvesthe same one-upmanship, self-aggrandisement and glorificationof toughness as hip-hop. MCing.And Snow has the real-life experi-ence to back up any song. Howmany other performers have beento jail? Not Eminem, that's forsure. How many grew up in a realghetto, in a tough city, surroundedby the people whose music theywould go on to emulate? NotVanilla Ice, that's for sure. Snowpaid his dues and was accepted bythe Jamaicans in his neighbour-hood. Eminem got a movie madefor doing the same thing, but allSnow gets is derision. And to top itall off, Snow has the record for thebiggest selling reggae single andthe highest charting reggae singlein history for his excellent song'Informer.'

There's a lot to respect aboutthis guy, and I felt that the CD borethat out. The songs are catchy andfresh, with a real dancehall feel tothem, including some songs pro-duced by Tony Kelly, who alsoworked with Sean Paul and BeenieMan. Yes, I admit, some of thesongs are' 'We'sternised;' but Snowis proud of that:saying it reflectshis multicultural roots in Toronto.There is rap, reggae, R&B, andpure pop mixed into this album,and it doesn't feel truly original,because of those mainstream ele-ments. However, when he wantsto, Snow can mix it up lyricallywith the best of them, to the pointwhere it's easy to stop thinkingabout his skin colour—and that'sthe point, isn't it?

ASIAN DUB FOUNDATIONEnemy of the Enemy[Virgin]

Next, we have the Asian DubFoundation (ADF), a collective ofLondoners with mostly Indianbackgrounds. Their new album,Enemy of the Enemy is truly amulticultural mix, blending ele-ments of punk, dub, reggae, ska,hip-hop and ragga (a blend ofhouse music, traditional Indianmusic and reggae that was devel-oped by the Indian community inJamaica) into a truly fascinatingand meaningful whole. The ele-ments in each song blend togetheras if those cultures were meant tobe mixed. With the collective'spolitical views it's pretty clear thatit's a message ADF wants us totake from their- music.

The members of the grouphave never been able to separateart and politics, and the songs onthis album show their belief inthis intrinsic linkage. From a song

about harsh immigration policiesin 'Fortress Europe' to numerousreferences to September 11th, thepolitical statements can get a bitheavy-handed at times. Somesongs seem to have been includedon their political merits alone, buttheir message against racism andtheir promotion of multiculturalacceptance is admirable. And theoverall diversity of musical stylesand opinions makes this albummuch more interesting to listen tothan most other CDs I've pickedup lately. ADF could find itself fill-ing the void left by Rage Againstthe Machine as the next big thingin socially conscious music, espe-cially because their sound is muchmore accessible. They cover somany genres, and they do it sowell that you're bound to findsomething to like.

THE REINDEER SECTIONSon of Evil Reindeer[Bright Star Recording]

Finally, we get to The ReindeerSection, a veritable Who's' whn ofScottish alternative rock music,with their album Son of EvilReindeer. This group representsa collaboration between 27 mem-bers of various indie bands,including Belle and Sebastian,Teenage Fanclub, Mogwai, ArabStrap and Idlewild. As with manysupergroups, the fuel for thiscrazy mix was alcohol and a spur-of-the-moment decision thatresulted in a full album.beingrecorded and mixed in twoweeks. The alhum' is distinctlyScottish, so if you are part Scot(like me) and want to get a feel foryour roots, this is the perfectalbum to check out.

Son of Evil Reindeer featuresdelightful tunes, and melancholylove songs, such as the first twotracks, 'Grand Parade' and"Budapest.' There are also soar-ing orchestral pieces, like "Youare my Joy,' that really capturemy idealised imaginings ofrolling green Scottish fieldsunder rainy skies. The final track,"Whodunnit,' features a richScottish accent on vocals, cour-tesy of Arab Strap's Aidan Moffat.If you close your eyes you can pic-ture listening to this song in adark pub in Glasgow, where thealbum was made. Other songs aresurprisingly upbeat, given whatthe bands that make up thisgroup are known for. For exam-ple, I'm used to characterisingScottish indie music as pleasantlydepressing, because Mogwai,Arab Strap and Belle andSebastian certainly fit that defini-tion. However, when combined,all of these musicians have creat-ed an atmosphere that is muchmore winsome and bittersweetthan depressing. It's the perfectalbum to listen to when you arereminiscing about a loved onewho is now across the ocean,something that I picture Scottishpeople doing regularly. 0

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by Tejas ewin9

For reading break I decided to go to Montreal for a day to visitrelatives. It seemed pretty crazy, but I was in Ontario anyway,so I figured rd jet over and experience a truly different culture.I'd never been to Quebec iri the winter before, and I wanted tosee what their distinct culture was like at this tithe, when it'sabout as different from BC as possible. Here's my tale;

8:00arn: I get out of the bug and am hit by a wall' of frigidair. Apparently, it's one of the coldest, winters in years (theaverage temperature was minus thirty with wind chill). Mypan to walk to my uncle's place disappears as fast as the heatfrom my body. I hail a cab; and think of my friends in Hawaiiand Mexico. Oh well, at least ifs not snowing.

9:00am: It starts snowing.10:15am: My uncle, his wife and I head out. The weather is

part of the Montreal experience, so I decide that I'm not goingto stay indoors and fear the cold. No, I am going to forge aheadand get as full a Montreal experience as possible. I notice thatthe stop signs here say "Arret." Even in France they say 'Stop.'Talk about language police?

10:30am: I arrive at the door of Schwartz's on St Laurent,the best Montreal smoked meat shop in town, only to be metby a line-up. I guess other people, have heard of it too. _

, 10:45ara:l realise that the line-up is only , those who: wanetosit down. Clever people (ie, not tourists) push ahead and getsomething from the take-out counter. I go ahead and buy asmoked-meat sandwich. You haven't lived as a meat-eater untilyou've tried one of these sandwiches. The puny excuse forsmoked meat we get herewouldn't be worthy to wipe your facewith afterwards. Here you pt hot, thick, freshly smoked slabsof meat marinated in spices, with' a dab‘of mustard on ryebread. Make sure you order a pickle to go with it. Oh, and don t

forget to payt In the Montreal laid back European way, thecashier is on the opposite end of the hall from where you pickup the food, so it would be easy to just walk out with your food(which I'm sure some people do).

11:00am: I decide that eating more is a good way to staywarm. I can't believe that anyone here is thin. I head over tothe St Viateur bagel shop on the street of the same name. It iswell known to have the best bagels in the whole city, anddepending on whether you prefer New York or Montreal-style.bagels, possibly the best bagels in the whole world. Montrealstyle bagels are thinner, crispy on the outside, slightly sweetand soft and fluffily chewy on the inside, compared to the larg-er and denser New York-style bagels. I get one of all five kinds;Trust me, you won't find better bagels anywhere!

12:00pm: It's been an hour without food, so I'm starving? Idecide to try some 'tarte au sucre' a traditional Quebecois spe-ciality, at Premier Moisson, a chain of home-style pastry shops.

12:15pm: I guess I was expecting more than a tart withnothing but sugar in it. Those wacky Quebecois!

6:00pm: I go for dinner at one of the few Haitian restau-rants in Montreal It's on Pare Avenue, and it doesn't have, aname, so good luck finding it. It caters to the large number ofHaitian taxi drivers in the area and is run by Haitians. It offersgood prices and huge servings of authentic food. The servers

.7 can be- a bit suspicious of outsiders; thotigh. Here's anexchange from ordering.

Us: "What kind of fish do you have?'Them: 'We have white fish and red fish,'Us: "Uhh, okay we'll have the white fish.'Them: 'We're out of white fish.'Us: "Thanks for the help!"8:00pm: I forge out into a freezing blizzard once again to

partake in some of Montreal's winter festivities. Hydro-Quebec

sponsors a winter event called Festival Lumiere: It featuresaVant-garde outdoor performances every weekend for over amonth. I arrive to see musicians dressed as construction work-ers erecting a scaffolding to progressive-rock music. There is asnow slide for the kids, frozen maple syrup desserts, hot dogsto grill over gas fires, and plenty of beer. All of this is heatedusing glowing red UV heaters. Aren't UV rays the main cause ofskin cancer? Does it make sense for everyone to be huddlingaround high intensity UV bombardment devices? Oh well. Theevent rounded off with some outdoor dancing to some verygood DJs. One night Anne Savage was performing there.Imagine dancing to house music with babies, teenagers andsenior citizens, all of them flirting with each other. Then imag-ine doing it outdoors in freezing cold weather, bundled up in allyour layers, Finally, picture it dumping snow. Only in Montreal!

10:30pm: Our final stop is Club Passeport at 4517 St DenisStreet This place is the oldest dance club still surviving inMontreal. Part of its success stems from the fact that it is a boatique in the daytime. Every night, they just clear away theclothes and get busy. The rest of its success can be attributed tothe fact that it ROCKS! it's truly French-Canadian, and theywere playing electroclash waaay before it got trendy. One of thepatrons explained that ies a French-style, sophisticated meatmarket, where you have to be able to hold a conversation about

icultures politics before you are co]istdered truly attractive.tere'iAp, if you really want to fit in wear black and practice

dancing against a wall by yourself. The drinks are cheap, themusic is cool and the people are even cooler. They don't mindAngles, and you will feel comfortable regardless of your sexualpreference. I've never been to a club where you can relax and`simply be yourself as much as here. Make sure you go, it willbe the most authentic Montreal cultural experience youwill find.

14P-rt-e-ti-sCialrte 144.e.teCeCe.a-P1e5

by Annie Thompson

Americans are so easy to make fun of. WhenRick Mercer, from This Hour has 22 Minutes,came to the United States to film "Talking toAmericans,' he had no trouble gettingAmericans to say really stupid things on tape.We congratulated Canadians on their nationaligloo. We were shocked to learn of the slaugh-

, tering of seals in Saskatchewan. Canadianswere congratulated on finally getting runningwater in all five states! The list goes on and on.

However, the humour gets scary quitequickly. "Talking to Americans' loses itsappeal when you realise those responses arecoming from some of America's most highlyeducated, citizens. When New Yorkers agreewith Rick Mercer that 'Jean Chretien-Pinochet•should be charged with crimes againsthumanity,' I worry. Are Americans really thatstupid?

Perhaps this is my liberal upbringing talk-ing, but I have to say "No,' and I would like tooffer another explanation for our blatant lackof knowledge. I think it's the fault of our mediaand our public schools. A UBC professorrecently asked me if it is true that Americansget most, if not all, of their news from TV. Hewas shocked to hear that we do. However, hewould have been more shocked to know thathad he asked the average American that ques-tion, they probably would have respondedwith, 'Well...where else would you get thenews?' This response wouldn't bother me somuch if CNN and its compatriots actually told

the truth, instead of the ridiculous one-sidednews stories that they propagate. Look at the.news coverage on the war against Iraq and the'Axis of Evil.' Is it any surprise that in a recentpoll run by The New York Times and CBS, 42per cent of Americans stated they believeSaddam Hussein was behind the September11 attacks?

Our public schools, however, are the truefailure in my eyes. How can we not be criticalof an education system that inspires bookslike Lies My Teacher Told Me: EverythingYour American History Textbook GotWrong (James W. Loewen; 1996)? Equallyfrightening are the huge blocks of American _history that have been mysteriously left outRecently, in an e-mail to my politically active27-year-old sister, I mentioned that previousUS interventions in the Middle East could givesome idea of how the situation in Iraq willplay out. She had na idea what I was talkingabout. When I responded with informationabout our funding of Iranian, Afghani andother regimes, much to my surprise, her replywas, "Wow. I had no ideal Thank you so muchfor letting me know!' Then I remembered thatit hadn't been until I left the United States thatI learned about all the things my governmenthad been doing unbeknownst to its con-stituents.

I was out of the United States for the firstyear after September 1 y1and I 'rememberreturning and hearing my open-mindedfriends tell me that the World Trade Centerwas attacked because we're a superpower and

the rest of the world is jealous. I couldn'tbelieve it. Did they really think that thereweren't any other reasons? Had it not occurredto them that perhaps our constant presence inthe Middle East was beginning to be a frustra-tion to those that lived there? Apparently it hadnot.

Watching President Bush's speech Mondaynight was a similar experience. I found myselfremembering day when I used to believe inmy president (although I can't remember everhaving faith in Bush). I disagree with Bush'schoice to wage war on Iraq, but I also under-stand why CNN subsequently found that 66per cent of Americans do support his decision.The simplest reason is that they were relievedto have a decision—any decision. Every time Igo to the United States, I come back to Canadarunning. Everyone is changing travel plans.Everyone is tense--even in quiet little Seattle.But for the majority of Americans, Bush's deci-sion to go to war is not lowering anxiety at all.So why do they support it?

When I was in grade 12 I had one of thoserare breeds of high school teachers, the kindwho teaches you how to be patriotic whileremaining critical of your government Wewere having a debate on whether or not Bushshould be elected, and our teacher made astatement that really surprised me. He saidthat regardless of whether or not we likedBush, if we, as a people, elected him, we wouldall have to support him. Many people feel thatthey have to support this war, because we haveto support our president

Maybe this stems from the patriotism weare taught since childhood, learning aboutAmerica, 'strong and free' along with ourABCs.

The lack of diversity in the media doesn'thelp this compliant behaviour as we age.Perhaps if the US media provided Americanswith the international opinion of our actions,there would not be 68 per cent of Americans'believing that we had done all we could toresolve this issue through diplomacy. AlthoughBush's administration made two public state:ments about their "Shock and Awe' strategy!!Which' plans to leave no area in Baghdad safe,very few Americans wha I've spoken withknew of this plan. At this point, I'm not surewhat this knowledge would have done to stop,Bush. At least the people would have been ableto make informed opinions. And if we are to bea truly free nation, that must be one of ourbasic rights.

I am aware that this sad story of mislead-ing media and poor standards of education isnot exclusive to the United States. I amreminded of a Canadian friend of mine whodidn't know what ocean ran along the coast ofBritish Columbia, and another who didn'tknow what side of a map of Europe was up.There's something about Americans though,that makes our ignorance that much more dis-gusting. But I ask you, the next time anAmerican says something stupid, after youlaugh, take the time to pull them aside and tellthem that, no, Toronto is not the capital ofCanada. Ottawa is. 0

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Student (Peer) Advisors, ARTSIn a continuing effort to increase the level of service provided bythe Faculty of Arts Academic Advising Office, the Faculty intendsto hire three to five students to serve as the first point of contactfor students attending the Academic Advising Office.

Successful applicants must be entering their third or fourth year inthe Faculty of Arts and have completed at least thirty credits atUBC. They must possess good communication skills, and bereliable and conscientious workers. Their duties will includeoffering assistance to students in finding the correct pad) toresolution of their inquiries, referring students to appropriateAcademic Advising Office staff, and scheduling appointments forFaculty advisors. Pre-employment training is offered and required.

Employment will be 3 to 10 hours a week on regular shifts ofbetween 3 and 3.5 hours, morning or afternoon. Payment is at therate of $14A5 per, hour. Term of employment is September, 2003to the end of April, 2004.

Applications, including a resume, two letters of reference, and astatement indicating the qualities the candidate would bring to theposition must be submitted to:

Ms. Grace Wolkosky, Academic Advisor -Arts Academic Advising OfficeBuchanan A201

THE DEADLINE FOR APPLYING IS MARCH 31ST, 2003.

UBYSSEY PUBLICATIONS SOCIETY

General MeetingFRIDAY

MARCH 28TH, 200311:30AM

IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 2ND FLOOR OF SUB

Md. vc 20(Y_

tr,, ys sey riectoitA. I

magine having grand-parents who you don'tknow very well.Grandparents who youlove deeply, but youstruggle to understand.Grandparents who youlove with your entirebeing, yet you are

deeply saddened by, even ashamed of.Such is my relationship with India, a rela-tionship that has troubled me ever since Iwas old enough to understand it, and onethat I was finally able to confront. You see,India is my motherland, and after nineyears away, I finally went back. This is thestory of that journey.

When I stepped out of the airplane withmy father, I was confronted with all myfears at once. The India I had tried to forgetwas staring me right in the face. The over-population, the poverty, the garbage—wasthis how I remembered India?

I took myself back 17 years: I am run-ning through a leafy courtyard, with treeseverywhere. Small houses peek throughthe greenery and I can feel the dean.earthon my bare feet I pick up a twig and put itin my mouth as I run through the small vii-lap. I'm getting hot I nin to a house witha well. I pull up a bucket and bathe in thecool water, feeling it sink into the grassbetween my toes. I am in the village wheremy mother was born, at the house of mygreat-grandmother. This place is theembodiment of peace for me; this is theIndia I hold in my heart Yet it is not the -India that I am confronted with, and it isnot the real India.

India is a country that suffers more thanmost others. It is practically a continent. Ithas almost as many people as China, yet isonly a third the size. India is not pretty,clean or organised. India is disgracefullycorrupt, and it is badly run.. Although it'simproving, the rate is far too slow. India isabout as different from Canada as you canget, and I had forgotten how true that was.Ensconced in my comfortable Canadian

life, with my idealised memories of,thepaSt, I tried to forget'the troublinepartaIndia. This trip was going to be a realitycheck, one where I could come to termswith my feelings and perhaps understandany country a little better.

As I travelled through the crowdedstreets, I thought about my heritage. Yousee, I'm not fully Indian. I'm a mixed-racechild. My father is a white Canadian fromOttawa. I don't look Indian; in fact I don'treally look like anything at all. Comparedto anyone in India, I've been privileged allmy life. Once I began to realise that, every-thing I saw in India began to take on a newmeaning. When you go to India, you have

to just throw yourself into it and I couldn'tdo that. I would be confronted by thesqualor, the corruption and the poverty atevery turn, aid would want to run back tomy. life Of privilege. Yet I would look out-side and see my compatriots starving onthe street. It made me feel like a phoney,like a tourist. What kind of Indian was I ifmy petty Canadian concerns prevented mefrom getting to know my homeland? Thiswas an attitude that had prevented mefrom going back for such a long time,Honestly, I had been afraid of returning,afraid of how India made me feel; afraid ofhow I was ashamed of India's problemsand more proud of Canada than I was ofmy motherland.

That day, I went to a temple, with thosethoughts running through my head in anendless loop. A temple in India is not like aCanadian church, or a museum in Europe.It is a living, breathing organism, filledwith the vibrancy and contrast that makesIndia special,. Bustling with shops, garbageand crowds, yet austere at the same time.-It was refreshing to go there, refreshing torealise that people had been there for thou-sands of years. I was at one of the oldestand largest temple complexes in India arid

could feel that it would be there for thou-sands of years more. It seemed that what-ever was thrown at it, this facet of Indianculture would just keep going, and it gaveme hope.

As I watched the people going abouttheir daily business, I heard the powerfulclang of bells ringing through the templecorridors, and it silenced the dialogue inmy head. I walked over to the altar, wherea priest was hefting a rope connected toone set of bells, while his colleagues struckthe others. Slowly, the rhythm and sound

of the bells built to a crescendo. EveryOnewas rendered speechless by the buzz ofpower in the air. Behind us, we all heardanother bell ringing. softer. We turned&ncl; around the corner trundled a full-grown elephant, painted like the 'otherpriests and wearing a red headdress cov-ered in tinkling bells.

The elephant was swinging a bell hi itstrunk and the crowd parted. The elephantreceived an offering from the priests-6oconut milk, bananas and a garland offlowers—and then left as suddenly as it hadappeared. The bells stopped ringing andeverything was back to normal. I had expe-rienced a culture-reaffirming event, some-thing that never could have happened inCanada. I felt a connectioa to the Indiansaround me. I was proud of my heritage.

A few days later, my bawd came` crash-ing back to earth. Some of India's idiosyn-crasies were coming together in a frustrat-ing series of events for ray father and I.The hotel we were staying at tried to rip usoff by slipping some extra charges onto thebill. Then our car broke dawn because ourtravel agent had provide& us with a far-worse car than we had paid for. When wefinally arrived at our destnation, anothertemple, we were late. We rushed aroundlooking for the entrance to the inner sanc-tum, trying to see the magnificent goldenroof the temple was famous for. However,upon arrival at the inner entrance, I foundthat only Hindus were albwed further. Itried to plead my case, and play up myIndian side, but there was no convincingthe priests. I left, feeling upset and exclud-ed in my own country.

I walked over to a store to calm down. I

tried to bargain over a little trinket, but myfrustrations followed me there—I felt like

the shopkeeper was trying to rip me off,and the bargaining turned intd an"areament: I was being treated" like 'a naivetourist. I felt denied by my culture and Iwas, frankly, pretty pissed oft sure,' mycomplaints were petty in the bigger pic-ture, but I was starting to feel resentful ofall the differences between India andCanada. I was falling back into my oldmindset, denying my Indian side and long-ing for the ease and safety of Canada.

Then something changed for me.Feeling morose, we left the shop, ready togo back to the controlled comforts of thehotel. Suddenly, I felt a tugging at my shirt.There, next to me, was a teenager I vague-ly recognised. 'Do you want to see thegolden roof?" he asked. I was ready to dis-miss him as just another tout, but therewas a look to him that suggested sincerity.Then I recognised him: he was the assis-tant in the shop where I had caused' thecommotion. Despite my behaviour, he wastrying to help me. "I know a stairwayWhereyou can get to the roof and see everything/Just give the the money and I'll get you in."

Normally, it would be pretty foolhardyto just hand a stranger some money inIndia, but I felt a connection with him, andI hoped he felt the same way. He explainedthat the gate was already closed; becausewe had arrived so late, but he would do hisbest to buy us some tickets anyway, Hedashed off, and we waited. Five minuteslater I was ready to leave, ripped off yetagain. But then, around the corner bound-ed' bur friend, a big face.,1-ffgrabbed my arm and rushed the here andthere, around this corner and up thosestairs, until we reached an unmarked gate.He opened it up and led us to the roof. Theview was amazing. As the sun set, We couldsee the'whole temple complex below', withits golden roof glowing, and all the peoplegoing about their daily worship.

As we took ha the scene, we chatted withthe boy. Ile explained how he worked oddjobs all day long at the temple, going fromshop to shop. He told us about his dream tobecome a Mahout (an elephanttrainer) forthe temple. He spoke with so Much excite-ment and such a positive attitude that youhad to believe he would succeed.Obviously, he didn't let India's' problems

get him down, and he went on trying fohelp people. When it was dark, we walkeddown the stairs, and I tried to give himsome money, but he wouldn't take it. Hehad helped us out of the goodness of hisheart and nothing else. He gave a finalsmile, and dashed off into the temple.Again, at a time of conflict within myself,India had thrown a truly magical event inmy path. I spent the next few days ponder-ing what it meant.

Our friend hadn't been ashamed of hisIndian culture. He had accepted it for whatit was, accepted that tourists might comeinto a shop and assume that everyone wastrying to rip them off because in India peo-ple do get ripped off, regularly. He hadaccepted that and forged through it, mak-ing the extra effort to create a friendshipwith me, even for just a moment. Whyhadn't I done the same?

I realised that it was because of myMixed background. When you're only partIndian, and you don't live there, it's easierto cut your losses and deny India altogeth-er. You can then have one happy memoryin your mind and forget about the rest ofit. When it's not part of you, you have noresponsibility to it. You can be just anothertourist who shows up, wears a fewkhurthas and then leaves. It's easier to bea Canadian because you have less to worryabout.

It is harder to accept India as part of myheritage, and try to understand it in orderto make it better. I realised that I wouldnever make a difference hiding from myroots./ remembered back to when I hadstudied the Bhagavad-Gita, perhaps thesingle most influential work in Hinduism.The central message of the poem is that

"the easiest decision is often not the bestone; sometimes you have to make the hardchoices and fight for the best result. Forme, that meant accepting my heritage, forthe good and the bad. It meant learning allI could about India, absorbing everythingaround me and not hiding from, the prob-lems I saw. Most of all, it meant evaluatingwhat I could do for my country; how Icould make it better, even in a small way.

So I decided to write this article. I fig-ured it would help me come to terms withmy feelings. And I hoped it would help

hope in my mind as I started to write.Some days later, our trip was nearing

its end. I was exhausted from opening:myself up to the onslaught that is India.We were, in a whole different area now, ata beach resort. We had arrived late, due tocar troubles once again. I was tired andstressed out, frazzled from a long car jour-ney on dangerous roads, having narrowlyavoided a few accidents, and passingsome wrecked cars that hadn't , been solucky. I was angry, because I knew that theaccidents had been caused in part by thecorruption that kept the roads in such badcondition. I was feeling tired and lookingforward to the flight home. I crawledsleepily into bed, wondering what stir=prise lay in store for me on my final day.

I awoke to a knocking on the door. Itwas before dawn, and my father hadwoken me up. "It's our last day, let's ga,see the sunrise!' I crawled out of bed, andwe set out across the sand. When we gotto the beach, I was met by an amazingsight. As the sun broke out from thewaves, the fishermen of the nearby village were setting off. To the right anolder man was meditating towards thesunrise. It was a picture of absolute her;mony. Everything seemed to fit; every.thing was in its place. The angle Of thesun, the taste of the salty air., and thesound of the waves—all perfect.

In the crowded bustle of India, suchmoments are hard to find, but when youfind them they are all the more special. Irealised that I was happy to be heedingback to Canada, where such moments are'more common, and this was nothing to beashamed of But, what really gladdened'my heart, was that I couldn't wait to comeback. 0

people in similar situations reconnect totheir roots, and perhaps ‘,,Wbrk, tp /3144their own countries better in the future.Maybe some Indians living here in Canadawould decide to take an extra interest intheir home and its problems. Maybe oneday I'd meet one of them in India whileworking on a charity project I kept this

You must beall paid staffJohn Hua

§ lerah LurieIva Cheung_MegaR ThomasJohn McCranh

staff to voteLaura BlueHeather Paulsteias Ewing811.00 ZandheigIan OuncanMichelle Nape

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University Boulevard Neighbourhood Plan

Tell us what you thinkIn keeping with UBC's evolving University Town, a draft neighbourhood plan is beingdeveloped for the University Boulevard local area.

A campus and community consultation process is being conducted to gather feedback onthe draft plan prior to its finalization and presentation tb the UBC Board of Governors inMay, 2003. You can participate in this consultation in a number of ways:

1,`` You can learn' more about the draft University Boulevard Neighbourhood planby reading the Discussion Guide at www.universitytown.ubc.ca and give your opinion viathe online feedback form.

2. Open HousesMarch 24, 9:30 am to 3 pm in the UBC BookstoreMarch 25, 3 pm to 8 pm in Room 214 of SUB

3. Small Group Meetings (February 10 - March 31)Your group can request a presentation by contacting the University Town inquiry, lineat 604.822.6400 or e-mail info.universitytownOubc.ca

4. Campus and Community Public MeetingTuesday, April 1, 7 pmRoom 214 - Student Union Building

How Campus & Community Feedback Will Be UsedFeedback gathered through this consultation via the web, fax, campus publications, openhouses, small-group meetings and public meetings will be recorded and summarized in aConsultation Summary Report, which will be presented with a Technical report and revisedneighbourhood plan to the UBC Board of Governors. The Consultation Summary Report willalso be posted on the web.

For further information contact:Linda MooreTel: 604.822.6400Fax: 604.822.8102E-maii • info.universitytown@ubc.caWeb: www.universitytown.ubc.ca UNIVERSITY TOWN

Create your own Science degree (3rd and 4th year)2nd year students: check it out now!

Seminar: March 27 at 12:30 in LSK 460Dr. Lee Gass (Past Director, ISP)Reflections on Integrated Sciences

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Program Information Sessions:• Wednesday, March 26, 12:00 in LSK 462

• Thursday, 'Mrch 27, 5:00 in LSK 460

by Gina eom

Gossip: my best friend of four yearswas one of the select few whoseromantic relationship was strongenough to surpass high schoolgraduation. Most high school rela-tionships do not graduate with you,and are looked back upon with onlychagrined fondness and some-times self-pity. But my best friendand her boy made it, and their silly,chipper, honeymoonish atmos-phere remained preserved. Youknow, giggles and delightful gazesto the point where even die-hard,proud to be singles start to turngreen with envy. And no, that is notmy natural skin colour. So whenshe recently announced a suddenbreak-up with her long-termboyfriend, it baffled me to the pointwhere I panicked. when she with-drew into her shell and completelydeprived me of details.

It took a week of constant nag-ging to squeeze out the storybehind, the break-up. Since thebeginning of their relationship, herfather had been fiercely, against , it,„,6ecaVise she `and he'was Caucasian. At first, her father'sdispleasure was only expressedwith a cold glare whenever he visit-ed, but it soon evolved into morevocal expressions. As the relation-ship grew, so did her father'sresentment towards the 'whiteboy.' The two parties polariseduntil a few weeks before the break-up, when my friend finally brokedown and could no longer endurethe severe lectures she faced when-ever she came home after a date.

I couldn't believe what I washearing. First of all, she hadn't toldme any of this before, and .thatalone saddened me. But that'sbeside the point. I was shockedabout what her father had said toher. The harsh accusations andscorching words really boiled downto 'you must stick to your own kind,and anything else is a disgrace.'For my friend's father, ethnic cul-ture was more important thanromantic attraction.

After puzzling over this, I decid-ed to apply his values onto myself.Now, despite my genes spelling outthat I am Korean, I was born andraised in a small town in Germany.It is a scholarly town, with its pres-tigious university producing oneNobel prize-winning physicist afteranother. My experience there Waswonderful and I am immenselygrateful towards my parents' whodecided to give me the mostinsightful, thorough, and superbeducation available. I attended aCatholic school, and amidst myschoolmates I was the only visibleminority.

Racism is too strong a word todescribe people's initial reactiontowards my presence—if was moreof a discomfort, a certain glint intheir eyes. For some; or perhapseven most, I appeared to be some-one they wished wasn't there—like

when you have a certain spot thatyou really want to scratch but can'tquite reach. That was their firstimpression of me, because my eyeswere small and slanted, becausemy hair was straight and unforgiv-ingly black, because my skin had ayellow tint. Perhaps it was a similardifference in physical appearancethat sparked resentment in my bestfriend's father towards the now ex-boyfriend?

My schoolmates in Germanyquickly overcame their initial reac-tion and turned into close friends,friends who still contact me now.After experiencing my friends'quick change, I hoped that a manwho had been in Canada for twentyyears could tolerate his daughterdating someone from a differentcultural background. However,when I left Germany to finish myelementary education in Korea, Idiscovered through my own par-ents that one's original culturenever really disappears. It becameclear to me that Korea was homefor my parents, and that their identity would never be shaken by yearsof being placed in another culture.'For me, however, it was an entirely.foreign experience. I wasn't used to'the humid air, the high density ofpeople, and the lack of wide-openfields. I felt locked up and trapped,and extremely unhappy. But mysuffering was soothed by friendlyand accepting people and theirextreme loyalty to one another.Never before had I seen such aclose-knit community—the Powerful bond I got to share was over-whelming and left me in awe.

I learned to love and respect myfamily's ancestry, and developed ahealthy dose of pride for the five-thousand-year history of my par-ents' home country. I was extreme-ly grateful for my quick acceptance,despite my awkward Koreantongue and clumsy etiquette.Therefore, I found it surprising thatmy friend's father didn't evenattempt to share the culture of hisorigin with my friend's boyfriend.'Kids from interracial parents areleft with identity crises,' was anoth:er thing he had said, but wouldn'tthis be all the more reason toembrace cultural education? Tocarefully skim off and interbreedonly a population with a few com-mon sequences in their nucleotidesseems unnecessary.

A source of enlightenmentcame the other day when I watchedMy Big Fat Greek Wedding. Thefather in the movie felt that thepreservation of his culture wouldbe threatened by accepting a for-eign member into the family.People from different cultures aredifficult to 'assimilate.' And yet,cultural differences are minisculein the big picture of things. Innatein every human being lies the questto be happy. Taking pride in one'sculture is one thing, but exploitingthis pride to deny someone else'shappiness is quite another. +

p

2003A tAbysey Speci61

— .... — ...DvD z oNE

McWC- 200;)

j\ UtLy4e.y Specini

by Dennis W. Vissee

My parents, came to Canada in1974 as immigrants from theNetherlands. I was born severalyears later and was raised with astrong appreciation of Dutch cul-ture. At home, we spoke Dutch andmy parents instilled in me a gooddose of Western European values. Ihad always thought of myself as aDutch-Canadian, having beeninfluenced by both societies. It wasnot until the age of fifteen that Ibecame aware of yet a third sourceof my heritage: I realised that I wasalso Asian:` 7T

My mother Was actually born inSemarang, Indonesia. Both of herparents had also been born there.My grandparents each had onefully Indonesian parent and onehalf-Dutch, half-Indonesian parent,making each of my grandparentsthree-quarters Indonesian, one-quarter Dutch. This makes mymother three-quarters Indonesian,and it also makes me three-eighthsIndonesian with five-eights of goodold Dutch blood.

In the wake of decolonisationafter World War II, GeneralSukarno took control of Indonesia.Most of the Dutch nationals whohad lived their whole lives there,including my family, then packedup and headed to the Netherlands.My mother was five years old atthe time. She grew up in. DenHaag, where she would later meetmy father.

In retrospect, it seems ratherstrange that it took me fifteen yearsto realise this about my family;how could I not have known? Ofcourse I was aware of where myfamily had come from, but at homewe never talked about it. It was notuntil I sat down with my .grand-mother and started asking herabout our family history that Istarted to think of myself as partAsian. This was actually quite apersonal epiphany for me—whyhad I never been conscious of myAsian roots before? My mother isvisibly Asian, yet I had never con-nected her 'Asian-ness' with myown personal self-identity.

This realisation sparked mycuriosity because it has alwaysbeen important to me to knowwho I am and where I come from.This was the beginning of a newtime of selfdiscovery, an opportu-nity to learn about my Asian her-itage. I embarked on a personalquest to develop my SoutheastAsian 'self.' I have since sought tolearn as much about Asian culture

61.4444-4, ••

as possible; first Indonesian, thenSoutheast Asian, and now Asian:Pacific cultures in general Thisinterest in Asia has accompaniedme to UBC, where I study politicalscience and have developed akeen interest in Asian-Pacific poli-tics and languages.

Amy Tan and Wayson Choyhave both written abouthybridised identities, Tan in theUnited States, Choy in Canada. Inhis book The Souls of Black Folks,W.E.B Dubois explicitly wrote ofbeing of two worlds and twominds, one African and oneAmerican. 'Although • r calm:Aequate my experiences with that ofChinese North Americans or withthe hardships faced by AfricanAmericans, I have also come tothink of myself as having ahybridised identity, and of beingof two worlds and two minds. Thefirst world/mind has` been withme since birth. The second is stillevolving as I seek to discover whoI am.

Often it seems that we are madeto choose one culture with whichwe feel the greatest affinity, butwhy can't we be both? Why can'twe take the best of both worlds? Ina country as rich and diverse asCanada, we have a unique and fan-tastic opportunity to do just that.Vancouver is a city of multicultur-alism. Since the 1950s, it has seenmanifold demographic shifts. Thisis due to a large influx of immi-grants, first mainly European, and,in the late 20th century, Asian.Today, Vancouver is truly another'gateway to Asia.'

There is a strength in diversitythat we must never lose sight of. Allcultures have merit all cultures areexotic and exciting, and no cultureis better than any other. Canadapurports to be a country thatembraces multiculturalism, butsometimes we fall short of this.Still, we should continue to strivefor this ideal, to become- a marecosmopolitan society, a mosaic onwhich the world can model itself. Inmy opinion, this is the essence ofCanadian identity. We are a nationof many nations, bound together byshared ideals of tolerance andunderstanding. This is something Ihave struggled with since I was fif-teen. I am still struggling to bringthe two worlds of my heritagetogether. When I tell people that Iam of mixed descent, I am usuallymet with looks of disbelief. After all,I hardly look Asian myself, Still, Iam proud to be Eurasian, as muchas r am proud to be Canadian. 0

by jolty. fruct -

Many of my friends playfully refer tome as °the whitest Chinese guy they'veever known.' I have no problem withthis statement because until a coupleof years ago, I would have completelyagreed, and would' have also, beenquite proud of the label.

Having grown up with ambitiousChinese parents, I was enroled inFrench immersion since the age ofthree; in hopes that with a handle onboth of Canada's official languages, Iwould easily obtain success in thefuture. In exchange for my knowl-edge of the French- language, I lostalmost all of my Chinese dialect andspent the next fifteen years amongmostly Caucasians, being one of thefew Chinese students in my classes. Ihad little problem with this, knowingnothing else, and had very little inter-.est in the culture that was slippingaway.

As the Chinese populationincreased in BC, I began to noticehow different I was from those whofelt the strong influences of Chineseculture. Despite my awareness of this

by PaemincleelVizttee

Allow me to clarify what 'Oreo'means. As in the famous cookie, anOreo is a person who is brown on theoutside and white on the inside,describing the package much betterthan the popular Indo-Canadianphrases 'gorafied' or 'whitewashed.'

Let me back up a little and tell youhow I came across it. While drivingwith a Chinese friend of mine (to thetunes of the Bollywood film KuchKuch Hota Hai), he described himselfas a 'banana' (the Chinese equilvalentof an Oreo), and was sure Indiansmust have a similar word along thelines of banana. I racked my brainbut all I could think of was white-washed. Needless to say I asked mycousin and she introduced me to,drumroll please...Oreo. Right then, alightbulb went off in my head. Wait asec—I've heard that phrase directedat myself once or twice. Over theyears I've been called whitewashed,gorafied, weird and Oreo.

So you wanna know why I'm anOreo? WeJ1111 I don't like rap music(shock). I wear bandannas as head-bands. I don't have my hair dyedbronze, nor do I wear grey makeup.I'm obsessed with' Russian litera-ture. I go to the theatre. I've actuallybeen to an art gallery (for fun),rather than hit Atlantis. I want to bea journalist (not a drug dealer's wife,a doctor or a lawyer). Many Indiansdon't see me as a 'typical' Indo-Canadian, and that makes me whiteon the inside? Harsh,

It doesn't, matter that I'm fluentin Punjabi and Hindi, That I canname Bollywood megastar's ShahRukh Khan's films off by heart(probably his characters' namesalso). That I drool when I listen tothe table, That I read Indian novels.That I watch Indian films religious-ly. That I like ghazels. That I practiseclassical Indian dance and think ofmyself as Indian. - Clearly I'm anOreo, don't you think?

Here's a story that occurred overthe summer. I go to the Indian filmstore at least fifty times a week andneedless to say I'm down with theyoung Indian guy working there. One

difference, my feelings towards theculture remained the same. I had nointerest in it whatsoever and furtherinsulated myself within Western cul-ture. I began to view other Chinesepeople in the light of stereotypes,becoming annoyed by the same prej-udices that I'm sure many peopleplaced on me. Do not get me wrong,at no time in my life was I 'self-loathing towards my Chinese back-ground, but I simply couldn't relateto other Chinese people whoseupbringing was so vastly differentthan my own.

Today, I still , barely know any.Cantonese or Mandarin, despite thefact that my parents are fluent in bothlanguages. My parents did not fail inthis department; I simply had nodesire to learn a language that was ofno use to my present life. I wouldsoon realise what a poor choice injudgment this would be. .

Once I began attending UBC, allmy views and attitudes towardsChinese culture began to change. Notonly were my classes filled with manyChinese students with similar back-grounds, but I also found a huge

day he called me whitewashed. I'm ata place where I rent Indian films andhe's calling me whitewashed?! Whatthe fuck? I responded by writing anice little note in Punjabi, which hehad difficulty reading 'I'm a Punjabikuri (girl)l' I felt like screaming.

I'll admit that even I have calledpeople whitewashed backin my igno-rant high school days. I used the termon my now best friend, who isPunjabi. I figured that she must be oncrack because she's Christian and nota Sikh. I learned early on that I wasbeing ignorant, but the sad thing is somany Canadian-born Indians don'trealise this, and pass this mentalityonto others.

What right do Indians have to callme gorafied, when many of them are

Chinese community that still held astrong connection to its roots. I nowfind myself among more and moreChinese friends, and have a strongrespect and desire for my lost-culture.It was a tough adjustment to learn toaccept a culture that I repressed for somany years, but I feel that I am all themore lucky for doing so.

Now, I fmd myself in an odd posi-tion, as I am placed 'somewhere inthe middle of two vastly different Cul-tures. I still feel very much connect-ed with my Western upbringing, andwill never lose the friends I've hadsince childhood, yet I am also tryingto grow into a more diverse person,who also takes pride in his Chineseheritage. So, am I still a banana'. (awhite person trapped in a yellow per-son's body)? To a certain extent, but Iam somewhat of a spoiled banana,one that has begun to yellow on theinside as well. As. I continue ta gothrough my identity crisis, I amaware that I will never be completelyWesternised, nor will I be completelyChinese. To be completely honest, I.don't think there's a more perfectbalance. 0

immersed in African-American cul-ture? How many Canadian-born desisdo you see pretending that, well, thatthey're black? Calling an Indianwhitewashed is no different than call-ing an Indian blackwashed—offen-sive right?

Shah Rukh Khan says it best in hisfilm Phir Bhi Dil Hain Hindustani,'Apni Chatri tun ko dadon kabhi jubbharsa pani. Phir bhi dil hairsHindustani.' Translation: I'll give youmy umbrella whenever you're in therain...after all, our hearts are Indian.Cheesy, but you get the point.

Isn't that what it's all about?Pulling each other up as Indians?Instead of categorising one anotheras white or black, we should only seeourselves as true Indians. 0

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white suppliers and related busi-nesses. The Louie family sawthemselves as Canadian, andwould not follow the manyChinese-Canadians that left theirhomes. Loyalty and honour wastheir drive, a drive that would leadto Tong Louie's brother dying inWorld War II for- a country thatdidn't want his kind on its land.

This glimpse into the life oftong Louie is only a small portionof the trials and obstacles he facedin order to gain success andrespect among his fellowCanadians. Driven by the princi-ples taught to him by his father,Tong Louie, defied the rules setupon him' by Canadian andChinese culture alike, turning hisfather's humble, honest companyH.Y. Louie Co. Ltd. into one of thelargest grocery suppliers inCanada. With the success of I.Y.Louie and the expansion into othermarkets with IGA and LondonDrugs, Tong Louie was recognisedas BC Business's Entrepreneur ofthe Year on several occasions. Hehas also received such distin-guished honours as the Orders ofCanada and British Columbia.

Tong Louie passed away onApril 28, 1998, but his legacy liveson through the success of his com-pany, now run by his son BrandtLouie. The story of Tong Louie is agood reminder of Canada's ques-tionable history as a multiculturalcountry. Although it may seemtoday that the Chinese-Canadianhas little opposition in terms ofracism and oppression, only veryrecently has this changed. Onlytwo generations ago, Hok YatLouie was not allowed to vote dueto his ethnicity, despite owning anhonest business that contributedto his country's economy.

The multiculturalism of Canadais an important part of our identi-ty, but we cannot forget how thismulticulturalism was slowly andpainfully established. Tong is a keysource to learning about the truthand history in regards to the her-itage of Chinese-Canadians, a her-itage that is too often takenfor granted. 0

val,ce, ea (44,a fe-fapv

TONG: THE STORY OF TONG LOUIE,VANCOUVER'S QUIET TITANby E.G. Perrault[Harbour Publishing]

by -John -H1.4a

The Chinese culture, althoughabundant in art, beauty andpower, has always remainedsomewhat reserved in presentingitself to the world. Stemming fromold., Chinese ,tradition, one was&tight that things must be done atone's own accord, eliminating anyoutside influences; only this wouldlead to the possession of completecontrol.

The late Tong Louie was a manwho lived by this principle. Who isTong Louie? The fact that manytoday do not know him is proof ofhis dedication to the old tradition.E.G. Perrault is the author of Tong:The Story of Tong Louie,Vancouver's Quiet Titan, the biog-raphy of a man who became one ofthe most successful entrepreneursin British Columbia while remain-ing under the radar of the mediaand the public eye.

To kill kill the suspense, if you'veheard of the Independent GrocersAlliance (IGA) or London Drugs,you've heard of Tong Louie's lega-cy. E.G. Perrault's authorised biog-raphy of Vancouver's quiet titanisn't a masterpiece by any means;rather it is the story of Louie'shumble beginnings that is intrigu-ing and capturing. Dating back tohis father's immigration toCanada from rural China, the storybegins with the cold truth*of a not-so-multicultural Canada.

Tong's father, Hok Yat Louie,fell victim to the luring promise ofthe Golden Mountain, and decidedto raise a family in a country thatlater 'denied them the vote feder-ally, provincially and municipally,maintained a blanket immigrationban against them, barred themfrom public swimming pools andgenerally deprived them ofthe most important rights ofcitizenship.'

Louie's story is one of persever-ance and loyalty, as his familystruggled with a little businessthat barely survived due to theracist obstacles put in place by

e-01-e-40-414-9- tick-Ge- 4.144 trici-G4O f4i,

by Lori Chaevat

UBC's Equity Office opened in 1994 to imple-ment two important university policies: ban-ning discrimination and harassment and pro-

- mating educational and employment equity.The university's Discrimination andHarassment Policy has proven to be an effec-tive tool in managing 'bad' behaviour on cam-pus. Every year, the Equity Office works withmany students, faculty and staff to addressconcerns of discrimination and harassment.In addition to responding to complaints ofracism and other human rights-based com-plaints, the Equity Office takes proactive meas-ures, tackling 'isms' at their roots, by offeringworkshops, presentations and other programs.One such program is the ReViewing Race filmand dialogue series, which the Equity Office issponsoring in partnership with other groupsand faculties on campus.

ReViewing Race is a video and dialogue_

series designed to examine the impact of raceand racism on interpersonal and social rela-tionships. The medium of film will be used toexplore the historical, political, social and per-sonal perspectives of racism. Each film will befollowed by a discussion session, led by anexperienced facilitator. The discussion compo-nent of the series will provide an opportunityfor participants to unpack the film's messages,to engage in an open and safe dialogue aboutrace, and to generate ideas for positive changeon the UBC campus and beyond. This series isthe first of its kind at UBC—one targeted at stu-dents, faculty and staff—to generate ideas forimproved race relations within our campuscommunity. The film and dialogue series willbe held at the Norm Theatre in the SUB., start-ing in April.

For information about discrimination andharassment, please call the Equity Office at(604) 822-6353. For the ReViewing Raceseries, call (604) 822-2153. 0

MCI P`C 1, 2Lt[ivssevJecial OsstAe, if

(9)pve, a/ e4coe, pvowe 144,e, e4cComparing media representa-tions of minorities in Canada

and the United States

by Dave Gaeetnee

An integral part of living the Canadian, standard, at least as faras one would divine from Due South or a blatantly nationalistbeer commercial, seems to be that Canadians are incrediblytolerant and polite. We like hockey, we can drink pitcher afterpitcher of eight per cent beer and we will—and always have—encouraged everyone, regardless of race, to come and join themedicare party. Yet historically this obviously isn't true. Thenwhy is it that Canadians are so quick to see their country as acultural haven? Why has this idea become an integral piece ofCanadian identity, and how did it happen?

One possible answer is concretely linked to DonaldGoellnicht's theories on Black power and its connection to theAsian -American movement In his essay "A Long Labour: TheProtracted Birth of Asian-Canadian Literature,' Goellnichtidentifies Asian-American culture as piggybacking the Blackpower movement in the fight for ethnic equality.

Conversely, the author points to Canada's major ethnicmovement as being Quebec's drive for sovereignty, an eventthat could not work in the same catalytic manner for theAsian-Canadian community. Goellnicht uses this argument to

identify the protracted Asian-Canadian cultural movement asopposed to that of Asian-Americans. Yet this argument alsoseems applicable to the awareness of minority history ascompared between the two countries.

It would seem: that not only did the more radical move-ments in the United States allow for the rise of other similarmovements, butut they also allowed for more historical aware-ness through the media in North American society.

Growing up, I was familiarised with aspects of US racialdiscrimination before I even discovered the same had existedin. Most, likely this was due to the unavoidableonslaught of American media that Canadian culture is inun-dated with. Yet, while certain aspects of American culture pre-sented in the media are nothing but distasteful fluff, otherscan be an educational experience.

Slavery is not an issue that the American media shies awayfrom; therefore information surrounding it is available toAmericans and the world on an hourly basis. Initially, the USmedia addressed slavery issues because of the pressures fromAfrican-American grassroots organisations who wanted toincrease African-American awareness on all planes.Obviously, the blossoming television industry was a veryviable means to quickly and comprehensively spread infor-mation.

One of the results of this was the groundbreaking mini-series Roots. Now, slavery issues are addressed M books,newspapers and on TV because the media and the Americanpopulace are able to see them as relevant and important parts

of their history. This provokes thought and change in all levelsof society, which in turn allows for progressive movements inthe media that can turn away from identity-based ideas andexplore the unlimited facets of what comprises the African-American culture. Good examples of this are The Cosby Show,and more recently The Hughleys, which dealt with issuesimportant to the African-American community today includ-ing, sex; education and drug use.

Given that Canada never had a major ethnic movement,Asian-Canadian culture and history is, for the most part, leftout of mainstream media. Granted, Canada does not have theindustry power held by American media juggernauts, but ifone addresses the amount of Asian-Canadian culture that ispresented in Canadian media, one can see that it is a grossunder-representation.

Without parallel movements in Canada, ethnic history andthe country's racist role in it will be forever left in the shadowsof history, only to be addressed by academics and those specif-ically connected with those events. As it stands right now,Canada refuses to take any real ownership for the racial atroc-ities that occurred in the past, like First Nations residentialschooling, Japanese internment and the Komagata Maru inci-dent. According to the limited historical perspective availableto the public, these events were unfortunate mistakes, onezero on an otherwise perfect scorecard. Until some move ismade towards telling the history of ethnic minorities in themainstream media, Canadians will forever hold their idealistprimetime attitudes about history in their country. 0

ecci4, ect.1.43,1 (44441441,4a-c45.e?A visiting student looks at the

potential for institutionalracism in Canada

by Tint Shand

If one contends that Canada's past colonialpolicies and laws of ethnic segregation andoppression, irrespective of the recipient, aretantamount to overt racism, then Canadamarched proudly into nationhood as an open-ly racist country. The manifestations of thisare still being lived out by many of the country's ethnic communities, especially FirstNations groups.

millennium, Canada has fully and whole14 contrast, at the beginning of the new

heartedly embraced the project of multicul-turalism. Today, my perception is that a largeproportion of Canadians would regard them-selves as tolerant and unprejudiced, thattheir national identity is synonymous withthe language of inclusion and respect for dif-ference—not ethnic polarisation and oppres-sion. However, is this view of Canada'shealthy ethnic diversity shared by those out-side its borders? And within this celebrationof multiculturalism, is tolerance and inclu-sion the reality for all Canadians? Moreover,could the policy of multiculturalism be initself problematic? These questions must bedealt with in order to create a society that istruly based on the promotion of racialjustice, .

When I first arrived at `the Vantouver. air-. ,port I was immediately struck by, thegrandiose totem poles and* refreshing celebration of First Nations culture This imagewas for me immediately juxtaposed with theproblematic British perception of a typicalCanadian as being a white European—very lit-tle is heard of the country's ethnic diversity orof the maltreatment of First Nations' people.This was a healthy challenge to, my pre-con-ceived notions. It was further enriching to dis-cover the number of people of Asian descentthat rightly saw themselves as Canadian'asmuch as they saw themselves as Chinese orKorean. I soon learned that there was no sin-gle defining 'Canadian' ethnicity. This filledme with a sense of joy that I had chosen tostudy on exchange within what appeared tobe a great mosaic of happily co-existing ethnic

cultures.Canada has without question come a long

way in the project of happy co-existence, butas my curiosity pushed me to dig deeper, Ifound a different kind of multiculturalism,one that celebrated diversity, while continu-ing to cement the dominance of those mostpowerful: mainly white, heterosexual males.One in which the oppressions of the past, andtheir effects on the present, are omitted frompopular notions and definitions of Canada. Amulticulturalism where concerns regardingracialised crime, the inarginalisation of com-munities and ethnic disadvantages in health,education and employment were jettisoned,because they challenge the comfortableimage.

Multiculturalism per se isn't in my opin-ion a negative thing. A truly multicultural andequal society has imminent social, culturaland political advantages. In its current form,however, multiculturalism in Canada fails themarginalised and excluded by not question-ing the very reasons for the existence of socialinequalities. It does not challenge solutionsthat seek to lay the blame squarely at the doorof the 'other' (any marginalised group of peo-ples) for their own predicament. It does notquestion the assertion that we have reached astate of racial equality and that society affords,the same_ opportunities to everyone.

In this flawed form of multiculturalism it*is simply a matter of who is personally moti-, vated and willing to work hard to make a liv-ing Assertions ,of there being a 'level playingfield' ignore oppression and the constantstruggle of ethnic minorities against not onlynegative stereotypes, but also the struggle togain material resources and to keep theiridentity and dignity

This view ean often discredit the recogni-tion that such social problems lie within 'alarger context of historical, structural andinstitutional factors. These factors sowed theseeds of inequality through the degradation,devaluation, oppression, exploitation anddehumanisation of people, particularly in the`context of First Nation communities. Theonus is on the most privileged of Canadian

society to support the marginalised intheir emancipation from all forms ofdiscrimination.

Talking about cultural diversity and pro-moting multiculturalism is ineffective if notaccompanied by an active commitment tochallenging inequalities through a fundamen-tal change, of institutions,- attitudes and prac- -tices. As Martin Luther King Jr argued, weneed a revolution of values, something virtu-ally impossible if we all believe that there isno more structural inequality or privilege insociety.

Multiculturalism is further problematicwhen it entrenches racism by renderingwhite privilege invisible, a benefit PeggyMcIntosh argues in her seminal work, "WhitePrivilege: Unpacking the invisible backpack.'White' people are conditioned not to recognisethat which they enjoy on a daily basis,McIntosh argues. Such privilege will remainentrenched in society until it is acknowledgedand deconstructed, power structures arealtered, and we all embrace dialogue and dis-sent with a willingness to stand in uncom-fortable places. Only then can we celebrateour passion for cultural diversity, justice andfreedom for all.

The above is not said to be deliberately dis-paraging about Canada or Canadians, a coun-

try and a people that I have grown to love. Itis said with the hope that—by pointing out thedisparities between rhetoric and reality that Iperceive—I will encourage debate on howCanada can move beyond racial differentia-tion and discrimination. Similarly, I don'tmean to suggest that Canada is ignoring solu-tions:- or" avoiding-the—road, top- actualisinghuman agency for all its citizens. Instead, Iwant to encourage everyone to take owner-ship of a new destination on this road, a newparadigm of radical multiculturalism, a newpolitics of cultural difference; willone that not only transform attitudinal discrimination,but will fundamentally alter power structuresby reconstituting the political economy andculture from the vantage point of the mostoppressed and marginalised. -

I invite you to join me today in my dreamand vision of social transformation, rooted inthe fundamental belief of a radically demo-cratic ideal of freedom and justice for all, witha sense of exciting possibility and potential.Let us together learn from the past and look toit for strength, not solace; look at the presentand acknowledge and wage war on all formsof inequality, rather than invest in individual-istic profiteering; and look toward the futureand vow to make it different and better foreveryone. 0

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by Kathleen Deering

I feel a slight sense of guilt for not knowing much about myJamaican roots or nay history, whereas I know a lot about myScottish history" actor Lesley Ewen tells me, as we sit at a coffee shop on Main Street She grew up with a white mother andwhite stepfather, and only met her Jamaican father when shewas 26 years old. People frequently assume she knows a lotmore about Jamaica. than she actually does, she says.

Ewen created a one-woman performance called 'AnUnderstanding of Brown' about eight-Years ago to facilitate dis-cussion and bring awareness about what it's like to be of mixedethnicity. She uses a brown box as a prop, symbolising herstruggle to identify with either of her parents' heritage and thecolour she eventually felt most comfortable identifying with_She is discussing common issues people of mixed ethnicityencounter with Jamala MacRae, a law student at UBC and organ-iser of this year's Black History Month events.

Despite being being born in Canada, both women are oftenasked where they come from, as if it's from somewhere else. Thequestion does not stem from people's curiosity about her 'whiteside,' Ewen says. Its the 'black side that people want to knowabout They can tell she isn't black', but they can tell she's not'white' either. "When people ask I say, 'My mother's Scottish andmy stepfather's Scottish too.' Then I just call a spade a spade.Where'd I get the tan? Oh, my biological father's Jamaican.'Then they say Oh Jamaican. Now I feel A now you're in a box.'"

People ask because white is the norm, she says. Whatevermakes up that white; whether German or Scottish or English,that is the norm. 'Whatever is outside of that needs to be ques-tioned and identified so 'the norm' can feel comfortable withit' Ewen says. 'And that's why we get asked and why you dontget asked, why people feel they need to know about our back-ground.'

MacRae agrees that at some point she has also felt sheshould know more about her background. Her ethnicity is amixture of Jamaican, Costa Rican and Scottish. Ewen theoris-es, 'Maybe as opposed to guilt if s an expectation that hasbeen put upon me that I should know more.'

MacRae reflects that she has identified herself as bothblack and I guess there s a little bit of me that feelsguilty, but it's not about other people. I mean no. one can real-ly place the guilt upon 'the; f don t think,' MacRae says. "Batthey can bring up questions like, 'Why is it I dont know aboutmy history?' I could maybe make the generalisation that whenyou re of colour, you re almost expected to know.'

MacRae said she thinks if people actually thought aboutwhat they themselves know about their own histories theywouldn't be quite so surprised when neither her nor Lesley

NOT CHOOSING SIDES: Lesley Ewen and Jamala MacRae

know the history of 'their ethnic background as well.Sometimes she becomes frustrated with the frequency of thequestion and says, "I'm from here.' When people press, she'llsay "Eastside, Vancouver' or that her parents are fromCanada. "After a while you just get tired of trying to make peo-ple nicely realise why their questions can be so bothersome.'

Maybe a good question to ask is why people need, to askthat question in the first place, Ewen says. Why some peoplefeel discomfort, or such curiousity not knowing. Why peoplefeel safer when they can put other people in a box, and identi-fy theta by a label.

Both women agree that the voice of the mixed individual isstarting to become more powerful. 'I think there's just moreof us,' said MacRae. "I think there were a lot of mixed couplesin the 70s, I think that started to become more and more okay,and those people had children. And we're those children.We're getting to a point where this is our country, our first lan-

tzt.

ponder the need to put others in a box. NIC FENSOM PHOTO

guage, our culture aid we're going to have a space hi it.'"I also think the mixed voices might go a long way toward

shifting racism,' adds Ewen, "because it challenges the dual-istic view of black, white or us being the donainant Or beingforced to choose sides. On one hand here's my mother who Ilove and here's my father who I love.'

In one of her shows Ewen met a girl who had about 10 dif-ferent ethnicities in her. 'How can you even have any kind ofracism? It negates the idea of racism,' she said. As peoplestart questioning what it means to be black or Chinese orwhite, perhaps the extra voice of people who are mixed willmean people will start to see each other's similarities ashuman beings. "I would really like to see that happen. I thinkit would make for a much more interesting world,' MacRaetells me. "To have all those different backgrounds and to knowa little bit about each of them and be really proud of them alland celebrate them all.' 0

‘21.6414;i4.by Michael Schwan&

They seem to be barely acquainted. I'm riding acrowded bus, holding a newspaper to give myeyes somewhere to be, but of course overhear-ing the young woman and man who sit acrossfrom me.

"So, what's your background, anyway?'"Well, English lit,' he says, tapping the

anthology on his lap."Nsr;ncr..." L

To me, as a person of (visibly) mixedancestry, this is a familiar conversation, atiresome interrogation, but I keep listening,curious as to how others deal with it.

"What do you Mean then?' he asks.She rephrases: "Well, like, what's your ori-

gin?''Burnaby.'

Clearly, he is an expert I look up, arid, likeme, he is quite visibly not white, but not of aspecific visible minority; he gets this a rot

'What about your parents?'

With a gentle sigh, he caves in, cuttingstraight to the inevitable destination with rolledeyes. "My mom's parents are both from thePhilippines,' he recites. 'My dad's are fromJamaica.'

"Wow.''Wow?'

"Yeahl Cool.'"Thanks..."

It's nice to be cool without lifting a finger. Iknow. I've been told how cool, how interestingmy 'background' is countless times, far 'toooften by people who don't know a single thingabout me beyond that.

Of course, the queries escalate in their can-dor. 'Anything else in there?' she asks, pokinghis arm.

Any other races to name? No. Anything elseworth knowing? Obviously—please ask.

"Nope.'

"Do you consider yourself'to be more black,or more Asian?'

This can only be answered in terms ofstereotypical assumptions, so assume what youwant to.

'Whatever.'

Et cetera. Ad nauseum.

It's time for me to get off the bus, and I givehim a sympathetic look as I stand. He staresback at me blankly, our brief eye contact likethat between any other pair of perfectstrangers. Briefly, I feel slighted, but then I amglad. Is there any reason that he shouldacknowledge, or even notice, vague similaritiesbetween him and L any more than our differ-ences from others should be scrutinised?

We don't think so. 0