Migrants: Journal says everyone hates ’em
The Journal pushes a storyline here that everyone hates migrants, Americans and Québécois alike.
Thomas is quite right in his comment below. The story is about people living near the border, a new instalment being about hearing babies crying as people cross the border in the dark.
DeWolf 13:03 on 2024-10-15 Permalink
Do you think that if opportunistic politicians and right-wing media hadn’t been steadily beating the anti-migrant drum for the past few years, anyone would have noticed or cared about the “explosion of migrants”? Especially in rural Quebec?
I’m not saying it was a wise idea for the federal and provincial governments to bring in massive numbers of temporary foreign workers all at once, and there are certainly a lot of immigration scams being run by dodgy private schools. But the actual day to day impact for most people must be pretty minimal, right?
Think about all the Indian hate that has suddenly appeared everywhere online. There was some hysteria in Ontario this summer about Indians pooping on beaches that was being spread first by clickbait IG accounts and then the tabloid media. You constantly see shady posts on Reddit complaining about groups of Indian men hanging around and intimidating people – not just in one specific neighbourhood or city but all over the place. It’s gotten to the point where seemingly normal people will start ranting about Indians and “international students” (which has become a euphemism for “brown people I don’t like”) in real life. This is yet another version of the yellow peril – a xenophobic panic being fomented for profit and political gain.
thomas 13:22 on 2024-10-15 Permalink
Maybe I miss something, but this article is narrow in its focus. It is only about people who have property at popular border crossings. I’m not sure anyone would like to find human smugglers scoping out your farm as described.
Kate 15:22 on 2024-10-15 Permalink
Headline’s a bit clickbaity, then.
JP 21:28 on 2024-10-16 Permalink
It’s interesting you mention that, DeWolf. I hadn’t heard about some of the things you mention that are circulating.I consider myself privileged and lucky that my whole life I’ve mostly not ever encountered overt, explicit racism as an ethnically Indian person in Montreal, but this summer was the first time that I’ve experienced it overtly: Once being yelled at and called an “esti immigrant” from a driver waiting at a red light while it was green for me and I crossed (he was very aggressive and would not stop, and even continued once he turned onto the street I was walking on; I honestly think he picked on me because in addition to being Indian I’m also a woman, so an easier target for him) and once during a friend’s wedding, a person came into the lobby of the building to start ranting about “les indiens…” It’s somewhat distressing and it’s one of the reasons I stopped going for walks for a little while. I actually felt anxious about crossing at crosswalks and intersections for a few weeks after that, letting drivers pass at crosswalks even if I had the right of way, etc. I know so many groups, cultures and people experience this but it’s been strange to feel vulnerable (not sure if that’s the right word) all of a sudden (i.e., over the last couple of months). I suppose it will pass.
DeWolf 12:11 on 2024-10-17 Permalink
@JP That’s terrible and I’m sorry to hear that. I hope it does pass, but there needs to be a proactive effort to counter it before that happens.