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The previous post - immediately below this one - segues seamlessly into today's: from local institutionalized racism into national institutionalized racism. It seems the colonials had it right all along: white on white in white is the way to go!
Even though the Harper declared otherwise or not at the G-20 Meeting in Pittsburgh, Sep. 25, 2009:
We are the country everybody would like to be. ...We also have no colonialism. So we have all the things that many people admire about great powers, but none of the things that threaten or bother them.
Recently obtained through the Access to Information Act: The Canadian Press (CP) has now made public information based on a report commissioned by the Bank of Canada (B of C) from The Strategic Counsel(?), 2009.
And it goes like this: Prior to letting loose the new, improved plastic-money, Nov. 2011 - this Counsel ran focus groups in Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and Fredericton to gauge the public's feelings around the new designs. Members of these (such) groups were (customarily are) strictly profiled and sign-up for the money. In this case to the tune of $53.000 overall. Their opinions are hardly spontaneous, definitely not random-samplings.
The image of a scientist - sitting at a microscope, with a bottle of Insulin nearby - is getting much attention in Bank bans 'Asian' woman from $100 banknote, Dean Beeby/CP, Aug. 17. Because some thought in these focus groups - how much is not mentioned here - objected to her Asianness as doggone Uncanadian.
I do not want to get into the stupidity of that one, nor do I want to get into the stupidity of said Counsel and the stupidity of the B of C for immediately pulling the design and modifying it into "neutral" ethnicity, so that now Her light features appear to be Caucasian. But neutral ethnicity does not connect comfortably with her light features appearing to be Caucasian. You want neutral - you get Caucasian?
The hole is getting deeper!
In the write-up, Jeremy Harrison - spokesman for the B of C - is quoted as saying that as a matter of banknote-design policy The original image was not designed or intended to be a person of a particular ethnic group. But obviously when we got into focus groups, there was some thought the image appears to represent a particular ethnic group, so modifications were made.
Some thought!
While there was additional thought - all this thoughting could make a man dizzy! - that a strand of DNA next to the scientist was a sex toy. And on all the notes the clear-plastic insert was a female body.
You get the picture!
Both also modified just like that - the strand of DNA now being a nothing twirl.
Particularly frightening here is that - what with modifications presumably not made to the overall design of the woman - louping something Asian in her small facial features must be coming from a very deep place very close to the surface of the observants' minds!
The original design is not available - the design shown here is post nip & tuck.
That multi-culturalism thing - over and done with once and for all!
Upon leaving his post in Ottawa in 1984, Lord Moran - British High Commissioner - tells his bosses in London in a valedictory dispatch that Canadians are deeply unimpressive.
Anyone who is moderately good at what they do in literature, the theatre, skiing or whatever, tends to become a national figure. And anyone who stands out at all from the crowd tends to be praised to the skies and given the Order of Canada at once.
Associated Press, Oct. 18, 2009
Oh, my Lords - could it be that Mum has not been amused with us all along?
Back to the CP write-up.
One person in Fredericton commented: "The person on it appears to be of Asian descent which doesn't represent Canada. It is fairly ugly!"
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