Visible Minorities

Visible Minorities in the Media

It is not very hard to see on TV about news of people in Iraq who live in loosely built homes or walks by bodies that have just been blown up by bombs. Most of the time we would feel the tragedy and the compassion for these deeply wounded people. There has been an interesting story lately where an Iraq woman in Toronto, Canada was repeatedly told "Go back to your country" (Vive le Canada-Visible Minorities and Racism). The media first presented those we feel sorry for and then dramatically shifted and said we are kicking them back to the nightmare that they escaped from.

Visible minorities are people who are not the major population of a certain country (Wikipedia-Visible Minorities). In Canada there is about over 5 million visible minorities which is 16.2% of the whole population (Census 2006). Through history we have learned countless stories of discrimination and we have taken action fixing and compensating the mistakes that we have made. Though I question, why haven't media learned the lessons and keep up to the pace?

It is always so hard to find the fault that the media has made. It is true that most of the media we see are authorized and government give credit to them. The visual aspect of media makes it more convincing because we can see what is happening. Most importantly major events are reported instantly and almost all press hold the same opinion. Indeed, media makes it much easier for information to pass across international borders. Controversial issues are brought up in our daily lives and it seems that media is always the place to find our solution. Slowly our ideas and opinions are shaped by the media and we would become innocent followers. However, media handles daily racial events insufficiently. National Black Police Association President, Keith Jarrett says "The way the media portrays people in color is most time in a very negative way" (Head to Head-Racism and Media). Visible minorities are inadequately represented in the media. Yet are the ones to blame for national disunity, employment crunches and criminal activities.

Recent years immigrants have just been flowing to Canada. The media shows Canada should not welcome immigrants anymore because a threat is emerging. With the multicultural and mosaic society that we have now it is very hard to find a Canadian identity. What is the sense of fully belonging to Canada? The most valuable right that Canadians have is the right to vote. In the 2011 federal election, party leaders all proposed an efficient immigration system. I personally know a lot of adult immigrants who voted in the 2011 election. They would go and emphasize how important it is to vote to their kids and friends. Some would even scream at the TV when Canucks scored and proudly wear a jersey. Canadians should not be scared of visible minorities thriving and quietly shading our national identity when our national unity is on the rise.Though I question, why haven't media keep up to the pace?

When there happens to be unemployment increase the visible minorities