Blame Canada
Look, I know I'm preaching to a converted audience of about six here, but I have to say something about Canadians, Mexico and the pig flu.
I get a lot of harrassment from a fellow Canadian at work because I refuse to perpetuate the stereotype of Canada as a land of shiny happy people without racism, homophobia, sexism or crime. See, the thing is, I love my country and I'm a proud Canadian, but I would attribute the majority of our socially liberal laws like gay marriage (permitted country-wide, no restrictions, no special word just for them) more to the typical Canadian impulse to choose human rights over personal beliefs rather than any assumption that any significantly larger percentage of the population actually believes gay marriage is "right" or "moral" or "doesn't make you sick to your stomach at the very thought of two men together."
Canada has a really great Public Relations department and, other than periodically bashing around a couple of doe-eyed baby seals, we've emerged virtually pristine in the world's eye. And this bothers me on some level because, while I do think Canada is a pretty awesome country in which to live, pretending that we're all friends and the sky is always blue and the birds always sing will not actually provide us with a forum to address the rampant poverty in Kapuskasing, the children going without breakfast, the gay teen being beaten in the parking lot on the way home, the tall young black man in a suit being harrassed by the police even though I told them the guy was a short, middle-aged Latino in jeans. We need to face the reality in order to fix it.
Which brings me to the pig flu.
Mexico, as I'm sure you're all aware aware now, is in the middle of a media frenzy about a possible pandemic of a flu derived from pigs that has to date left just over 60 people dead. In an attempt to stop the spread of the virus/look busy, yesterday the government shut down all schools and universities, movie theatres and auditoriums, and placed police in the metro to snag anyone that looked a bit queasy. Today, Saturday, the World Health Organization (WHO) is having an emergency meeting to decide whether to raise the global pandemic rating from 3 (impending) to 4 (in progess), 5 (holy crap) or 6 (aim for the head) - a raise that would mean closing the borders, canceling flights, etc. Even more piteously, this weekend two football games will be played to (intentionally) completely empty stadiums lest one sneeze set off a wave of illness.
Canada's media, in what I have come to see as a very Canadian desperate to share the attention related to a crisis, have started publishing articles with titles such as "Assumed Swine Flu in Ontario" (summary: there is no actually evidence that there are any cases of pig flu in Ontario but, given how many Ontarians visit Mexico in an average winter, maybe, just maybe, we'll be lucky enough to have a case soon!) and "Fear Grows in Mexico" (summary: we have very few new details of any note but apocalyptic fearmongering sells!).
And the commenters are ready, mouse in hand, to unleash some of the most hateful, xenophobic bullshit I have read in a long time:
What I find so amazing about this stream of hatred towards Mexico and Mexicans is that, prior to coming here, I don't think I knew we had a problem. I remember seeing a Saturday Night Live sketch in which two men performing in a politically incorrect cabaret entered in sombreros and ponchos and sang, "I don't want to work, I only want to siesta," and I was mildly confused. My understanding was that Canadians just didn't know much about Mexico - cactus and beans and burros - but at the most thought Mexico to be kind of sweet and undeveloped (think the little town in The Three Amigos) - we were ignorant, sure, but not hostile. Speedy Gonzalez was my favourite cartoon character growing up, damn it!
When did we develop this fanatic racism against Mexico?
And, to make things worse, it's undoubtedly the same people who wailed and gnashed their teeth and shook their fists at the sky when the international media were expounding the Real and Terrible Danger of Toronto during the SARS outbreak in 2003. The international fear was pumped up to such a tremendous degree that Toronto spent years trying to dig its assassinated economy out of the ground. Now, faced with a very similar situation, what do we do? MEXICO is bad, is evil, is a no fly zone, stay away, never go, do not even make eye contact with it.
It's making me very very angry.
Another commenter sums up how I want to respond:
I get a lot of harrassment from a fellow Canadian at work because I refuse to perpetuate the stereotype of Canada as a land of shiny happy people without racism, homophobia, sexism or crime. See, the thing is, I love my country and I'm a proud Canadian, but I would attribute the majority of our socially liberal laws like gay marriage (permitted country-wide, no restrictions, no special word just for them) more to the typical Canadian impulse to choose human rights over personal beliefs rather than any assumption that any significantly larger percentage of the population actually believes gay marriage is "right" or "moral" or "doesn't make you sick to your stomach at the very thought of two men together."
Canada has a really great Public Relations department and, other than periodically bashing around a couple of doe-eyed baby seals, we've emerged virtually pristine in the world's eye. And this bothers me on some level because, while I do think Canada is a pretty awesome country in which to live, pretending that we're all friends and the sky is always blue and the birds always sing will not actually provide us with a forum to address the rampant poverty in Kapuskasing, the children going without breakfast, the gay teen being beaten in the parking lot on the way home, the tall young black man in a suit being harrassed by the police even though I told them the guy was a short, middle-aged Latino in jeans. We need to face the reality in order to fix it.
Which brings me to the pig flu.
Mexico, as I'm sure you're all aware aware now, is in the middle of a media frenzy about a possible pandemic of a flu derived from pigs that has to date left just over 60 people dead. In an attempt to stop the spread of the virus/look busy, yesterday the government shut down all schools and universities, movie theatres and auditoriums, and placed police in the metro to snag anyone that looked a bit queasy. Today, Saturday, the World Health Organization (WHO) is having an emergency meeting to decide whether to raise the global pandemic rating from 3 (impending) to 4 (in progess), 5 (holy crap) or 6 (aim for the head) - a raise that would mean closing the borders, canceling flights, etc. Even more piteously, this weekend two football games will be played to (intentionally) completely empty stadiums lest one sneeze set off a wave of illness.
Canada's media, in what I have come to see as a very Canadian desperate to share the attention related to a crisis, have started publishing articles with titles such as "Assumed Swine Flu in Ontario" (summary: there is no actually evidence that there are any cases of pig flu in Ontario but, given how many Ontarians visit Mexico in an average winter, maybe, just maybe, we'll be lucky enough to have a case soon!) and "Fear Grows in Mexico" (summary: we have very few new details of any note but apocalyptic fearmongering sells!).
And the commenters are ready, mouse in hand, to unleash some of the most hateful, xenophobic bullshit I have read in a long time:
Suprize....suprize ??? Didn't they just run a story on the water being turned off around Mexico City.....lack of sanitation possibly ???? Small wonder a DoomsDay plague popped up so fast
I'm wondering why the Mexican Authorities did not sound the alarm earlier? Why did it take a diagnosis from the United States and Canada (people returning from Mexico) to ring those alarm bells?And so on. I can't even continue going through the comment boards, sorry. I'm only a few pages into the responses on ONE SINGLE ARTICLE to get the above comments.
Your country is too dangerous for me - too many uninvestigated deaths, unlawful imprisonments, murders of innocents in the name of drug crimes - none of my Canadian dollars for you, and I remind every Canadian who wants to visit of the same. Clean up your house before you invite visitors.
I swear I could have mistaken those theives for people trying to avoid the flu ...
Mexico should be a No Fly Zone for all Canadians. Screw Harper's Free Trade deals.
How many Canadians have been murder in or around MEXICO, now thiers a disease, that can be brought back to CANADA. I believe if plants ,animals, foods have to be in Quaritine, why aren't HUMANS? Who in thier right mind pays people to murder them and now diseases, what wrong with our government?
Mexico city is the same size as the population of Canada & It has questionable sanitary practices. It was only a matter of time before a new strain made its way into the human population. Hmm, makes you wonder what the hell they are doing with pigs down there.
I'm still going to Mexico City...too b honest I'm more worried about getting shot by some crack addict trying to steal my wallet than this
The fact that your wife travels to Mexico for work tells quite a bit about how sheltered you are.
Mexico = cheap vacations
Mexio = cheap labour
Mexico = infested with crime, drugs and corruption
you get my drift right?
What I find so amazing about this stream of hatred towards Mexico and Mexicans is that, prior to coming here, I don't think I knew we had a problem. I remember seeing a Saturday Night Live sketch in which two men performing in a politically incorrect cabaret entered in sombreros and ponchos and sang, "I don't want to work, I only want to siesta," and I was mildly confused. My understanding was that Canadians just didn't know much about Mexico - cactus and beans and burros - but at the most thought Mexico to be kind of sweet and undeveloped (think the little town in The Three Amigos) - we were ignorant, sure, but not hostile. Speedy Gonzalez was my favourite cartoon character growing up, damn it!
When did we develop this fanatic racism against Mexico?
And, to make things worse, it's undoubtedly the same people who wailed and gnashed their teeth and shook their fists at the sky when the international media were expounding the Real and Terrible Danger of Toronto during the SARS outbreak in 2003. The international fear was pumped up to such a tremendous degree that Toronto spent years trying to dig its assassinated economy out of the ground. Now, faced with a very similar situation, what do we do? MEXICO is bad, is evil, is a no fly zone, stay away, never go, do not even make eye contact with it.
It's making me very very angry.
Another commenter sums up how I want to respond:
Have you ever been to Mexico? Because your other assumptions about Mexico are just plain ignorant. Yes, there are cheap vactaions to be had in Mexico, yes the drug cartels are a huge problem, and yes the labour is cheap. But to reduce a country and it's population to these few things is ridiculous. By that logic, SARS hit Toronto because of the gang violence, and all of Canada is full of corrupt politicians and beavers.You know what? To all the people who shun Mexico because they think it's full of swarthy villains looking to exploit and infect you, good riddance to you. This country is FAR better off without your ignorant whining.
Comments
I am so so tired of this attitude, too. One of the reasons I don't plan on ever going back to the US to live.
Thanks again.
Not sure how this relates to the swineflu, especially, but your post brought it to mind.
Remember the fuss about bird flu and how it was going to wipe us out? Nothing much came of that, and we all seem to still be here. I'm expecting much the same kind of panicked coverage of this new pandemic. I'm sure one day we will all be wiped out by something, but in the meantime, the hysteria of the coverage helps no-one, and it simply stokes up the reaction like the one we see here.