Racial Understandings Islanders example essay topic

ENG 101 - Expository Essay The Little Island Of Ignorance P.E. I is a land diseased with a covertly racist population. It's a segregated land made up of less than 150 000 people, nearly all of which are of a Caucasian descent. There is little racial diversity to speak of and even less racial appreciation. While Canada is a land that prides itself on its cultural diversity, with our bilingual national identity and multicultural communities, P.E. I seems to have missed out on such privileges. Less than 5% of its people are French and not even 10% are officially bilingual. Even Western Canada, which also lacks a strong French presence, counteracts this with a very substantial Asian population.

Yet, Islanders share their land with an unusually small percentage of visible minorities from any respective region of the world. This lack of cultural diversity has led to an ignorant society un-accepting of racial differences. Islanders are ethnocentric in nature. Most Islanders maintain that you " re never truly an "Islander", no matter how long you " ve lived there if you weren't born there. This exclusive group seems to also exclude those who are not both English and white, as to be a minority of any kind would make it impossible to passively partake in many Island conversations without compromising your own cultural identity.

Unfounded Island arrogance seems to permeate most social settings. Many Islanders are quick to dismiss jokes which contain derogatory racial connotations. Racial epitaphs are unusually prevalent in their conversations. They seem to find such comments either acceptable or harmless. Nonetheless, foreigners, whether minority or otherwise often find such remarks disturbing and proof of racial ignorance. All other parts of North America, specifically following the civil rights movements of the 1960's have embraced the idea that all men are indeed created equal.

The majority of communities also uphold a certain level of racial impartiality and cultural sensitivity that's apparently missing from P.E. I's landscape. Islanders lack the racial understanding and acceptance that comes with a multicultural populace. While not missing out from a legal point of view, Islanders have definitely missed out on the societal benefits that occurred from the human rights developments of the twentieth century. Since Islanders live in such extreme cultural isolation their thoughts associated with race have obviously not fully evolved. This is understandable as such progress would only be likely to occur through human interaction.

Thus, P.E. I's populations arrogance and ignorance is indicative of their cultural isolation. It would seem that when it comes to racial understandings Islanders maintain ignorance really is bliss. Prince Edward Island's population is behind the times in their treatment of racial diversity. They not only fail to move towards 'difference blindness' but are also unable to produce a tactful recognition of racial differences. The reasons for this are obvious: a significant lack of cultural diversification and a strong desire to preserve their own cultural identity.

However, ignorance is not an excuse for the use of racial epitaphs or derogatory racial identifications. It's a shame that Islanders, who " ve so much pride in themselves and their little island, show so little respect and appreciation for the cultures of the rest of the world.