Information Radio's Marcy Markusa reflects on racism in Winnipeg

Since Maclean's put out an article with an inflammatory headline suggesting that our city is the most racist in Canada, I have wanted to write something about it.

At first I fashioned a piece that defended Winnipeg because, frankly, that's my go-to position on most things. This is my home and I hated that headline. I thought, "what an awful image to project to the rest of the world!"

My sober second, though, is that my defensive position was simply a knee-jerk reaction to an oversimplified headline.

Blog number one in the trash.

Next I turned my attention to the individual stories in the article. The stories of people who have felt marginalized in our community. I could pick each one apart. I could challenge the facts as presented in the story. I could dismantle the article, take the author to task and celebrate.

But celebrate what, exactly?

I even got some online feedback about my decision not to go into that territory online. A listener tweeted to me: "It`s pretty obvious you've decided we are the most racist which is very disappointing. I thought you loved Winnipeg."

I do love Winnipeg. In fact, I love the city enough to try and make sense of this for myself.

Blog number two in the trash.

So here I sit. A week later and attempt number three at a blog about racism.

To be honest, this is something that I think is so raw, sensitive and critical to the building of our city that I don't know what I fear more: Writing about it or not writing about it.

I will, however, write about what I know.

I know that as a middle-aged white woman who grew up in North Kildonan with every privilege in the world, I have never faced racism. Never. In my life. I have never felt the sting of it.

I also know that I have heard, ad nauseam, comments from people in my own personal life about the "old days."

The old days in Winnipeg's North End when people spoke freely and hurled racial slurs at each other on Selkirk Avenue, no matter what background a person came from. I have heard this scenario used to defend a simpler time when people didn't worry about being labelled racist.

What I don't understand is why people are still defending those types of comments today. We are not living in that time anymore. Doesn't anyone else cringe when they watch Archie Bunker?

Having said that, I also realize that in my own life I have pulled back from asking certain questions about race for fear of being outed as ignorant. Notice that I didn't say "labelled" ignorant, but "outed" as ignorant. Everyone is ignorant about something.

I figure if we aren't willing to endure a moment of shame or discomfort to get to a better place then maybe we won`t mend our racial divide. I so think that we need a safe place to talk to each other honestly or we will get nowhere as a community.

To me, this is an opportunity to understand racism against indigenous people from a personal and perhaps even more critically, a systemic point of view. So let me share what I regret.

I regret not learning about residential schools during my education in Manitoba. I regret not learning about treaties like they do now in Saskatchewan. I regret the times that I didn't stand up when I heard racist comments made by others in public that made me cringe.

I regret not taking the role of passing on what education and understanding I do have that may have been beneficial to those willing to listen. I regret that I have just learned the term "check your privilege."

What I don`t regret is that the conversation over the past week has moved our city to talk about facing racism, rather than debating whether it exists in Winnipeg.

And I certainly will never regret living here.