Close Reading

This video seems to really capture the reality of a typical America and the narration really crystalizes it. Even though it depicts a less urban setting, the same stillness can be found in cities and suburbs. It’s not what you see on Netflix or in Hollywood where there’s a story to be told and you do see a lot of human interaction from scene to scene. In real life America so many lead an isolated life indoors except for when one has to go to work or school. One explanation for this, however, is that community in America and many societies is not geographically determined. It’s structured around work, school, church, one’s immediate family if there is anyone and other kinds of civic associations. Loneliness really comes in when one does not belong to any of these “communities”. One’s geographical community (in a society like America’s) simply does not or cannot provide a sense of belonging. It provides physical and material comforts but not emotional or social sustenance, which has to come from those other types of associations. And I sense this is not just a Western world phenomenon. I think it’s happening everywhere and simply a fact of life wherever the vast majority of people living in any space have no family ties with one another. In a village or neighborhood setting in a place like India or Africa, you’ll have such liveliness on the streets and among neighbors because a lot of the people there are simply relatives of each other.

Come to India, you can never feel lonely..........billions of people, streets jammed with traffic, high density population, stray dogs, stray cows, continous honking from vehicles etc......it's a happening place I can tell you, it may seem chaotic at first but India will never feel boring and depressed and to mention each month there are some festivals, celebrations, fares and street foods......India acts like an anti-depressant

Canada is what you make of it. You can arrive rich and end up poor and you can arrive poor and end up rich. In between that, you can have a great life that balances your needs. I’ve seen immigrants succeed simply because they see the opportunity in front of them . They worked hard in their own counties to stay just above the poverty line ,but when they apply that same effort here it pays off ten times greater. I feel that compared to a lot of immigrants, natural born Canadians come across as spoiled and a little lazy…we are. We haven’t had to struggle the same way someone from a poorer country might have. I’ve talked to people who’ve worked ten to twelve hours a day just to stay afloat. If you did that here you could make plenty of money to live and have some left over. As far as owning a house goes,yes it’s expensive . I feel that homeownership in any country is relatively expensive. Here is a tip; use that soaring home prices to your advantage. Houses are expensive but you can make a lot of money buying and selling. I recommend putting together a buyers group and share the house for a few years, then sell at a profit, buy a bigger house or two smaller houses.try to buy the worst house in the best neighbourhood and fix it up slowly . That house could double in value in five or six years in the Toronto market. This is nothing new of course ,the people from India and China seem to do this a lot here ,it drives up prices and profits. On the downside to this ,you are now part of the problem. As the housing prices are driven up the non wealthy can no longer afford to own a house . They are at the mercy of high rents with no rewards of ownership. They are caught in a cycle of hard work and (relative)poverty. This could also be you if you can’t keep up the house payments and are forced to rent.\nHow well you speak English is important but your native language is also useful here because Canada is half immigrants . As a Canadian that speaks only english (Irish descent)I have to say to all newcomers that I’m very impressed that you have learned a new language and that you may even speak more than two! Don’t be embarrassed about your abilities . I find that in my experience , Canadians do not look down on people just because they don’t know English. In fact ,I’ve known people that have lived here for decades and still know very little English. They are comfortable in their communities and they function just fine. Learn as much English as suits your needs and be proud of any gains you make.\nOutside of Toronto are other cities that you might consider when looking at southern Ontario.From my experience,most are generally the same, just not as big . There are large immigrant communities in London Ontario, Hamilton and just outside of Toronto where housing is just a little bit less expensive but the commute to work is probably longer. This is just my opinion but in the small towns there are less people of colour , (which is what people of no colour call everyone else . I wonder if I’m called a person of no colour in some other culture ? LoL ). That might make it harder for you to feel integrated ,if that’s what you want. I’m not saying that people from other cultures can’t make it in a small town , I’m just saying that it’s definitely not Toronto . Here, people of any nationality can feel like they have a place where they can belong . It seems that no matter where you are from ,there is a community already here that’s set up restaurants and stores and clothing shops and newcomer support systems. And if your from Portugal or China or India or Africa or the Middle East, there are large groups of your kin here that have established roots for generations and you probably know this already.\nToronto means meeting place and that becomes evident quickly. I was born here and it’s one of the things I love the most about my city. I’m not going to say that there isn’t systemic racism here ,the people of no colour still kind of keep the top position , but as we become a minority in a decade or so ,I hope that will shift to a broader spectrum. It’s certainly happening already. One good thing is that the police department tries to hire people of colour so that racialism may play a smaller role. We’re getting used to seeing our politicians more and more reflect their constituents.\nI have to talk about the weather. Because I’m from here I’m used to the extremes of minus thirty and plus thirty . Eventually you get used to it (somewhat). Dressing in the right clothes is important. Summer is easy , but winter is different. It’s trying to kill you. Spend the most that you can afford on winter cloths . If you can afford a quality parka you should get one. The hood can be drawn around the face and stay out of the wind.\nIf not ,think of layers with a outer layer that blocks the wind. We have things called long Johns that are basically full length thick cotton or nylon pants that go on under your pants and a pair of extra thick socks. Buy your boots to fit your thick socks. Try to get the best boots you can afford ,it’s something that you might spend a little extra for but never regret.\nAll in all we are a fairly organized and peaceful society. Most people are friendly and will give you a chance . We have a good social safety net here and you don’t have to be homeless or starving if you don’t want to. There are people and organizations set up to help ,that truly try to get people back on their feet. It’s a good investment that pays off in ways that matter for the quality of life in a big city. I’m not putting my American neighbours down when I say they do things differently. They have their ways ,we have ours. This is just something that we do because we’re trying to learn how to help those that society has discarded or can’t find their place. Sure we have one or two areas where the homeless have pitched tents and we have some resources for them if they want. Unfortunately The mayor recently forced a small camp to move from a very visible place to more scattered locations. There were social workers involved as well as protesters trying to protect them. I didn’t like that happening and I want to see even more resources dedicated to them ,but on the other hand ,we are trying to avoid something like what happens on the streets when it’s just ignored. When I see YouTube videos of the streets of Philadelphia I’m extremely saddened. I thank the lucky stars that I was born in Toronto Canada.\nFor all it’s pollution and expense and crowds ,I think it’s a great place to do almost anything your heart desires . For every ugly building there is a beautiful park ,for every honked horn there is a birds call , for every cold and dark day there is beautiful sunny one around the corner.

This whole “micro aggression” nonsense is what completely makes people not take racism seriously and as a real issue. I for one am not saying I’m one of those people but I’m just making an observation. Because along with real problems of people literally hating a certain group and thinking they’re above them just because their skin is a different color than them, we lump somebody touching your hair?? Sounds more like she just wasn’t comfortable with somebody doing that, and most people would probably say that they’d be uncomfortable with something like that, regardless of their ethnicity. I hate when racism gets thrown around because people are insecure and think everything bad or unwarranted that happens to them from a white person is rooted in racism. It’s seems like “it’s racism cuz I decided it was”. Some people are just assholes, or weirdos, and need to be put in their place and labeling EVERYTHING as racism really causes a lot of people to not take things seriously when it IS present.

It seems so wildly impossible to imagine that the people still willfully in a comatose state after a year of this insanity... will ever wake up. \nI don't know what to think any more...\nSometimes I'm certain it's all a mass awakening happening at turtle-speed, and all is perfect; divine timing.\nOther times... watching zombies in masks, salivating with excitement over the mark of the beast... that's when I lose my ability to hold on to hope...\n(I also heard David icke speak in an interview about the coming of 6g and 7g! How will humanity survive that?)

It's so blatant what's going on now. This isn't about race. This is about divide. Whoever these people are who are telling what these companies/media to say are clearly trying to get us fighting each other. It really seems like they're trying to divert attention. If we're all fighting each other we're not paying attention to what's happening to the side. \n\nPlease people. Right, left, black, white, blue, yellow, atheist, or religious. We need to come together. They are using our beliefs against us. I know it's hard to see other's views when they are so radically different than your own, but we have to look at the bigger picture.

Of course theres racism here.\nOf course police act in terrible ways.\nOf course no one wants to talk about it... \n\nAnd no, its not as bad as it is in the states... but it exists.\nWe militarize our police.. mostly from fear.. but also because its “good politics” to say “we increased policing”\n\nNo, its not right.\n\nCall it out.\nNot sometimes..every time. Not if its your race being afflicted.. for any race. Every time.\n\nIt DOES take time... it will not happen overnight. Especially if we want it to not come BACK.. which it seems to.\n\nTeach your kids. To stand up for themselves.. and for others.\nEspecially for others. Education starts at home. Dont trust schools or others to do what’s right... not until YOU do it too.\n\nSmall, steady steps will get us there faster than huge, resisted ones.\nRemember that.\nWhen a small step is taken, doesnt matter by who.. support it. Make the ones who took it feel it was WORTH TAKING... then watch how eager they are to take the next one.\n\nTrain them like a dog. One step at a time, with constant “atta boy”’s and treats.. and one day, they will just do as they should.. because its right? Because they want the pat on the head?\nDoesnt matter why, so long as they keep taking steps.\n\nWhen they take a step and everyone complains “its not enough” or “you dont really care”... why would they do it again?\n\nReward those small steps.. pat em on the head.. and they WILL do it again.\nPunish those steps, by complaining about it, because it didn’t solve everything at once?\n\nConditions them not to bother trying.

Speaking of racism and discrimination, what’s with the music choice? Seriously? This is just a fluff price to seem relevant. Black people already know that this is happening to them. It does absolutely NOTHING to fix the problem.

Racial profiling happens in the Court room as well in Ontario. Public servants such as judges and public safety officers/investigators treat non-white individual very poorly -- their decisions are bluntly biased against non-white claimant. (These are my first-hand accounts.) There seems to be no justice for non-white demographic groups in this province.

I feel some sympathy for her. She is now 28 the last order would have been sent to her mother in 2006 which her mother ignored (at the time she was maybe 14) she would not have had a clue about what happened as a minor, since she was only 6 when she arrived. She should have dealt with this when she was 18 but 10 years have passed...she seems to be contributing and well spoken it's a tough call. She could go back to France and reapply as a landed immigrant - perhaps that would save face for the government and for her to get in legally. No idea why her mother thought a refugee application was a good idea from France of all places...

I am shocked at the fact there are more dislikes than likes when the CBC provides facts and so many people say they are lies, and others agree! The negative sentiments about refugees and immigrants are getting louder and people are happy to call fellow human beings “them”. They insinuate this is a huge burden, when the fact is we benefit from migration. It seems people think Canada will be over run by people from a foreign land, take all the resources and eliminate people born here, but that’s only happened once, when the British and the French arrived 400 years ago.

This is happening in Southern California. The Chinese are buying ranch style homes. Demolishing them. And building Mega Mansions. Check out the YouTube video Chinese Beverly Hills. This was my city of Arcadia,California. Chinese swarmed over us. Young and Old. All seem to have a lot of ?.

Seems USA may need to build a wall on Canadian border .. what happens when all the illegals in Canada decide to come to USA ??

I'll lay it out for you: Me: typical middle of the road liberal oriented Canadian. Non white, immigrant (I wasnt born here) I worked in a Refugee housing for over 4 years in Ontario. Most were not war areas refugees (Yes I know there are other types of refugees). I only encountered few refugees from war areas. ONLY 1 person from Iraq, about 2 families were from Afghanistan, 1 couple from Pakistan(I doubt they were real refugees they spoke fluent English, maybe political refugee), and a most from African countries. Its too far for real refugees to get here. Its Easier for them to go to other countries nearby or Europe. MOST SEEM TO BE ECONOMIC REFUGEES. Most were coming from Africa. Some are coming from Latin America, which shouldn't be happening. Once they showed up at our doorstep and we processed them into the system, they were immediately in the same class as a Canadian resident homeless person if they were making a refugee claim. We get money to house and feed them (from the government), and they are given a stipend for basics from the government processed through the Social Assistance/ Welfare system (they get less than a resident/citizen I think.). They then have to get their case processed by the refugee board, and most seem to get in. I've only heard of few getting sent back. One person I know at our facility, was given a subsided social housing apartment after a year in our facility. So they went straight from a shelter to a government/city owned subsidized apartment. (Didn't seem like it was a issue for the housing worker...they didn't report it (if they were not the ones that helped the person to get it), they were white, the housed person was Latin. This refugee claimant, and then month or two new Canadian resident person was given an apartment in a prime area of the city, instead of the 1000's of Canadians, those who came before them, and born Canadian citizens on an extremely long waiting list. How this was allowed to happen I don't know. The person was probably sucking on someone's straw. I'm just trying to think the barriers these people have to go through to get a job here. We are far removed from the time of the 80's and 90's., and housing and jobs are so hard to get. Lol the "Canadian government asks them to repay the traveling cost to Canada if they are sent back"....I wonder how much the government recoups?.....more like 0 probably. What a bunch of crap. How do you demand someone to repay their flight cost when they get back to their country?

Instead of trying to skirt the system and the legal process, he may have had a better chance just doing things legally in the first place. It says he spent 15 years in the US illegally before sneaking into Canada, then he spent how long there trying to find loopholes by claiming all of these bogus circumstances? I sympathize with the guy, but I also can't ignore his mistakes and what has happened as a direct result of him trying to game the system. His actions have affected his family, and he seems to blame everyone else but himself.

All the people calling this race baiting don't understand that this happens daily to minority. Seems only whites have an issue with this

It’s amazing how so many people in this comment section can’t seem to understand this!! Just because you don’t see or deal with discrimination or racism doesn’t mean it’s not out here & happening every single day!!