Do I Regret This?
Those words are taken from the apology made by Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin on Wednesday in an interview broadcast on Fairchild Radio in British Columbia. He was addressing the issue of the head tax when he said, "As I have said many times, do I regret this? The answer is yeas. Do I apologize? Yes."
The head tax was charged on Chinese immigrants from the 1880's to the 1920's, and was intended to curtail Chinese immigration to Canada. Originally set at $50.00 a person, the tax was raised in the early 1900's to $500.00 a person. Since that figure was equal to the amount it took the average Chinese Canadian worker two whole years to earn, it did present an incredible obstacle to anyone trying to bring their family here. The tax was stopped 80 years ago, but its effect is looming large in today's election campaign.
Martins' apology was an informal one. Many in the Chinese community are demanding an official apology in the House of Commons, and making it into an issue that could sway the outcome of the January 23 vote. The Chinese Canadian National Council lists 20 constituencies where Chinese voters could carry the vote, depending on how individual candidates respond to them and their demands for the apology and monetary compensation.
The head tax was definitely a wrong that needed to be set right, but I am not so sure that voters should let the utterance of an apology determine where they mark their choice on the ballot. As a teacher, I have had the experience times past counting of the student who is the rotten apple bound to spoil every barrel s/he contacts.The problem was always that so many of these individuals mastered the pronunciation of the syllables in the words "I am sorry". That's all it was to them, a string of syllables they didn't even assemble into words in their minds. They had no more meaning or reality to them than a three-dollar bill. Some of the kids didn't quite catch on to the acting that would have added that wonderful finishing touch, so their apologies were given in sullen tones. Some of them however, could clean up on Academy Awards night. Their apologies came complete with smiles or crocodile tears, whichever they thought more likely to sway the listener. The past masters could even manage a tremulous smile of gratitude through their tears as the apology was accepted. All of this came sometimes mere hours before the next offense. Many a politician is no different than those students.
Why is it being made into such an issue right now? Why does the apology have to be given right now, and used as the basis on which voters will accept or reject a candidate? Why doesn't anyone on the Chinese Canadian National Council see the the issue as less than relevant to this election? Certainly, the head tax is not something that should be forgotten. It is a wrong that was done, absolutely, and a ceremonial staging of a full, official apology with members of the Chinese community there to accept the government's olive branch should be enacted ASAP. But it really has very little to do with the campaign right now. The platform of the parties is what should sway a voter. Their stands on current issues such as gay marriages, funds for education and medical care, and everything else that makes up the government' involvement is day-to-day life is what should sway a voter. The issues of history are not going to make or break the daycare that young parents in a particular riding rely on, but government funds, or the lack thereof, could do exactly that. That is what any voter should have in mind on January 23.
We ignore the past at our peril. We must learn from it, or be doomed to repeat it. It is also true, however, that there comes a time to lay the past to rest. Now is not the time to concentrate all our mental energies on resurrection of a past issue. Don't confuse the dead with the living. There is no future in that.
The head tax was charged on Chinese immigrants from the 1880's to the 1920's, and was intended to curtail Chinese immigration to Canada. Originally set at $50.00 a person, the tax was raised in the early 1900's to $500.00 a person. Since that figure was equal to the amount it took the average Chinese Canadian worker two whole years to earn, it did present an incredible obstacle to anyone trying to bring their family here. The tax was stopped 80 years ago, but its effect is looming large in today's election campaign.
Martins' apology was an informal one. Many in the Chinese community are demanding an official apology in the House of Commons, and making it into an issue that could sway the outcome of the January 23 vote. The Chinese Canadian National Council lists 20 constituencies where Chinese voters could carry the vote, depending on how individual candidates respond to them and their demands for the apology and monetary compensation.
The head tax was definitely a wrong that needed to be set right, but I am not so sure that voters should let the utterance of an apology determine where they mark their choice on the ballot. As a teacher, I have had the experience times past counting of the student who is the rotten apple bound to spoil every barrel s/he contacts.The problem was always that so many of these individuals mastered the pronunciation of the syllables in the words "I am sorry". That's all it was to them, a string of syllables they didn't even assemble into words in their minds. They had no more meaning or reality to them than a three-dollar bill. Some of the kids didn't quite catch on to the acting that would have added that wonderful finishing touch, so their apologies were given in sullen tones. Some of them however, could clean up on Academy Awards night. Their apologies came complete with smiles or crocodile tears, whichever they thought more likely to sway the listener. The past masters could even manage a tremulous smile of gratitude through their tears as the apology was accepted. All of this came sometimes mere hours before the next offense. Many a politician is no different than those students.
Why is it being made into such an issue right now? Why does the apology have to be given right now, and used as the basis on which voters will accept or reject a candidate? Why doesn't anyone on the Chinese Canadian National Council see the the issue as less than relevant to this election? Certainly, the head tax is not something that should be forgotten. It is a wrong that was done, absolutely, and a ceremonial staging of a full, official apology with members of the Chinese community there to accept the government's olive branch should be enacted ASAP. But it really has very little to do with the campaign right now. The platform of the parties is what should sway a voter. Their stands on current issues such as gay marriages, funds for education and medical care, and everything else that makes up the government' involvement is day-to-day life is what should sway a voter. The issues of history are not going to make or break the daycare that young parents in a particular riding rely on, but government funds, or the lack thereof, could do exactly that. That is what any voter should have in mind on January 23.
We ignore the past at our peril. We must learn from it, or be doomed to repeat it. It is also true, however, that there comes a time to lay the past to rest. Now is not the time to concentrate all our mental energies on resurrection of a past issue. Don't confuse the dead with the living. There is no future in that.
3 Comments:
Interesting post.
I interviewed Anne McLellan for a local community magazine a couple of weeks ago, if you would like a copy, just email me off of my blog. :)) I don't have your email address.
Martin is a politician. 'Nuff said I there I think. The CCNC are opportunists. I remember the last election, they tried to make the apology an election issue. It wasn't then, it isn't now. They're seeking to right some wrongs, but getting the words without the meaning, isn't really achieving much. I suppose that after so many years without the acknowledgment, it has really come down to the words, and more importantly, the money.
Though I am quite removed from this, it seems like a joke that this ancient history is part of an election at all
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