screengrab courtesy of Melfort Journal website.
The managing editor of the Melfort Journal has apologized for an opinion piece on racism that was published yesterday.
The article, entitled, “When Will It End?” resulted in dozens of nasty and angry of comments to the Melfort Journal’s Facebook page. Writers said they were shocked, appalled, angered and repulsed by the article.
The opinion piece suggests racism goes both ways, but it is only the Indigenous people who take such great exception to it. The article also questions the need to educate school children about Indigenous cultures.
The article commented on recent outcry over an Indigenous man being kicked out of a Regina Canadian tire store for suspected theft, which stated ”If it was a person of any background except First nations this would likely be just another person taken from a store accused of shoplifting. It happens somewhere in this country every day.”
The editor concludes the piece saying, “The governments across Canada keeps talking about reconciliation. There is no doubting what was done to first nations people through residential schools is every form of terrible, but when is it enough compensation? How long must governments and residents of this country keep paying for mistakes of the past?”
Greg Wiseman says the article wasn’t interpreted as he had hoped and the intention was never to offend anyone.
He says it was intended to convey that all parts of Canadian history needs to be taught in school which includes the good, the bad and issues that contain every culture in this country.
In the apology he says the aim of the piece was to explain his thoughts on everyone being equal, regardless of culture, religion or social interpretation.
Wiseman says that words, especially those in an opinion, need to be chosen carefully and he admits they were not in this instance.