My Reflections on Racism as a Brown Man In Canada

The current situation with racism in America is such a charged issue so I was hesitating to write on it. But I’m going to take a risk and say what I feel.

First, as is obvious, I’m not white, and I don’t come from what you would consider a ‘privileged’ background. I came as an immigrant to Canada when I was 8. I experienced some racism in Canada, but not that much. I was a visibly brown Muslim guy with a big beard. I got through university with government student loans, and then I graduated and got a job fairly easily in the tech field. I’ve been working since then, earning six figures now. Keep in mind there’s 7 of us living off one income though. I’m not what you’d call swimming in cash😅 We make do like any other big family, we recycle, use hand-me-downs, buy on Kijiji, and so on.

EDIT: After speaking to a friend, I realized that being in the tech industry, I am more blind to these issues because my field tends to be more of a meritocracy. This is not the case for all industries

But still, right off the bat where I am coming from, we have much to be thankful for. If they discriminated against me, it was not overtly. I could make my way from nothing to something with just hard work and intelligence. So this makes me biased in a certain regard. I had everything I needed. But not everyone is so lucky. I have…