The Contrarians: Listen to Todd Wong on CBC Radio One – interviewed tonight by host Jesse Brown

Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
July 5th  The Contrarians

“It's a new show, in which Jesse Brown explores ideas so
contrary to popular thought that they're almost…inexpressible.” – CBC website

I was interviewed in Early June by CBC radio host Jesse Brown to speak about multiculturalism.  The question that was posed to me was “Is traditional multiculturalism valid?”

Somehow the producers found my website, and liked my ideas about
interculturalism, since I say we are actually now living in a
post-multicultural world, because ideally… we should be inter-acting, inter-married, and inter-communicating.  Traditional multiculturalism has tended to put ethnic cultures into little jars for display purposes – bringing them out for presentation for Canada Day shows, multiculturals shows… to say “look how nice and multicultural we are – we're not racist!”

One friend heard the show yesterday morning at 9:30am, and e-mailed me.

"Are you sure about a probationary period for new citizens?  is that 
what you really meant on cbc?  It seemed like the interviewer didn't sum 
up what I heard you say, but maybe i'm wrong.

"I wasn't quite sure on the take of the interviewer -anti-racism or fear 
monger."

Hmmm…. Jesse Brown's style is to be controversial with ideas.  He is trying to project a debate like that some ideas we take for granted aren't really what they seem to be.  For example, the Conservative Government redress package on the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act all sounds nice with an apology and invidual compensation for surviving head tax payers and spouses.  But if my grandfather was alive, he'd be 140 today… He would want his TAX REFUND to be able to benefit his children, who also suffered through the extreme racism and forced separation of families cause by the Canadian Government's purposeful exclusion of Chinese people, to better create a White Canada.

Interculturalism – that's how I believe I live my personal and public life.  I interact with many cultures.  My multi-generational British-Canadian girlfriend says “There's no cultural difference between Todd and me, because we are both multi-generational Canadians,” as opposed to new immigrant Canadians…  Our families amazingly communicate well together.  She eats with chopsticks, cooks sweet and sour chicken and pork.  I play accordion and speak almost conversational French.

I really did say that maybe new Canadian citizens should be on a probationary period.  With the recent attempt to bomb the CBC in Toronto and storm parliament, or street racing causing death in Richmond and Vancouver… something's got to be done to protect good Canadian citizens and good Canadian values.

This is going to be an issue for European immigrants, as well as Asian or African or Caribbean immigrants.  We must encourage all new citizens to engage in Canadian society, and we must encourage Canadian society to engage with new immigrants…. and the First Nations people too – not leave them behind!  We must interact.  We must be inter-cultural… not multi-cultural.

Please don't get me wrong… some of my nicest friends are immigrants to Canada…  I have even spoken as a member of the Canadian Club, welcoming new citizens at Citizen Court, with Judge Sandra Wilking presiding (Sandra is a friend, a former Vancouver City Councillor, and an ethnic Chinese immigrant from South Africa).

But how do we interact between cultures?  I don't want to sound like some of the White Canadian forefathers who created the racist Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act, as well as the Potlatch Law, and the Indian Act -further creating hardship for our First Nations peoples…   And maybe that is the question that Jesse Brown wants to pose on The Contrarians… push our buttons a little and make us re-think what it means to be Canadian.  Do ya think? eh?

If every Canadian family inter-racially married… would there be more racial tolerance and cultural understanding in our country?  I think so.  My family has already done that.  Every generation for fiver generations!

Check out Jesse Brown and the CBC Radio summer program
The Contrarians
Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.