Move ahead

Last week the community of Fort Frances was polarized by the actions of six teenagers in that community.
Their video depicting a pow wow with drunken dancers spurred cries of racism that were heard across the district. To most people the entire incident was stomach turning. "How could anyone do such a thing?" asked so many people.
We like to think of this age as a modern and tolerant one. Tolerant of many differences in people; race, sex, abilities, etc. Yes we have made great strides from the days of slavery, residential schools, and other forms of discrimination. But those strides are truthfully only baby steps towards a perfect world where everyone is equal in each other's eyes.
As a long time resident here, I have seen racism against native peoples my entire life. While things seem to have gotten better over the past 20 years or so, the truth is there always an underlying current of prejudice.
Last week's video only served to show that we have a long way to go in stamping this evil out. While some have said for years there is less of a problem today, there is still a problem.
I by no means condone what the teens did, but from every bad situation we can try to find some good. I think from this one we can find a catalyst to start stronger efforts to better understand our neighbours' cultural differences from our own.
Again it will be just another baby step towards a better world, but it is better to move ahead ever so slightly in a positive manner than to slip back so far negatively.
–Until then,
Ken