Racial Discrimination in Canada - Essay Example

In a study conducted using more than one thousand participants, the findings showed that White subjects were less likely to look into the eyes of Black subjects as compared to White faces Instead the subjects focused on the lips and nose of Black subjects. This clearly reflects the tendency of our brains to respond to people of colored skin. Hence, racism is embedded in the minds of an individual regardless of him being aware or not. Driedger and Reid explain that discrimination constitutes being denied job opportunities, housing facilities, or greater accessibility to leisure and institutional activities.

In the video, Glenn seems to have the lesser opportunity for the job or is treated badly when he goes to inquire about jobs. Also, Glenn is denied housing space when he goes to inquire for an apartment. This clearly reflects discrimination towards people of colored skin. The same context can also be applied in the Canadian setting as racism is not non-existent in Canada. Despite Canada’s outlook as a multicultural and diverse country, incidences of racism are not a rarity. It was surprising to see how the two testers in the video were being treated differently by the same people.

There was a marked difference in how John – the White tester – was treated by salesmen and car dealers. Every person who interacted with John was polite, welcoming, and considerate. However, the same individuals showed a different attitude towards Glenn who was even tailed on suspicion of being a thief in the store. The different attitudes towards the two racial colors reflected the presence of a strong sense of inequality. It was shocking to see how discrimination was common in the daily life, even though it may come off as subtle.

The people in the video displayed a stereotypical view of Blacks and Whites, assuming Blacks to be lazy or unclean. To state that racial discrimination is absent from Canada would be misleading because racism is embedded in the brains of people. So even without realizing, people are likely to interact with Blacks differently thus engendering discrimination and prejudice in their actions.