Contributed to hellasfrappe by Martha Plousos
Plowing Through Life
I hate to start 2012 with negative news, but this is a very vital story that I need to share with all my readers, particularly my fellow Canucks. We need to be aware of what’s going on in our country, and we need to constantly work on improving our nation to make it a safe and happy home for everyone.
The story that has infuriated me is as follows:
An Ontario couple’s holidays were anything but merry when their home was vandalized on Christmas Eve. Parts of their property were smashed and racial epithets were carved into their car. Apparently, this was not the first time that they dealt with this. And all because they are a mixed-race couple. Imagine that.
The news article:
Racist attacks return for Ont. couple on Christmas Eve
Rita Brown and Seun Oyinsan say they want to sell their Newmarket, Ont., home, even if it means losing money, because of the racially motivated attacks that began last summer.
The couple has lived in their home, which is just north of Toronto, for much of the past nine months. The attacks and threats began in the summer, when someone painted a swastika on their garage door and tagged their vehicles with a misspelled racial epithet.
Oyinson, who moved to Canada from Nigeria, said the incident shocked him.
"Canada is supposed to be a peaceful, multicultural and tolerant country," he told CTV News. "For me to see that just give a whole feel about Canada."
The couple also found a piece of cardboard with a message scribbled on it warning them to leave or someone would be killed.
Brown and Oyinsan decided to heed the note's advice and sell their home. However, faced with the prospect of selling the house for a loss, the couple took their home off the market four days before Christmas Eve.
It was then that the same racial epithet was carved into the hood of Oyinsan's car. Someone also smashed the lights outside the home's garage.
Brown says the attacks have left her frightened.
"I was really, really scared to the point where I don't bring my grandkids around anymore, because if something happened while we were here we'd never forgive ourselves," she said.
York Regional Police investigators have been frustrated in their efforts to determine who is behind the attacks. They went so far as to install security cameras outside the home, but after two months took them down, believing the attacks were over.
"We're going to be seeking jail time, lengthy jail time for this," Insp. Richard McCabe told CTV News. "That's how upset we are by this."
One neighbour called the attacks "absolutely disgusting" and said they are not reflective of the community.
But Oynisan said that on Christmas Day he was told by an officer that he should reconsider his decision to pull the house from the market. He says the couple is taking that advice and will sell the house.
"We have to get out," he said. "We can't live like this. This is no way to live."
The story can be found here.
Watch the video here.
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To Rita Brown and Seun Oyinsan: I am so sorry for what you are going through. It is disgusting – and disturbing. And like the majority of fellow Canucks, I am outraged about this.
To Seun Oyinsan: I am ashamed that this is happening to you in a country that is primarily peaceful, multicultural and tolerant. These types of vile actions are carried out by a minority of small-minded morons, and it does not define who we are as a people.
We’re in the 21st century where I would expect by now that our species would have evolved. But I guess some of us are still swinging from trees.
My Canada – and my world - has no room for discriminatory individuals such as these. If you are one of these lowlifes, move to another planet. And let the rest of us live together in harmony.
Ugh...
(Watch CTV news video here)
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