The CEO of SUCCESS is lauding those who spoke out against a racist tirade against a Coquitlam soccer coach.
Queenie Choo told The Tri-City News Tuesday that Canadians need to show they don’t tolerate racism in any form.
“If we all do that and it’s consistently done, hopefully in the future, people should think twice before they make those remarks in the public arena,” Choo said.
Her comments come after two highly-publicized incidents of racism: one against a local soccer coach who was the victim of racist abuse and another in Richmond, where a woman verbally abused another woman in the parking lot of a strip mall and her racist rant was caught on video.
In both cases, the subject of the abuse was an immigrant and told to “go home.”
Choo said incidents of racism appear to be on the rise but she also acknowledged that it may just be that they are being shared on social media.
In any case, she said it’s important for organizations like hers to speak out when these sorts of incidents occur.
Tuesday, SUCCESS issued a statement on behalf of the immigrant-service agency and seven other organizations that said divisive statements and behaviour have no place in Canada’s vision for an equitable and inclusive society.
“As we stand together to build Canada’s future, we remain guided by our values of multiculturalism, equality and openness," reads the SUCCESS release.
Signatories to the letter include the Canadian Japanese Community, the Canadian Korean Community, Immigrant Services Society of BC, MOSAIC, Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society, The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver.
Choo said the statement is “what we believe.”
“It is really important to state what we believe in because the disrupter has the loudest voice and catches the media’s attention. Then the attention is paid to them.”
