An apology to a man

Tonight after LE’s exec meeting, Gina, Shannie, Kelly, Daisy, Karen, Claire and I all took the skytrain back home together. After Karen had left us, the rest of us went about and continued our pleasant conversion. Just then a drunken Irish man interrupted us and started talking about how we live in Canada, thus we should respect the country and speak English.

Wow. I am sorry if we were being loud on a skytrain. If someone was to reprimand us because we were talking to loud, then I’d feel guilty and apologize. But at that moment, all I felt was furious. I believe it was an extremely racist remark. If we were his buddies from Ireland speaking Irish on the train, would he have told us the same? If we were a bunch of European-looking kids speaking Dutch, would he have told us the same? What if we were tourists visiting Canada? What kind of impression would this man leave to visitors of Canada?

What he probably expected us to do is to shut up and feel guilty, but I say no! If you’re ever put in this type of situation, (assuming that you are in a safe area) don’t let these racists have the last word and make you feel bad.

“I’m sorry if we were being too loud, we should have been more considerate of others on the skytrain. However, I find what you just say to be extremely racist. We have the freedom to speak in whatever language we want in Canada. Canada’s multiculturalism, its respect from different cultures is what makes us love this country. I would really appreciate it if you would not ruin this experience for anyone else. Again, I apologize for our behavior. Thanks and have a good night.” — That’s what I would have said if I had the guts to say it.