A Room of My Own: White People First Haiku

written on the eve of Ontario's municipal elections

White People First

scrawled on a campaign sign

frost alert

FYI: CBC News, Oct., 22: Ontario municipal candidates face "organized hatred" as campaign nears close.

And POV, CBCDocs, White nationalism and right-wing extremism aren’t new to Canada. 

White supremacists, anti-immigrant organizers, and Holocaust deniers in Canada have been actively organizing here for decades. “Old wine, new labels.” When it comes to the alt-right, that’s the phrase that comes to mind for Dr. Barbara Perry. A hate crime researcher for almost 20 years... 

Added: written on the day of Ontario's municipal elections

White People First

staked into a neighbor's lawn ...

under the sign

my dog cocks his leg as I muse

on how smelly the day is

FYI: TVO, The Agenda with Steve Paikin, Oct. 21, 2022: Why are Acclamations on the Rise in Ontario?

More and more municipal elections in Ontario are going uncontested. According to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, 548 candidates were acclaimed in this year's municipal election. That means no door-to-door canvassing, no debates and more importantly no competition. And 32 mayors and entire councils have all been acclaimed this year.

Added: 

online trolling ...

behind my back these whispers

of slanted eyes

FYI: Bloomberg, "MAY 7 2021": This Is the Anti-Asian Hate Crime Capital of North America: A surge of attacks in one of Canada’s most multicultural cities during the pandemic is surfacing long-simmering racial tensions.

Last year, more anti-Asian hate crimes were reported to police in Vancouver, a city of 700,000 people, than in the top 10 most populous U.S. cities combined. With almost 1 out of every 2 residents of Asian descent in British Columbia experiencing a hate incident in the past year, the region is confronting an undercurrent of racism that runs as long and deep as the historical links stretching across the Pacific. 

And Toronto Star, "MARCH 29, 2022": Anti-Asian racism is soaring in Canada. These numbers tell the story, representing a 47 per cent increase from the previous year.