An Unjust Aftermath

The term postcolonialism refers to what happened due to the effects of colonialism. Colonialism is when a higher power takes over those considered lesser, and they are therefore "owned" by that higher power. Postcolonialism is compressed of theories that developed because of colonialism. Theories found in philosophy, sociology, feminism, film, political science and much more. It deals with trying to find who you are in your nation while you are living in a colonized society. It's about developing an identity in your nation despite the struggle in doing so. Basically it is a fight for independence. The higher power who took over the lesser countries just wanted control over them. They wanted them to feel inferior and worthless and did this by changing their ways of life in a forceful way. Postcolonialism is wrong, but at the time making those thought of as evil and lesser into what the higher power was, seemed like the right thing for them to do.

It's unfortunate but postcolonialism is still around in our world today. Today white privilege is an example of that. White privilege has to do with white people being considered better or higher than those of colour. In Canada there are racial identities of color but also there is white racial identity. There are European Canadians and then there are Canadians. The European Canadians do not think of themselves as white but just not people of colour. There is an invisibility ofwhiteness that is linked to domination. This domination comes in forms of white privilege or examples that should be followed. Though these privileges are invisible to most European Canadians, they do exist in Canada. White privilege is a “protective pillow of resources and/or benefits of the doubt ... (that) repels gossip and voyeurism and instead demands dignity” (Fine, 1997, p 57).

There are many examples of white privilege in our nation. In 1997 Powell talked about how there are expectations for the people of color in US universities to fail. A university sent out two letters that were very different to the new people about to attend. There was a letter sent to the white students saying that they were the smartest and the best and that the university was very happy in accepting them. They were honoured to have such bright students be a part of their university. There was a different letter for the people of colour. This letter instead talked about how these students were very fortunate in being able to attend such a wonderful university. It also stated that there were many support groups that could help these students when they ran into difficulty. Most of the white students didn't realize that there were two letters. Yet those of colour were clear on the fact that their letters were race-coded. These students went to the same university, had classes together, but yet had completely different messages about what their rights and abilities were to be at the university. In Canada there is a similar effect where Indians are treated lesser and thought of as to be less intelligible. There is an assumption that they will fail so the standards are lower but that just ends up with them having a lower level of education. The white privilege is maintained because of the stereotypes of people of colour. These stereotypes are considered different than what a "normal" Canadian should be. For example the natives are though of as being lazy and alcoholics and the Chinese as treacherous, meaning they are likely to betray trust and are unreliable.

Of course these stereotypes are wrong and should not be accepted but yet as you can see are still floating throughout Canada and our world. Racism and the thought of one person being higher than anouther because of their race, colour, religion, or background is unjust. Everybody is just a pawn on this planet. Every one of us is equal no matter who we are or what we've done. We all live and we all die. Postcolonialism is the aftermath of colonialism. It's now a part of our world and it cannot be diminished easily. No matter the fight against it, it may be here to stay. But I will never believe that it is right or just because it definitely is not. It causes much suffering and it is unfair, cruel and utterly repulsing.