As uncomfortable bananas have come to make us all feel lately, I say it's a good sign. 50 years ago, a hockey game with a black player probably would have had more than one banana thrown on the ice. Today's reaction to the September 22 incident makes a clear statement about our progress on racial issues and I'd say overall we're heading in a good direction. Although, London Free Press Reporter Morris Dalla Costa raises a good point...
What's disturbing to me is the culprit who threw the banana is 26 years old. I had imagined someone older who could've at least used a generational perspective as an excuse, but a Gen Y who seems to be interested in becoming a police officer? What gives? Okay, I suppose his argument could be he was just throwing a piece of fruit at a hockey player (oh wait... that is the argument he's using) Okay, so if it was an 'innocent' mistake– and by innocent I mean he had no awareness whatsoever of the racial implications of his actions until the post-game fallout– I think it's up to him to make a public statement on his innocence, the learning he has acquired as a result of his actions and apologize for unintentionally offending people and shaming our community. Then this whole thing is over and we can move on.
I had a similar situation in our own family not so long ago. It happened during our camping trip at Moon River. There were four of us sitting around the camp fire: my husband, myself and the other couple that were with us. My husband commented about the red bandana I was wearing on my head, saying I looked like Aunt Jemima. In the past, I would've laughed, but unfortunately for him, that night my reaction wasn't so predictable. Somewhere deep at my core, I had had enough. It wasn't him, it was the innumerable other comments and remarks I've internalized from since I could remember. All those other times I didn't say anything because I thought "if I ignore it, it will go away" or "If I laugh, then it won't bug me." But that night it bugged me and I couldn't even fake a smile. I don't think anything could have prepared my husband or the other couple we were with for the 'passionate' discussion that took place that night. They learned the truth behind Aunt Jemima and heard how tired I was of listening to people, who aren't reminded about their race or ethnicity by others on a regular basis, professing "it was just a joke" or "they didn't mean" to be offensive with the way they talk about visible minorities. What is seen as one comment to the offender, is one of hundreds, even thousands of accumulated comments to the offended.... Phew! Imagine if you were there! I'll tell you one thing, no one who was there that night looks at Aunt Jemima the same. And I'll tell you another... we are all able to laugh and even joke about it now; that's because even in that uncomfortable situation, there was learning in it for all of us and we walked away with a deeper respect for each other.
We don't always understand how we offend each other, but once we do, the respectful thing is to acknowledge it. Then everyone can move on. Drawing this banana-throwing incident out in the courts has the incredible potential to create more damage than good.
Philidelphia Flyers player, Wayne Simmonds was quoted as saying "I don't know if it had anything to do with the fact I'm black," he
added. "I certainly hope not. When you're black, you kind of expect
[racist] things. You learn to deal with it." This isn't good enough for me. Not anymore. It'll take time and I probably won't live to see the day, but I am committed to creating a better version of humanity and thanks to the "banana incident" I know I'm not the only one.
