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BY J. PAUL GRAYSON
INTRODUCTION
In 1994 the Institute for Social Research (ISR) conducted a survey of the residents of
Metropolitan Toronto on behalf of the Commission on Systemic Racism in the Ontario Criminal
Justice System. The primary objective of the survey was to inquire into the perceptions of
Torontonians with regard to police and the justice system. With the Commission's agreement,
the
ISR contributed some of its own resources to the project so that it would be possible to
collect a
wider range of information. The focus of this article will be on the opinions of Black, White,
and
Chinese Torontonians regarding 'visible minorities.'
Whereas the Commission was primarily concerned with systemic racism, the focus of this article
will be on a number of attitudes of Torontonians and the extent to which they can be thought to
embody racist assumptions. While the term 'racism' should be reserved for perspectives
premised
on the notion that behavioural, attitudinal, or other characteristics of individuals can be
related to
physiological features such as skin colour, in common parlance the term is often applied to any
negative thought or action directed toward identifiable groups. While this latter usage is
less
precise than the former, it will be applied in the current article.
THE
SAMPLE
The survey on which this article is based was carried out from March 25 to May 19, 1994. As
the
intent was to develop a sample with roughly equal numbers of respondents of varying racial
backgrounds, individuals resident in Metropolitan Toronto were telephoned randomly and asked if
they considered themselves White, Black, or Chinese. After this filter question the interview
was
either continued or terminated, depending upon the number of individuals of each category that
had already been interviewed. Overall, 417 interviews were completed with individuals who
identified themselves as Black; 405 with individuals of Chinese origin; and 435 with
self-identified
Whites. The response rate to the survey was 60%.
OPINIONS
REGARDING
VISIBLE
MINORITES
Information on the opinions of different groups regarding visible minorities is summarized in Table 1. The first set of figures in the table indicate that the vast
majority of individuals in each racial category agree that visible minorities have made an
important contribution to the cultural life of Canada: 94% of Blacks, 8
3% of Chinese, and 85% of Whites. While the existing
differences are statistically significant, they are not large in absolute terms. On the basis
of this
information it can be argued that, in general, White Torontonians recognize contributions of
non-Whites to Canadian society.
The same is true with regard to attitudes toward hard work. The vast majority of Blacks (88%),
Chinese (91%), and Whites (79%) disagree with the statement that visible minorities are not
prepared to work hard. Again, while differences are statistically significant, they are not
large and
suggest that the vast majority of Whites hold no negative stereotypes regarding the willingness
of
non-Whites to work.
When presented with the proposition that visible minorities often bring discrimination on
themselves, table data show that 50% of Blacks, 58% of Chinese, and 67% of Whites answered in
the affirmative. These statistically significant differences indicate that Whites are more
likely than
others to attribute discrimination toward visible minorities to the actions of visible
minorities
themselves. The figures also indicate that a sizeable number of both Blacks and Chinese agree
with them.
Substantial differences based on race can be observed if the information on assessments of
treatment accorded visible minorities is examined. Whereas 58% of Whites agree that visible
minorities often receive better treatment than other Canadians, this view is shared by only 22%
of
Blacks and 17% of Chinese. Moreover, differences are statistically significant.
Differences of a comparable magnitude can be seen if responses to the proposition that
companies
should be required to hire more visible minorities are examined. Whereas only 29% of Whites
believe companies should have this requirement, the comparable figures for Blacks and Chinese
are 76% and 53%. Clearly, while majorities of both Blacks and Chinese support this measure,
Blacks support it to a far greater degree than Chinese. Differences for this item are
statistically
significant.
While Whites are more likely than either Blacks or Chinese to believe that visible minorities
receive better treatment and to specify that companies should not be required to hire visible
minorities, the final data in Table 1 indicate that Whites are more opposed to discrimination
against visible minorities than either Blacks or Chinese: 81% of Whites compared to 72% of
Blacks and 74% of Chinese believe that it should be illegal to treat visible minorities
differently
than other Canadians.
INTERPRETATIONS
The foregoing data can be interpreted in at least two ways. To over-simplify somewhat, one
possible interpretation is based on assumptions regarding group rights taking precedence over
individual rights and the idea that historical patterns of discrimination, both in Canada and
elsewhere, must be rectified here and now. For adherents to this position, individuals who
disagree with the perspective are most likely racist, even if they are unaware of their racism.
From this perspective, focusing on individual rather than group rights contributes to the
continued
subordination of non-White groups.
Another possible interpretation is based on the notion that individual
rights take precedence over group rights and that contemporary Canadians cannot be held
accountable for past mistakes in Canada and elsewhere. At best Canadians
can insure that members of all groups are treated equally as individuals.
Proponents of the first interpretation, many of whom may believe that, in general, Whites are
prejudiced toward non-Whites, might argue that Whites give what is called the 'socially desired
response' when asked if visible minorities have made an important contribution to the cultural
life
of Canada and if minorities are prepared to work as hard as others. In essence, when Whites
say
that non-Whites have made valuable cultural contributions and that they are prepared to work as
hard as others, Whites are not saying what they really believe. Proponents of the first
position
might also argue that many Blacks and Chinese-origin respondents agree that minorities often
bring discrimination on themselves because they have internalized negative interpretations of
their
own group behaviour that have been fostered by the dominant White society. Furthermore, some
might contend that the belief of many Whites that visible minorities get better treatment than
other
Canadians and that no preferential treatment should be accorded non-Whites in hiring suggests
resentment of Whites with respect to efforts to rectify 'historical patterns of
discrimination.'
Finally, the belief of Whites that it should be illegal to treat visible minorities differently
from
others might be viewed not as support for equal rights but as a way of protecting against
measures that give advantage to minorities in processes such as hiring.
The second position is based on the assumption that, for whatever reason, Whites implicitly
support notions of individual rather than group rights. Accordingly, in general, Whites
recognize
the contributions made by individual non-Whites to Canadian culture. Similarly, Whites concede
that individual non-Whites are prepared to work as hard as anyone else. Nonetheless,
individual
minority members may bring discrimination on themselves because of their habits and attitudes.
Whites' support for individual rights may also be evident in the belief of many that
minorities, by
virtue of their group status, get preferential treatment in various areas of Canadian life
through
measures such as employment equity. As a result, Whites in general are opposed to preferential
hiring of non-Whites because such policies are based on group rather than individual
characteristics. Consistent with this point is the notion that it should be against the law to
treat
minorities either better or worse than other Canadians.
While different readers will have their own ideas as to the interpretation that should be given
to
the data, my own interpretation is closer to the second than to the first position. In
essence, it is
easier to argue from the data that despite their rejection of preferential hiring, in general
White
Torontonians cannot be viewed as having racist views. This said, the data are not inconsistent
with the probability that a certain number of individuals in each of the three groups have
racist
beliefs.
J. Paul Grayson is Director of the Institute for Social Research.
FOOTNOTE 1
1. These two positions, as they become manifested in the United
States, are analyzed by Dinesh D'Souza in The End of Racism, New York: The Free
Press,
1995. In Canada the same issues are dealt with by Neil Bissoondath in Selling Illusions,
Toronto: Penguin, 1994.
| Black | Chinese | White | |
| Visible minorities have made an important contribution to the cultural life of Canada | |||
| Agree | 94% | 83% | 85% |
| Disagree | 2% | 8% | 9% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 1% | 7% | 3% |
| Don't know | 3% | 2% | 3% |
| Total | 100% (285) | 100% (276) | 100% (348) |
| Most visible minority people are not prepared to work as hard as other Canadians | |||
| Agree | 10% | 6% | 14% |
| Disagree | 88% | 91% | 79% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 1% | 2% | 4% |
| Don't know | 1% | 1% | 4% |
| Total | 100% (285) | 100% (276) | 101% (348) |
| Visible minorities often bring discrimination upon themselves by their own personal habits and attitudes | |||
| Agree | 50% | 58% | 67% |
| Disagree | 48% | 34% | 27% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 1% | 6% | 4% |
| Don't know | 1% | 3% | 1% |
| Total | 100% (285) | 101% (275) | 99% (348) |
| It's got to the point where visible minorities often get better treatment than other Canadians | |||
| Agree | 22% | 17% | 58% |
| Disagree | 75% | 74% | 35% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 2% | 5% | 5% |
| Don't know | 2% | 4% | 3% |
| Total | 101% (284) | 100% (276) | 101% (348) |
| If companies have few visible minority workers they should be made to hire more visible minority workers when they hire new staff | |||
| Agree | 76% | 53% | 29% |
| Disagree | 19% | 35% | 64% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 4% | 11% | 5% |
| Don't know | 2% | 2% | 1% |
| Total | 101% (285) | 101% (275) | 99% (347) |
| It should be against the law to treat visible minorities different than other Canadians | |||
| Agree | 72% | 74% | 81% |
| Disagree | 24% | 16% | 15% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 3% | 5% | 2% |
| Don't know | 2% | 6% | 3% |
| Total | 101% (284) | 101% (275) | 101% (344) |
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Article © 1996 INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH