Mainstream Media Bias Must End

Not all such portrayals are intended to discriminate. Much of the “selection” of events and their “presentation” can be linked to the norms of media and certain political connections to groups who have power. It is important to recognize the seriousness of the “cumulative effect” of media typecasting of visible minorities which can have “real consequences” in breeding various forms of racism.

Some academics have described the overall effect of dehumanizing depiction of any ethnic group as a form of “symbolic” and “psychological” VIOLENCE. With hidden tensions simmering beneath our multicultural society the media as a major institution needs to be careful not to add fuel to the fire in the way they “package” their stories about visible minorities.

Part of news packaging is influenced by competitive ratings which have driven a need to sensationalize. This often distorts important facts and adversely affects the lives of the targeted individuals.

In recent articles “Indian culture” is invoked in stories to explain various forms of violence. The story on “Bride Burning” in the Vancouver Sun on Nov 5, 2005 is representative of this. The title itself is troubling: “Bride burnings continue despite India’s progress.” Although I do not wish to downplay the seriousness of bride burning in India, in North American society there are also frequent cases of abuse and murder of women by family members. But are such stories of abuse or murder covered with headings such as, “Domestic violence and murder in Canada despite Canada’s socio-economic progress?”

Women from low income countries suffer a “death by culture” whereas Western women are exempt from “cultural” explanations. Such images impact on Indo-Canadian women who are portrayed as the antithesis of “Canadian women,” namely as repressed, passive and dependent and who are judged in “western contexts”.

The series on “Abandoned Brides: Canada’s Shame, India’s Sorrow” that ran in the Province newspaper in October, 2005 made efforts to be “culturally sensitive” in presenting the serious criminal activity among SOME Indo-Canadian families. However, some members of the Indo-Canadian community strongly felt that the story was “sensationalized” and further stigmatized Indo-Canadian culture and more specifically “Indo-Canadian men as “abusers.” I spoke with The Province Deputy Editor Fabian Dawson about the story and he said: “people have an obligation not to paint everyone with the same brush” and that his team made attempts to be culturally sensitive “in every possible manner”. Fabian Dawson also said that: “we need to look at the larger picture,” “if awareness from this coverage can make a difference and help even one family - that is satisfying.”

Recent reports suggest that some of the “alleged” victimization was fabricated by one of the victims. Inevitably, the impression left in many minds is that Indian marriages are illegitimate and serve as a loophole in the immigration system to access Canadian residency. Such images can produce “real consequences” by further stigmatizing Indo-Canadians and can seriously bias the decision making process of such applications (the recent rejection of Parminder Singh Pannu’s sponsorship application for his wife could be illustrative of this).

The “blame the victim” or “blame the culture” explanations of the recent drug-related crimes involving some Indo-Canadians have been so blatant and also feed into a racist climate. Such explanations overshadow the “institutional barriers” as factors of causation. Collectively these images reinforce the notion that immigrants of colour in general are a “threat” and are singled out as “creating problems” that require both social and economic resources for their solution.

This is a similar message that is conveyed in the media’s coverage of the “Kirpan” and the “Turban” around which there has been much public resentment over established laws (Turbans in the RCMP and Helmet laws). An “overt” manifestation of such resentment in the late 1980’s involved a petition in the Commons carrying the names of 250,000 Canadians supporting the “proposition” that Sikhs wearing turbans would “crack up” the RCMP. Today such sentiments are more hidden and can surface with media’s emphasis on “difference” as in the controversy around “head gear” at the Langley Soccer Tournament in September 2005 and more recently in the case of Avtar Singh Dhillon who is fighting a new “hard-hat policy” (which has prevented some baptized Sikhs from accessing jobs). Sikhs in turn are depicted as having no regard for Canadian “regulations”. This creates a wedge between “us” and “them” which further breeds intolerance towards Sikhs. Little media attention is given to the helmet exemptions for baptized Sikhs in at least 25 jurisdictions worldwide.

When the media transmit negative images of “visible minorities” to millions of minds, they can create and foster a “racist climate” that is both “dangerous” and “alienating”. In the latter case, this derogatory typecasting of a community and culture is bound to breed inferiority complexes, a loss of self-esteem, and suicidal tendencies. Unfortunately, for some Indo-Canadians, especially youth, self-hatred is internalized and in turn negatively affects their social and economic opportunities. I sadly see the humiliation in the faces of some of these youth when issues of racism are raised in class and at public forums.

The Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (2004) reported that most hate crime victims were targeted because of race or ethnicity. However, the vocabulary of “race”, “hate crime” or “racism” is often used by the media to make sense of events that blame a visible minority group for social ills, but when they could announce a person of colour as a victim of “racism”, media and others conspire to omit it.

The media depiction of the murders of Mewa Singh Bains and Shingara Thandi at Surrey’s Bear Creek Park are a good example of this and also illustrate the “hidden nature” of racism and the challenges to prove such motives in court. The recent story in the Vancouver Sun on November 16,

With the relative absence of Indo-Canadians portrayed in a positive light within mainstream media, I commend the Vancouver Sun for its article on Remembrance Day, November 11, “Let us Honour the men of the Punjab,” in which the positive contributions of Indo-Canadians were acknowledged. Likewise, “some” improvement in “editorial gate-keeping” manifested itself through a letter published on (November 11) by my one of my colleagues, Dr. Carol Macleod, expressing concern about the “alleged offensive remarks” made against Dr. Bhullar and commending Dr. Bhullar’s “superior veterinary service.”

Overall, however, the media continue to socially construct, and “demonize” an entire community for the sins of a few resulting in “serious social consequences”. This should motivate us all to work together as a community to challenge “ethnocentric” and “Eurocentric” assumptions that are ingrained in dominant Canadian culture and expose the fact that stereotyping is another expression of “social control” in preserving power and resources.

To allow these depictions to continue unchallenged sends a message that these images are accepted, tolerated and above all LEGITIMATE. Therefore, we must continue to challenge such demeaning depiction’s and send the message that “intolerance” in media portrayal of any visible minority group will not be “tolerated. The media should convey messages such that Indo-Canadian youth can be proud of their “Indian heritage” and still be accepted as a “Canadian.”

Source: http://www.voiceonline.com - The Indo Canadian Voice Newspaper