Close Reading

I came to Canada in 2008, fled from Iraq after my family was threatened. Back in the day you wouldn’t find a prouder Canadian than myself. I loved this country. Unfortunately we I can’t proudly say I’m a Canadian anymore. Our country has become a joke.

I have two brothers living in the states. The one in Wisconsin is my big brother and he means the world to me. He does have his foibles about race and he tolerates me bringing him to task for some of the things he's said. He was brought up in Kentucky. He seems to be seeing the light now. I have spent time with him and my sister-in-law, and my nieces and nephews in Florida, Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana. We are close now despite being brought up worlds apart. My next oldest brother lives in West Virginia. I haven't seen him on over 30 years. He had a habit of moving without telling the rest of the family. I didn't know he had divorced and remarried. I worked for the Canadian Military as well as some of the American contingent where I worked. I had to renew information for my Security Clearance just after 9/11. He refused to give me any info because Rush Limbaugh was telling Americans the terrorists came to the U.S. from Canada (they actually were taking flight training in Florida). I suppose I could easily take up American citizenship since our mother had dual citizenship but I think I'll decline. I'm too much of a Canuck to change now. I don't think I could get used to politicians winning an election and immediately starting a new campaign. The process seems exhausting to always be bombarded with things politic. Here our electioneering is held to 6-8 weeks before the election and strict limits are placed on funding and contributions. Besides, I live in a small city of 58-60 thousand (North Bay, Ontario). In the close to 70 years that I've lived here, I can recall only 3 murders, so you'll under if I find mass shootings shocking and abhorrent and truthfully scary. I'm a little long winded today....Sorry.

It’s horrific how these ppl are forced to live, that is NOT life..reading the comments, it’s disheartening to see. Put yourselves in their shoes! Ask yourself many questions. Would you live your life under a corrupt government? Would you allow the Mexican police/gangs/drug lords, to walk in your home, kill your children, your family, got no reason and get away with it? Would you want to struggle just to feed your baby? Would you want to live how they live? Your country, my county is huge. But hey, it all comes down to greed and politics, right? It’s not about having compassion, it’s about these ppl taking your jobs, homes..am I right? These ppl work for Pennie’s a day, would you? We all deserve a good life, no? If you said no, then where is your God? Where is your compassion? Where is your kindness? Where is your LOVE? Oh how our world would be a much happier place if everyone thought like me. Yes, and sadly, it takes money and many other factors. \nBut if we go back 300-500 years when the white settlers came, took our land (oh I know I’m going to receive backlash and grief, hatred and stripe, and that’s ok) as a Native American person, my ppl could have fought and have y’all sent back to where y’all came from, and WE wouldn’t be living on shitty pieces of land, but every day we are grateful for what we have…don’t call me a savage, most of my family are white just like y’all LOL! But if we won, made you go back to where you came, would you have gone freely? Hell no! We HAD rights, and it was taken away….and take a long hard look at what’s happening today! Country against country..race against race..ppl no longer believe in God and our world is turn to shit…ppl walk past a homeless child and do fuck all (I’ve seen it many times..and yes, I help) stop being so fucking greedy, if you want to help take care of your homeless, then get off your asses and start helping your homeless ppl…will that happen? He’ll no! Why? Because YOU people who are against these ppl who want a better life in America, won’t even make an effort to help your own, now isn’t this called “calling the kettle black” because you simply walk past them, you stare at them with disgust! So don’t be hypocrites! And don’t go and make comments about acting like you truly care for your homeless when you couldn’t give two-shits about your own! \nSad, really fucking sad!

This doesn't move me with sympathy, it moves anger in me. My family and I were homeless in the U.S. all because I decided to further my education with a school who claimed to be accredited and all this stuff but quickly found out it all was a sham....so in not securing my deposit on a new place or being financially able to fight an eviction were the property basically got paid twice for bs they didn't handle...all because the irs took my income tax which I was depending on being I just started a new job and had 3 weeks before my first paycheck...we were on the street....everywhere I turned was a wait-list and no one I mean no entity would help us..... claiming lack of funding or some proof of homelessness other than papers proving your eviction....just so many ridiculous things....it took us a while to get off the streets and this is kids born on this soil....with a citizen who never been in trouble with the law, 3.8 gpa, educated and motivated and employed.....on the street and although now we have a roof as U.S. CITIZENS still struggling to find our footing....and STILL NO HELP...NOT A FOOD STAMP NOTHING and the lights are out due to the landlord....soooo I'm not sympathetic of these people....I struggled and still struggling in MY OWN COUNTRY WITH NO HELP FROM MY COUNTRY....GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM AND FIGURE IT OUT.....

In 2009 I questioned if I could ever own a home but I was still working hard at my career and had some hope if I met the right women to marry. Then along came Justin Trudeau. Within 2 years of his goverment that dream faded fast. Everything I saved and my individual salary still wasn't enough. Property taxes and carbon taxes make it absolutely impossible here in southern Ontario even far a small home not without trying. I always get out bid on the 316 homes I tried to purchase. I can't pay 30%-70% above market value on a single income. Turning in my pensions isn't even an option. I'm not gambling away my retirement with current crrupt Liberal goverment that continues to raise taxes. To give some an idea just how single parents are crushed on taxes. I pay 53% of my income on taxes and get almost nothing back when filing my taxes cause I work hard and excel in my career. I get punished for being a hard work and risking my life to do so. Living in Canada has gotten gradually worse and worse the last 8 years. The socialist way of life isn't good. Now the writing is on the wall that it's becoming a communist country. I'm now searching for employment opportunities south of the border to give my child the best chance to making her dreams a reality. Canada isn't giving me any other options. If everything works out in the US I will surrender my Canadian citizenship at the earliest availability. It breaks my heart but I just can't allow them to enslave me and my child as she becomes an adult. Slavery is the only way I can describe the last 8 years. Also to top it all off 6 if the last 8 year's basic goverment services have been extremely unstable making doing business with Canada very frustrating. Getting a passport during this time has been delay after delay. Finding a family doctor that is stable almost impossible. \n\nCanada's economy status looks good from a far but its really far from good. Our goverment is literally paying 10s of billions in tax dollars to draw auto makers here and to even keep them here. Just further proof the economic future is very unstable. Probably even more so then the housing market. \n\nOur PM isn't even hiding his goverments level of corruption anymore. He actually brags about it at home and on the world stage. \n\n\nI worry about my future more then planing for it. Hopelessness has definitely set in. Now I'm in damage control by no fault of my own to make sure no possible debt are passed on to my daughter in the next 25 years when I'm gone. Even that is looking to be unachievable in my particular situation. It's my worst nightmare to leave my kid with any owing debts.

As a Canadian I find this utterly terrible. These migrants will either add to the chaos of the mass housing crisis, crime and antisocial behaviour Stateside which will ultimately spill onto Canadian borders. We just shut down Roxham road a few weeks ago yet these ILLEGAL ALIANS KEEP CLIMBING ACROSS CANADA US BORDER. CANADIANS AND AMERICANS NEED TO UNITE TO KICK THESE MIGRANTS BACK TO WHERE THEY CAME FROM. WE DONT HAVE HOUSING OR THE SOCIAL ASSISTANCE THEY REQUIRE AND WE DO NOT WANT THEM AS ILLEGALS. IF THEY WANT ENTRY APPLY LIKE NORMAL HUMANS AND STOP ACTING LIKE RATS. IM TIRED OF THESE REFUGEES COMING INTO CANADA TAKING UP ALL MY TAX MONEY YET I, A CANADIAN BORN WHOS FAMILY IMMIGRATED PROPERLY INTO THIS COUNTRY IN THE 1940 HAS TO SUFFER AND TAKE HOME LESS THAN HALF OUR PAY CAUSE TAXES EAT THE REST THAT GO TO THESE IDIOTIC MIGRANTS. I HATE THEM.

During the 1930's media in various countries made immigrants and asylum seekers out to be this horrible thing and demonised them. This came after a huge recession in 1923, the Wall Street crash, and the subsequent dramatic rise of far right parties in various countries, specifically Italy, then Germany and Spain. \nFast-forward to modern times. 2008 saw another global recession. Once again politics swung massively to the right with countries like Italy (once again), Hungary, Austria, Poland and Sweden, voting in right wing governments, France ending in a run off that narrowly defeated the far right, Belgium and Spain looking likely to be heading into heavily right wing governments at the next elections, whilst the US and UK governments both saw their politics swinging far further in that direction, especially the UK right now whilst led by an unelected leader who is demonising people in ways that would make Trump look soft. One of themajor rallying calls: immigration. The way media report on this becomes increasingly demeaning and hateful. During the 1930's much of the European media and even as far as the UK was ramping up the scorn against the ever increasing influx of Jewish immigrants coming from Germany. Even into 1944 there was a vast amount of demonisation of them seeking asylum, despite the knowledge by this point that there were horrific conditions in camps where extermination was becoming ever more apparent. The Nazi German government in 1936 passed laws that enabled them to revoke citizenship and stripped away laws on human rights. It would be great to say that these poor souls who were being demonised in their own country were accepted into nations who could see what was going on and who wanted to help, but that just wasn't the way it went. Media played out as it is now, leading to rejection and a greater number of deaths as a result of this. The way the UK government is currently working, it actually sounds like the maxi government of the mid 30's during the time of the Nürnberg laws. \n \nThe world feels far smaller now with double the amount of people and with things like social media playing a huge role in the lives of many. The ease of access to people around the world has made issues seem to stretch to far more countries now, whereas back then it was a time of empires. I get that there will be many here who support Trump, many who support Biden, there will be Brit's who support Sunak and the rather vicious words of Suella Braverman, whilst others will be more on the side of Starmer (I'm well aware of all the other parties but they don't stand to gain as much). There will be French people backing Macron, whilst others back Le Pen. We could go through each country all the way to the battle between Fujimori and Castillo in Perú, and the stories are much the same, but how will history judge us when people look back to this time? Will it be another occasion where we demonised those trying to escape the horror of the place they had the bad luck to be born in whilst we were luckier? \n\nI know there is hardship everywhere. I'm struggling more than most and I know I can't keep living this way. However, I don't want to be a part of history people look back at and say ‘if only they did something to help prevent this.’. I would rather be a part of history people look back upon and say; ‘that was a boring time period where nothing important happened’. It's already too late for that. Instead I try to remember that, though I was born into a family who never really wanted me, I was lucky enough to be born into a country that could support me during the hardest times. When you look at immigrants, remember that every one of us has immigrants in our family tree somewhere.

Yes and if these people truly believed in God and Jesus they wouldn't run from their countries but actually stay on the ground and stand strong in their faith that God and Jesus are going to help them persevere through all this. As a fully disabled American citizen with a child that doesn't even get $1,000 a month and there's no available housing at all where I live no waiting list to go on people on SSI disability don't get any extra housing help we're not offered separate housing are put on separate lists and low-income Able Body people or the migrants jumping the Border but I was born and raised here paid taxes and worked until my body literally couldn't anymore but I don't hear anybody bitching and screaming and crying about the fact that my son and I would be on the streets if it hadn't been for one of my family members stepping up and giving his housing after a lifetime restraining order issued during my pregnancy on my son's biological do do with domestic abuse situation. I'm also US citizen that spent time in the Wards in Houston and projects and other cities and if you don't think that we don't have the same gun violence drug trafficking human trafficking gangs take it over cartels taking over neighborhoods and communities than you're freaking lying to yourself and everybody else. The same s*** that's taken over these countries is taking over the inner cities have been for decades and these are the same communities that most of these people will end up in. No it's not about not being good Christians part of being a good Christian is reminding people to stand their ground and have faith in Jesus and God and their own home territory and not to give it up to the crime people in the bad politicians. You can't say you believe in God and Jesus Christ and then he's got your back while you're running and that's the truth in the reality that nobody wants to hear the more people run from these countries the more the bad people are able to take over and then we get complaints here in the states about the cost attacks is rightfully so. For those people screaming and shouting that everybody should go out pick up in my grant and bring them home to their house and feed them and take them and I challenge you to do the same thing for homeless before you even do the migrant do homeless American citizens go out and really educate yourself because I'm totally tired of hearing from Americans that the only people that live on the streets are people with mental health problems that need mental health treatment or people that are stoned out and that's where they want to be you guys are so f****** wrong and this is coming from someone that met homeless people spent time around homeless people and understand we have a society that wants to paints a very different picture than what's truly going on because then it allows for hey it's not our problem they want to be there. I will say there's two I'm sure a lot of people are attracted to come into the United States I mean it's kind of turned into the Devil's Playground don't you think I mean look at how ostentatiously people live the projects on the backs of taxpayers selling dope holding down dead-end jobs to make it look like they're working all while going out and getting their hair did and their nails done and their eyelashes done and pimping out their cars and all that b******* and buying all this you know high-end tennis shoes and f****** clothing and Handbags and s*** and then we have the part of the United States that justified of themselves all the time or it's okay to have this huge palatial house or have multiple houses I'll we have United States veterans living on the streets or people that truly have disabilities that have been a waiting list for 2 and 3 years for housing. I remind people all the time and they hate hearing this s*** Jesus never had a house as a matter of fact Jesus basically live like a homeless person after he was an adult particularly and God made sure he was provided for. I mean did you all forget the night they came to take them away they were asleep in an Open Garden it wasn't like they popped up tents or glamper camper sites had some little Adobe type cabins they were sleeping in. As a matter of fact if you pay attention to most of the stories about Jesus and talking about him sleeping he does a lot of sleeping Outdoors. Remember God is a father that's how he's been represented and talked about in the Bible and Jesus was a man without a doubt no biological transgender question ability there. People need to remember that part of being a fair and loving. Is also teaching and discipline and these children following rules. I don't believe hearing God and Jesus telling all these people run from your countries and not have faith that I'm actually going to fix things for you and go run to somebody else actually go run to the United States where all those stuff is traveling through. I never understood the logic of that it's like rats run from the country where they're making the drugs to the country that supplying the globe with it and we're all of these bad people have thousands of people in planted everywhere with guns and hookups. I don't know why people don't understand that we have dirty lawn forcement in dirty politicians that are in bed with the dirty drug cartels that's as much as they are in the country. You don't think that there's not decisions made in the United States based on drugs and I'm not talking about how to put it into them but how to keep them flowing. I have Fred still in Florida and we were all making jokes about how quickly Sanibel Island all the way up to st. Pete got Mainland access so quickly after the last major hurricane that took everything down and we all know what it's from is because that portion of Florida is used to bring a lot of drugs in from South America, Central America. So for all of you that want to post your personal assumptions about homeless people because that's all it is unless you've actually been homeless or spent time around homeless you really have no clue what's going on in the homeless population except what you've been told by the same political talking head media bulshit that's been lying to everybody about a bunch of other stuff too. Don't you get it the politicians don't want people knowing that a lot of the people that are homeless on the street are people that are disabled and aren't disabled because they have mental health problems I know that's the narrative they've been trying to stuff down people's throats.

The Canadian border police have to say that but they will let them in and care for them. I am a Canadian and I’ve had mixed feelings about it way back before I grew up. I’m 52 years old. These people are looking for better lives and there’s no reason that countries that have the resources can’t help them. I’m sorry I just feel like it’s our duty to take care of them. My family came from Europe in the war. If I was not let in here I mean my family I wouldn’t have this great life in Canada hope y’all can have compassion and we can all help each other.

How Dirty immigrants can help United State. I don’t care too much about them, but I want to share what we can get from these immigrants and how we can exploit everything and take advantage. \n \n1. Cheaper Tacos. \nI’m seeing some crazy Taco prices in my area. But We can lower the cost of tacos by bringing in more immigrants. More immigrants mean taco shops, taco shops make hot tacos and more tacos in the supply chain is all we need to bring Taco prices down. which means we can eat more tacos. Immigrant = Taco shop = Cheap Tacos = happy tummy \n \n2. Your precious time! \nWhy clean your own Cars, or your pets which take hours and hours. Your time is precious. You can save so much time for so little money and with that time you can work for even more money or go have a great time. Let’s all live like KING! Apply this to everything thing in your life you majestic being. \nCheap Labor + Little Money = More Money and Time \n \n3. Be a Great person without doing anything! \nWe want to be good neighbors, but my room is just too comfy. I know that feeling but you don't get many chances in life to help someone, this is our chance! Also, they are doing all the work. Let us all pretend that we did something and let them in. After this we can go back to playing video games or watching our favorite shows. \n \nYes. In the beginning They will need help since they came here so poor. But don’t you lift a finger. There are Church groups and Organization and if they are lucky, they might have family member. Our government could also pitch in if they really want as they can think of them as a small investment. A seed for the bigger picture, and we think big. We have abandoned neighborhoods and empty buildings and I would rather have hard-working people take over instead of all these crack-up druggies calling themselves homeless. This will build and strengthen our neighborhoods and trickle into a stronger country. \n \n4.Can’t own Slaves anymore, but we got the next best thing. \nCheap labor. We need to have our own Giant Factories and more Labor force and Health care worker relief. Let them in but they must work hard and cheaply and take Jobs most Americans don't want as they are starting from the bottom. Until they master English, they are not a threat to any jobs that you might want, and most don't even bother to learn which is good for us. \n \nHealthcare workers are working too hard. Let’s use migrants and help them out, immigrants can do all the labor-intensive and poop work so our healthcare workers can focus more on the health of the patients. This will reduce hospital bills since labor is a major cost to any business. We will also all receive better care at the hospital. \n \nUS companies and foreign companies are building factories in India or in Mexico when the same workers are at our doors. Let's build them here in the USA and we English speakers will have to manage them unfortunately since that’s the language of the Country. If you speak Spanish and English, you are going to have many jobs. \nEverything important should be made in America with all these workers. We can all have our own factories and business and exploit cheap labor flocking to our Great Country. We must use this to our advantage while it lasts. \nCheap labor we can Build houses that are affordable. Fix all the infrastructure we have been crying about. \n \n5. If War we're ready! \nIf we ever have another World War first one to go are minorities and poor people so, not only does it provide us with a bigger army, but you might not be first to get drafted. Not only that but because we have immigrants we would have stronger ties to those immigrant countries which can come in handy later. You never know which country will become the next global leader and we can always use military support. \n \nIf there are other legal exploitation, we can benefit from having immigrants into our Great nation please share! Thank you!

I do watch many videos about the topic. First of all there's no place like home. As a human we will have tendency to resist to change. Choosing to leave a country whatever the reason will always be hard, you left a culture, family and so many good things. Diversity in a country like Canada is a good thing sometimes because somewhere somehow you find link to home. Imagine as a French Canadian like I am, I am consider as an immigrant in my own country. The natives came first from Asia, English took over the country which left us with no country we can call home. Many immigrants will say that French is an obstacle and don't understand why we need laws to keep it, we took our place following negotiations with the native not by conquest and always need to fight to keep that space because we're not making babies anymore and do need immigration like the rest of the country. That being said it brings the sensitive topic of jobs. There's types of jobs you do need Canadian experience, in Canada the construction codes are different from even a region versus another one. Do you know that St-Lawrence river is sitting on a tectonic plate and you need to construct a building which can resist a earthquake? What Canada need to do because we do lack of people on those job, is to provide fast track to help them having Canadian experience. They don't need anatomy courses, human here are pretty much the same but they need to know what medication is legal in Canada. Finally, all is on setting expectations, don't expect to feel at home in here, it take in average 3 generations to really feel at home, so be ready to feel pushed aside, be ready to live in a area where you will find mostly people of common cultural background. You will feel left over and pretty much alone. The only solution to be happy in here is embrasse change, go out of your comfort zone, embrace the local culture, talk to people from different backgrounds. There's a difference between multi cultural and integration. Sharing is caring, share your culture and your food, and most of all don't think you have the best way of life and other people don't understand. When you think everyone is wrong is usually a sign that you're the one who is wrong. Racism weirdly don't have a culture, a race or a religion, it's individual.

It angers me what this man has done to his family. How do you claim asylum in a country when fleeing from a country you came to illegally? Immigration laws are very important and protect citizens of a country in many ways. The US welcomes immigrants with open arms when they come here legally. These individuals want to challenge our rights to protect our people, our country. This family may be no threat to our country but if laws are not followed it opens the way for the wrong people to enter. I’m so tired of this manipulation. This man is responsible for the pain his children are going through.. not the countries standing by their laws to protect citizens and legal immigrants. If you know something is wrong and you do it anyway how do you then blame someone else for the consequence? Aside from this.. when do people start taking a stand and making positive change in their own Home Countries? So many of these people support corrupt leaders that promise to give them all their desires and then when things fall apart they want to flee. The problem in this world is people refuse to take responsibility. It’s always someone else’s fault. If we allow people from other countries to neglect our laws our country will fall as well. Wake up.

One thing that blacks have gotten away from is their relationship with God! We've forgotten that with God we over came a lot of the weapons that society had forged against us. We forgot how to come together as a people and the churches were our launching points into the systematically racist and discriminatatory system that was set in place to disenfranchise blacks as a people. It was through God that the impossible became possible and the strength to endure was our faith and trust in God. Now with the freedoms that were gained blacks became a distracted people. We lost our eye on the prize and the same system that we fought against has turned blacks against one another. The black family is virtually non-existent because we have forgotten our roles to one another. No God, no family, no leaders equals complete anarchy. The black culture has been high jacked and blacks have done nothing about it. We have to get back to what worked for us in the past and doing so will stop a lot of the problems we have today. God bless.