I have noticed a growing stigma towards our fellow fisher peoples. There has come to Ontario fishing something we could all live without. It hasn't been discussed here from what I have read, and it is something that we should talk about in my opinion, share our stories and experiences with, instead of hiding behind fear of being persecuted for being a "racist." It is obvious that many varieties of people fish, people of every age, gender, and race. I am posting this as a response to a comment left on another topic that incinuates something, but is destructive to the community and has no purpose but to cause harm to those on the recieving end of things. The comment was:
"Where these residents or people from markham
"
Well from what I know, and this will be blunt, and is in no way intended to offend anybody. Markham has an increasing Asian Population. Asian fisher people seem to have formed a reputation with certain "white" people. I have heard comments like, "I bet they are keeping everything they catch." , "They just blend it all up and make it into a soup." , and the worst comment I have heard, "They are filthy creatures who will eat anything that moves."
Now this is just a sample of some of the experiences I have had fishing the shores of various areas, being white I guess it is an invitation for somebody whom I have never met to approach me, talk about the water conditions, and blatantly be racist towards a person who they have never spoken to. This behavior is not only unacceptable but only leads to a negative snowball effect that is destroying our community. If only these people got over their fears of different cultures, and maybe talked to some people of different ethnic backgrounds, information could be shared, new ideas can be conjured and the fishing community can evolve into something that is better tailored to suit this sports needs, education, and conservation. The worst part of this is when some guy looks at me like I'm the asshole when my response to their remarks somewhere along the lines of, "dude not cool, like talk about fishing all you want with me but I don't want to hear shit like that." And maybe talking about this makes me a jerk, but I was raised to be tolerant of everybody.
On a side note:
Asians, are some of the most polite people in our sport. Not only can they fish way better than me, not one of them has ever been rude, and every asian that I have talked to has given me great tips and share their experiences. Even with a language barrier, I have found that talking to people, even without the basics of verbal communication can be proven to be fun. I had an elderly Asian man teach me a how to do a Texas rig, and not one word was spoken. In fact today an Asian dude was walking around the Wilcox parkette cleaning up the place, picking up lines, bobbers and other trash discarded by every other lazy person that has no care for our shoreline.
Again this was just some of my personal experiences. Maybe it isn't my place to share these thoughts, but I am open to any comments/criticism.
"Where these residents or people from markham
"Well from what I know, and this will be blunt, and is in no way intended to offend anybody. Markham has an increasing Asian Population. Asian fisher people seem to have formed a reputation with certain "white" people. I have heard comments like, "I bet they are keeping everything they catch." , "They just blend it all up and make it into a soup." , and the worst comment I have heard, "They are filthy creatures who will eat anything that moves."
Now this is just a sample of some of the experiences I have had fishing the shores of various areas, being white I guess it is an invitation for somebody whom I have never met to approach me, talk about the water conditions, and blatantly be racist towards a person who they have never spoken to. This behavior is not only unacceptable but only leads to a negative snowball effect that is destroying our community. If only these people got over their fears of different cultures, and maybe talked to some people of different ethnic backgrounds, information could be shared, new ideas can be conjured and the fishing community can evolve into something that is better tailored to suit this sports needs, education, and conservation. The worst part of this is when some guy looks at me like I'm the asshole when my response to their remarks somewhere along the lines of, "dude not cool, like talk about fishing all you want with me but I don't want to hear shit like that." And maybe talking about this makes me a jerk, but I was raised to be tolerant of everybody.
On a side note:
Asians, are some of the most polite people in our sport. Not only can they fish way better than me, not one of them has ever been rude, and every asian that I have talked to has given me great tips and share their experiences. Even with a language barrier, I have found that talking to people, even without the basics of verbal communication can be proven to be fun. I had an elderly Asian man teach me a how to do a Texas rig, and not one word was spoken. In fact today an Asian dude was walking around the Wilcox parkette cleaning up the place, picking up lines, bobbers and other trash discarded by every other lazy person that has no care for our shoreline.
Again this was just some of my personal experiences. Maybe it isn't my place to share these thoughts, but I am open to any comments/criticism.
