Dear Editor,
Re: “Let’s not shy away from tough talk,” Letters, Nov. 30.
Dongping Gu’s articulate and useful letter is a clear example of the kind of conversation we should be having about how the lack of involvement in our society on the part of some members of the Chinese community is negatively affecting the general culture of our city.
His statements are made even more effective because he is a Chinese immigrant who seems to be as disappointed as many long-time residents of Richmond are by the lack of interest shown by some of our Chinese neighbours in even exchanging the most basic greetings and courtesies with those they live next door to or pass on the street.
In a world that seems to be rapidly devolving into conditions of greater rather than lesser levels of isolationism and devisiveness, we must, individually and collectively, decide whether we want to be part of the problem and act in ways that serve to increase such conditions.
Or we need to be part of the solution and at the very least engage in the kinds of problem-defining and problem-solving conversations that Mr. Gu is attempting to promote — the kind that engender greater understanding, respect, and collaboration between people.
It really is a basic binary choice.
The problem, as it always has been, is that too many people in the world prefer to focus on the things that differentiate us from each other rather than the things that we all share in common.
We, therefore, continue to suffer all the ills associated with distance, misunderstanding, and distrust. It’s a simple lesson that many people seem unable and/or unwilling to learn.
To make things even more unfortunate than they already are, our political and civic leaders don’t seem particularly concerned about finding ways of leading us towards effective solutions. Where are the initiatives, the conversations, the analyses, the proposals?
Richmond has been given a unique opportunity to build a model of what a respectful, inclusive multi-cultural society should look like, but if Mr. Gu is correct in his assessment of how we are doing in that regard (and I for one will bow to the efficacy of his particular perspective of the situation), then we have a very long way to go before we can legitimately claim that we are close to achieving that goal.
And perhaps we have a long way yet to go before we can claim that we are even concerned about achieving such an objective. Such is our obsession with focusing on our differences.
Ray Arnold
Richmond
