Earlier this week, a video of a extremely racist verbal confrontation filmed in Abbotsford was uploaded online and went viral.
Not only was the video disturbing, it was a sad reminder that racism still exists in our metropolitan despite the region being home to such a multi-cultural community.
The video continues to make its rounds over social media and recently landed on World Star Hip Hop, an American based website best known for sharing viral videos from around the world.
While artists and creatives find it lucky to have their videos shared on the platform, it’s almost the opposite fortune for nearly every other type of video as the content on the platform has a reputation for exposing the sad reality of daily struggles.
With that being said, it’s disappointing to read the video’s title “Man From Abbotsford, British Columbia Goes On A Racist Rant Over A Parking Spot!” and realize it’s been watched a quarter million times within 24 hours after being posted.
While Canadians in general typically retain a ‘friendly’ image within other countries, it’s moments and people like this that leave foreigners scratching their head, including a few of the 3400+ commenters on the video.
In a recent interview with Global News, the man who originally recorded the video said he uploaded the footage after feeling anger and sadness during the altercation.
“People need to know that there are people like this out there. If you don’t get exposed to it, if you don’t see it, you tend to think it doesn’t happen. So I wanted to expose this guy for what he is.”
His mission proved successful, and is still generating a lot of traction online.
In the short run, it serves as a memo to let everyone know racism still exists and that many people in metro Vancouver still face it daily.
In the long run, and as a metro Vancouver resident, you never want to see anything like this again and let alone let it go viral for the world to view and possibly judge our home.
Truth is, it’s the diversity that makes metro Vancouver unique and a lovely place to live. Let’s hope this reminder is the only one we need in the near future to create awareness around racism and educate one another on being more accepting.
