tropesarenotbad:

autismserenity:

wetwareproblem:

talix18:

thewonderfulkatsukinikifrovs:

dovahkiin-official:

thewonderfulkatsukinikifrovs:

dovahkiin-official:

tilthat:

TIL The Lululemon retail chain’s name came from the founder’s desire to watch Japanese people try to pronounce it

via ift.tt

The seeds of the company’s problems were planted early, with its initial founding in Vancouver in 1998. Former CEO Chip Wilson, an avid snowboarder, said he came up with “Lululemon” because he delighted in the idea that trying to pronounce the name — with its three syllables beginning with “l’” — would pose a special challenge for the Japanese, whom he enjoyed making fun of.

wow that’s actually fucking racist

It goes deep, my friend. You see, Vancouver (and the province of British Columbia in general) is home to a large Japanese-Canadian population. Canada has a deep seated racism problem with Asian-Canadians but Japanese-Canadians have it particularly bad. Things Japanese-Canadians have been subjected to in Canadian history:

-slavery

-internment camps

-forced prostitution (aka more slavery)

-segregation

-violent forced assimilation efforts

-indenturment (aka MORE SLAVERY!?)

The kicker? A lot of Japanese-Canadian families have been here longer than a lot of white families. Japanese colonists settled western Canada the same time white colonists did: 1867 -1914. More recently immigrated Japanese-Canadians usually arrive in BC because it has a lot of Japanese culture and is closer/cheaper to move to.

So this asshole dude is just The Worst. Sure, he’s the worst outside of the context of Canadian history but within the context he is The Worst.

This is true! There were actually politicians in Canada whose platforms consisted of anti-Japanese propaganda, such as “they are taking our jobs” which fueled internment and forced them more eastward towards Ontario.

⬆️⬆️⬆️

This!

Know your Canada. It’s not less racist. Just differently racist.

It gets worse:

After the war, the federal government decided to remove all Japanese Canadians from British Columbia. They forced them to choose between deportation to war-ravaged Japan or dispersal east of the Rocky Mountains. Most chose the latter, moving to Ontario, Québec and the Prairie provinces.

Public protest would eventually stop the deportations, but not before 4,000 Japanese Canadians left the country. On 1 April 1949, Japanese Canadians regained their freedom to live anywhere in Canada.

Forty-three years after the end of the war, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney acknowledged the wartime wrongs and announced compensation packages including of $21,000 for each individual directly wronged.

(image is “the more you know” shooting star gif)

@allthecanadianpolitics