We know how destructive generalizations can be
There is an ugly trend developing in Osoyoos.
It really started last year when there was a definite change in who was coming to Osoyoos. Of course we are talking about our French Canadian visitors.
For many years now, young French Canadians have travelled to Osoyoos to work picking fruit in the South Okanagan's orchards.
It has been a win-win situation. Orchardists get the desperately needed labour to get their crops to market, and young people get to earn some cash while travelling across our great country.
But that wasn't the case with many French Canadian visitors last year. Instead of working during the day this new group of visitors basically hung out on our beaches. And to put it mildly, their activities in the parks and on the beaches of Osoyoos were definitely not welcomed by local residents.
Last year, Osoyoosites were completely unprepared for this assault. Shoplifting was high, and as the summer drew on there were more and more complaints about what was happening in our parks.
The problem, however, is that this year the community expected the same thing to happen which has unfortunately created a very anti-French Canadian sentiment in this community.
We aren't blaming people for that bias. However, we also have to remember that the majority of our French Canadian visitors (let's also not forget they are from our own country) are not here to cause trouble and shouldn't be lumped in with those who are.
That might not be so easy for us to do, but it is very important that we try. Part of the greatness of being Canadian is having the sophistication to be open-minded enough to see how destructive cultural generalizations can be.
