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I can only hope that some of the people who insist that Canada and/or the USA are two of the most racist countries actually have the opportunity some day to try making a life for themselves in virtually any other country where they don't quite fit the local profile.
Many of the Scandinavian or other European countries are looked at as exceptionally friendly or tolerant, but virtually everyone I've talked to who lives there has had a story for me about their country's local isolationist party that wants to deport all foreigners and has a very large and loyal following amongst the local population.
Not that Europe itself is anywhere near as xenophobic as many parts of Asia or the Middle East. Japan's already started whitewashing their history, I shouldn't even need to mention the whole China/Tibet thing, South Korea and North Korea can't stand each other (or anyone else), and just try flying into Saudi Arabia some day and telling a state official that you don't really understand this whole Wahabbism thing and that they ought to loosen up a bit.
I don't see why people are so shocked by this or so anxious to deny it, either. If you scaled human history down to a single day, then people only really became aware of the existence of other cultures by 11:30 PM, and have only been able to actually see and interact with them since 11:50 or so (airplanes and internet would be within the last minute). It takes a long time for disparate groups to integrate themselves and there's often a lot of conflict and resentment which simply can't be skipped any more than the "ice breaking" stage can be skipped in a successful long-term relationship.
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My party schedule:
2009-02-21 - DJ Attention @ I'm So Popular
2009-06-18 - DJ Annoying @ People Need To Know Where I'll Be
2012-11-32 - DJ Insufferable ɸ Or At Least the Stalkers I Complain About
2048-06-66 - Spastic & Whocares ¶ Although I'm Actually Flattered
9999-45-81 - Tweaker Gimp ☼ I Probably Won't Even Go To This But I Have To Make Sure I Fill Up All The Available Space Here
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