When you are looking to buy a house you get a lot of people's opinions about different communities. Which ones people think are better than others and why they feel that way. While each community is different, it's unfortunate that we feel the need to rank those differences.
Poet Mustafa Ahmed reflected on this and his childhood in Toronto's Regent Park in the 12th episode of CBC and the Walrus' the Next 150. His example was sitting across from a developer as they stated they would be bringing Toronto to this community. Strangely, this community is in the middle of Toronto. It had just been othered for so long, that many individuals who weren't familiar with it felt like it was a different place.
The communities we belong to form our identity. They are amazing parts of making our culture a diverse and beautiful one. It's fascinating that we aren't all part of the same communities. When we other a community, we imply that they are less than. Othering can be done intentionally, but it can also become an unconscious part of our assumptions.
This process of having others giving me their opinions on how they would rank communities has been bugging me a little. I hope eventually we'll figure out how to celebrate what makes us different knowing that it doesn't take away from how amazing our own community is.
Being a Force for Good 