Haitian Americans in Canada

Man, sometimes I wonder what the deal is with them Black women in the Confederation of Canada. As a Black man, they mystify me. The name is Stanley Mondesir. A big and tall young Black man of Haitian descent living in the city of Ottawa, Province of Ontario. I'm originally from the city of Boston, Massachusetts. I moved to boring little Ottawa because my parents had no money for my schooling. My father, Etienne Mondesir is a police officer in Boston and my mother Astrid Xavier Mondesir is a schoolteacher. They're not rich folks. And although I was accepted at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, without dough I couldn't go.

My uncle Leonard, my father's little brother, is an accountant living in Ottawa with his wife Janelle and their two daughters. While visiting us in Boston, he proposed to my folks that they send me to study in Canada. Even with international student rates, the schools of Canada were far less expensive than the average American college or university. Thus, I packed my belongings and moved to the town of Ottawa. It's the most boring and bigoted little town I've ever seen. White folks out here are seriously scared of all the African, Asian and Arabic immigrants moving into the city but they hide it behind their phony smiles.

The immigrants are none the wiser, thus many of the younger ones are dating 'mainstream' Canadians. I find that foolish. Canadians are racist and I don't trust them. At Carleton University, a lot of White chicks approach me. They think I'm like those Black Canadian guys who ignore Black women and worship White women. Dude, I am so happy to set them straight. The Black Goddess is my Standard of Beauty. I'm not into White chicks. Give me a Serena Williams, Wendy Williams, Sanaa Lathan or Nia Long over a Britney Spears any day.

I love my chocolate ladies. Unfortunately, the feeling isn't always mutual. Black chicks in Canada are a complicated bunch, folks. There's a serious lack of self love among them. I think it has to do with the fact that every Black man in Canada is either dating or marrying a fat White chick. Yeah, Black guys in Canada don't like pretty White chicks. They only go out with the ugly ones. What gives?

As a Haitian-American brother who loves the sisters, I am befuddled. Also, in Canada, Black folks are cold and distant to each other, man. Walking through the streets of Boston, I was used to random Black guys and Black chicks addressing each other as 'brother' or 'sister'. In Canada, Black folks give you cold looks and walk right past you the same way White folks do. For me, it's kind of confusing. Where is the love, man? I see a lot of Black women walking around with White guys.

Now, I saw a lot of that in Boston and it didn't bother me because most people are cool in Boston. However, in Ottawa, White folks are racist as hell. I've seen a White woman married to a Black male professional make racist jokes about Black folks. How about that? I also heard a White Canadian guy refer to his Black girlfriend as 'a burn-toast slut' to his White male friends at a restaurant while she was using the restroom. I don't think interracial dating in Canada is the same as interracial dating in America, folks. Even when a White Canadian person is dating or married to someone Black, they still have racist views and attitudes.

It doesn't change who or what they are. They might even be more bigoted against people of color than a White person who isn't in an interracial relationship. Man, it's a confusing world that I'm living in. I miss Boston so much. In Bean Town, I had friends from all over. I had Haitian friends, Irish friends, Italian friends, Jewish friends and Jamaican friends. And when looking at them, I saw them as people, purely and simply. I wasn't obsessed with their ethnicity and they weren't obsessed with mine. We were just a bunch of guys hanging out. Sadly, that's not the way things are in Ottawa. Everybody in this city is a hypocrite, folks. The same White guy you see holding hands with a Black woman inside the bus will be telling Black jokes at a nightclub later.

And the same White chick you see exchanging vows with a Black man inside the church on a bright Sunday morning will be saying racist things about Black folks, especially Black women, to her girlfriends at the mall the following week. Of course, it's not all one way. I've run into Asians who hate Black folks. Lots of them, in fact. Asians seem to have a pure, honest love for Caucasians and a deep-seated hatred for people of African descent. I find this amazing. I don't recall Africans mistreating Asians at any point in history. Did Black folks bomb Japan during the second World War? Hell no, it was America's doing. Did Black folks invade Vietnam or occupy China?

I sincerely doubt it. This was the doing of imperialistic Americans and British soldiers. Yet the Chinese, and the Indians ( from the Republic India) whom I run into in Ottawa love Caucasians and hate Africans. Maybe if Black folks had invaded Asia we'd be loved by them too. What do you think? I see a lot of pretty Black women around the city of Ottawa. They're lovely, educated and quite appealing. To me, like I said before, the Black woman is my standard of beauty. No White women for me. No Asian women for me. No Hispanic women for me. Hell, no Indian women for me either. Only Black women. I accept no substitute. I have to have my lovely African Goddess. Unfortunately, in Ottawa, the only time I see Black women looking at Black men is when these same Black men are with White women. The rest of the time, Black Canadian women pretend Black men don't exist. Such a perfect world I live in!