THE revelation this week that the Bank of Canada changed an image on the new $100 bill to appear less "Asian" in order not to offend the public should do more than prompt a pillorying of the bank itself; it should cause a careful re-examination of attitudes to race in the country as a whole.
According to an internal report released to Canadian Press, the bank altered the proposed image on the $100 bill - which depicted a woman peering into a microscope - to have a more "neutral" ethnicity, after a series of focus groups complained. At best, the decision was motivated by a misplaced concern that the note perpetuated a stereotype; at worst, those behind it were caving to racism.
More troubling than speculation about the bank's motivations, however, is the picture that resulted: Clearly, authorities there equate "neutral" with Caucasian. In their view, it seems, white people are normal, and everyone else isn't.
Imagine explaining this idea to a modern classroom full of children. The ugliness of the attitude is hard to express.
The bank deserves the criticism it is enduring as a result, but we should bear in mind that it is not alone in its outlook. The notion that members of ethnic minorities are in some way abnormal is widespread in Western culture - although generally unconscious and unexpressed. The storm over the banknote just exposed it to scrutiny.
This idea is one whose roots we should examine carefully, as it has no place in a country of the 21st century.
