mackenzie king was right i am too weak for the cold canadian winters
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As Peter Ward says in his text, upon arriving on the West Coast, Indian immigrants quickly discovered that existing prejudices regarding them and their countries of origin had arrived long before them. These prejudices were already deeply rooted in Canada, shaped by both the existing attitudes toward Chinese and Japanese diasporas and the larger colonial attitudes. Ward argues that these types of prejudices did not add up. They, however, interacted in a way that formed a distinct kind of racism targeted toward these immigrants. They were seen as “a lesser breed of men, given to weakness, servility, and in some cases villainy” (Ward, 82). They were portrayed as inferior and unworthy of integration into their society and were said to come from dirty and diseased places. They did not even have a chance to step onto the continent before being judged. And those on the Komataga Maru were thrown out of the country before stepping off the boat. All this is to say that prejudices regarding Indians shaped the white Canadian minds and created specific immigration laws targeting them. These racist immigration laws and attitudes were justified and hidden behind a fake sense of empathy. The prime minister at the time, Mackenzie King, argued that since Indians come from a hotter climate, and practice different customs and cultures, they would not be able to handle such major change, thus, it is for their own good to stay out of the country. They also claimed to be scared to let any East Indians in because of their “threat to public health” (Ward, 83). Because of the unclean and diseased prejudices, they had fears of being infected with the “Bubonic plague, Smallpox, Asiatic Cholera” (crazy and ironic that they say that when Europeans killed millions of Native Americans when first arriving in North America because of all the different diseases they brought in). There was also the Canadian’s concern for racial homogeneity. They claimed that East Indians could not be assimilated and, therefore, are a danger to the society that they are so proud of. They were a threat to “white livelihood.”