It begins, as it often does, with a video. A group of immigrants – South Asian, this time – dancing in a Canadian neighborhood, perhaps celebrating a festival. And what follows their celebration is no longer surprising: a digital storm of outrage, mocking comments, and sweeping generalizations. “They have to go back,” someone says. “This is Indianity,” another quips. “No respect for public space. A nuisance community,” declares a third.
What we’re witnessing here is not a conversation about noise or public order. It’s something far deeper – and far more dangerous.
Celebration Attacked
Let me be clear from the outset: no culture, immigrant or otherwise, has the right to violate public laws or disrupt civil order without consequence. Whether it’s Garba, Diwali fireworks, Eid celebrations, Pride parades, or Christmas carnivals – permission must be sought, and civic norms must be respected. This is not about ethnicity. It is about ethics.
But once permission is granted – once the event is sanctioned by municipal or provincial authorities – then what exactly are we objecting to? The color? The sound? The fact that the space now contains joy that doesn’t look or sound like our own?
This isn’t a debate over decibels. It’s discomfort masquerading as civic concern.
Newcomers Always Get The Blame
We forget – selectively – that every wave of migrants faced the same accusations. The Irish were called “drunkards.” Italians were “gangsters.” Jews were “schemers.” And today, many immigrants from South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia are labeled as “loud,” “dirty,” “backward,” or “uncivilized” – terms that haven’t changed, only the faces have.
This is the West. And that means the right to be different – within the bounds of law – is protected, not punished.
I’ve spent decades writing about the perils of unfiltered migration, especially from authoritarian, patriarchal, or religiously rigid societies. I’ve spoken publicly – without apology – about the need for integration, cultural literacy, and civic accountability among immigrants. I am not a blind multiculturalist. I do not support cultural invasion. I do not excuse extremist behavior, no matter where it comes from.
Migration: Two-Way Relationship
But I also believe something many of the loudest critics seem to forget: migration is a two-way relationship.
If a nation opens its doors, it must also open its heart – at least a little. And if newcomers enter, they must do so with humility and respect. When both happen, societies bloom. When only one side tries, societies fracture.
What is most ironic is that many of the harshest critics today are themselves children or grandchildren of immigrants. Their accents are borrowed, their passports earned through ancestry, not merit. Yet somehow, they’ve decided they are the gatekeepers of Western civility.
A woman says: “This is why Indians have lost respect globally.” Another calls it “bug-people culture.” A third declares the community a “disgrace.” These are not critiques. They are confessions – of insecurity, of self-loathing, of the desperate need to belong to a whiteness that still doesn’t fully claim them.
Go Back To Where?
And to those who cry “They must go back,” I ask – back where, exactly? Are you prepared to be held to the same standard? Would your ancestors have passed today’s purity tests?
If your objection is to the volume, call the city. If your objection is to the presence, then admit it – you are not protesting noise. You are protesting existence.
Let’s not pretend to be upholding order when what we’re defending is a fragile idea of homogeneity.
Bastion of Rights
I love the West. I believe it is one of the last bastions of dignity, rights, and real democracy in the world. But we must guard it with intelligence, not indignation. With policies, not prejudice.
Immigrants do bring baggage – yes. Trauma, memory, fear, survival instincts. But many also bring discipline, work ethic, gratitude, and dreams. It is this mix that has built the economies of Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and beyond. You cannot demand global talent without tolerating global color.
This isn’t a plea for political correctness. This is a call for moral clarity.
Yes, enforce the law. Yes, keep public order. But stop pretending that celebration is chaos simply because it doesn’t sound like yours.
If we truly want a better country, we must be as committed to truth as we are to tradition. And the truth is: multiculturalism, with its imperfections, is still the West’s strength – not its shame.
