"Can you guess where I'm from?" Janice Goetsch asked, a wry grin on her face, as she sat opposite Mamadou Saraki inside the Carleton University library. They were on the third floor, the so-called quiet floor, and instead of working on their Death Penalty: Opposite Viewpoints assignment, they were bantering while a fresh sheen of snow blanketed campus, and the rest of Ottawa.
Winter had come to the City of Ottawa, Ontario, and Janice Goetsch was enjoying her first snowfall ever. As an international student originally from the tropics, she was amazed at the beauty of the snow and the wintertime in general. Unfortunately, this sentiment was not shared by her good friend, classmate and fellow international student Mamadou.
"Germany," Mamadou replied, and Janice winked, and shook her head. After living in the City of Ottawa, Ontario, for a few months, the young woman quickly discovered everyone's favorite phrase. Canadians liked to ask people where they came from, based on appearance and accent, or mild curiosity. In Janice's case, they could never place her accent, and her rather misleading last name helped confuse them further...
"Nope, I was born and raised in the City of Johannesburg, South Africa," Janice replied, with a triumphant smirk, and Mamadou stared at her. This was definitely not what the tall, dark and handsome young Nigerian Muslim was expecting, that's for damn bloody sure. Mamadou stroked his goateed chin and then did what he often did when perplexed, steeple his fingers and adopt a thoughtful expression.
"South African, eh? Nice, we don't get a lot of you guys up here," Mamadou remarked, and Janice fell silent, not quite sure how to take that statement. Mamadou was nice and friendly most of the time, but he was also quite blunt. The West African's raw honesty was one of the many things that Janice liked and admired about him, but sometimes, he could and did get on her nerves...
"Can't speak for South African guys, Mamadou, as you can see, I'm a South African woman," Janice said smartly, and she 'accidentally' bumped Mamadou's foot under the table. This caused Mamadou to suddenly groan in pain and jerk awkwardly. He fixed his wuthering stare on Janice, who flashed him a sweet smile. This blonde cutie definitely has claws, Mamadou thought to himself.
"Okay, my bad, anyhow, let's continue with the assignment," Mamadou suggested, and Janice nodded. For the next half hour, they talked about the death penalty, both within the U.S. context and the Canadian context, and went back and forth on the efficacy of lethal punishment as a deterrent for crime. Mamadou disagreed with the death penalty, on all levels, while Janice thought of it as something to be reserved for the worst offenders, such as serial murderers and rapists...
"Look, Mamadou, I know that the death penalty isn't applied equally in western society, for example, minority males are more likely to get it in places like Texas, but I do think that in some cases, like serial killers and terrorists, where it should be used," Janice said, and Mamadou stifled a groan. This chick has conservative tendencies and that's a damn shame, he thought.
"Janice, western society is biased against people of color, that's what systemic racism is all about, you'd get it if you weren't so," Mamadou said, and he stopped abruptly, as a look of shock and anger spread across Janice's face. Janice looked at Mamadou silently, biting her lip, and Mamadou fell silent. He knew he'd crossed the line somehow, and wasn't sure how to proceed...
"So, Mamadou, because I'm white, I can't possibly understand what prejudice and oppression feel like, is that what you're saying?" Janice said, her anger rising, and Mamadou sighed, and then, when he finally spoke, he chose his words carefully. This requires delicate handling, Mamadou thought, as he gazed levelly at Janice, who seemed quite agitated.
"Janice, that is not what I meant, I just mean that you are new to the west, and their history of mistreating Blacks, Natives, Asians and others is long and merciless, you lack pertinent information about this society, as a newcomer," Mamadou said, and Janice's expression shifted from outraged to bemused, and he fell silent. Hope I got my point across, Mamadou thought earnestly.
One of the first things that Mamadou noticed after moving to the City of Ottawa, Ontario, from his hometown of Kano, Nigeria, was the differences in how men and women interacted. There were female politicians, female soldiers and female police officers in Nigeria, but the ladies over there were more respectful of their men. In western society, if Canadian society were any indicator, women had very little respect for men. Mamadou firmly believed in respecting the fair sex, but he damn sure wasn't about to let any woman disrespect him. A man had to draw the line somewhere...
