Racism in Toronto Corrections Services — surprised?

At a time when some people are getting their knickers tied up in a knot over such trivialities as a new school in Toronto, I am not too happy when I read this:

The hate letters have contained racist symbols and language, and guards have stated they found the letters in areas where fellow employees only — not prisoners — have access. McGetrick confirms that the guards’ co-workers are primary suspects in the case.
Letters have also been sent to the homes of black guards, threatening violence against them in their private and work lives, Ford says. At least one letter stated that prisoners would be paid to physically assault guards.
Occupational Health and Safety Canada Magazine

but it does not surprise me at all. I wonder if it is just a coincidence that this racism is taking place in Toronto also.

This is real racist segregation and the wild animal is bureaucracy. I expect nothing less from bureaucracy. The further you move away from the private service sector, the less you have to rely on hard work and merit to survive. Visible minorities such as natives and blacks have lived in Canada for a long time and so I highly doubt these incidents are new. We only hear about them from a few courageous people — remember, these are corrections officers who are victims of racism — who work within the system. We hear about this fast largely because we have the internet now. I shudder to think what happens (and has happened) to the inmates behind closed doors.

Bureaucracy will cover this up with more bureaucracy and maybe, just maybe, something will change… eventually. When that will happen is anybody’s guess. It has only been….. how long?

The first public sign of the ugly realities inside Ontario’s jails came to light in 1988, when Michael McKinnon filed a human rights complaint against his employer.
McKinnon, of aboriginal descent, began working as a guard at the Toronto East Detention Centre in 1977 and was subjected to withering racist slurs.
—SNIP—
By 1988, “I couldn’t take it anymore,” McKinnon said, and he filed a complaint with Ontario’s Human Rights Commission.
The tribunal concluded in 2002 that despite years of efforts by the ministry to deal with racism in its workplace, little progress appeared to have been made.
Behind Bars of Hate

For those of you telling me “Stop whining, Chuck — offer a solution, you smart-ass or get off the pot!” I will say boldly that I do not believe there is a politically correct solution and in our current State of affairs, I do not believe there is a consensus about what actually is the problem. I would just like to see the victims of this racism minimized. That might involve stop putting people in jail for non-violent crimes. [By the way, do we really need Junior Kindergarten? K3? K2???]

For a less palatable solution, maybe we can create racially-centered prisons…. you know, like, give the convicts a choice: “Sorry, we are going to send you to prison whether you like it or not. You can go to our old-fashioned (read: racist) slammer or our new slammer which is completely operated by members of your own race. Take your pick.” Of course, that idea would certainly not fly in a government monopolized industry where a one-size-fits-all institution must be imposed on everybody.

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Try the following mental exercise: replace “prison” with “day care” or “school” and tell me what you get when it comes to the provision of “service” shall we say.
Answer: some people want the government bureaucracy (in all of its convoluted and unaccountable glory) to tell us what we need whereas other people want some choice.

To the socialists: yes, technically, private prisons are a possible solution but I will settle on a bit of choice for the time being.