Today I heard one of the most stupidest things I’ve heard in a while. The University of Ottawa just cancelled a free Yoga class because someone complained it was stealing their culture. The issue is the teacher is white.
Little background; Yoga teacher Jen Scharf has been teaching a free yoga class for seven years. It’s for people with disabilities but is open to anyone. She gives up her time to help, and expects nothing back.
But following a single complaint the University of Ottawa cancelled the free yoga she was teaching. Apparently the concern for University of Ottawa is that culture was being stolen. Their thinking is only someone from India can teach Yoga.
This is a situation where political correctness is completely out of control. By this argument, no one who is not from a certain culture can possibly teach, or know, anything from that culture. It is saying that a Yoga teacher cannot teach Yoga if she is not from India.
I’m going to hazard a guess and say that just because you are from India, doesn’t make you a good Yoga teacher, or even a Yoga teacher at all. To assume that someone only can teach Yoga if they are from India, is the same as saying only someone from North America could teach American literature, or only someone from England can teach Shakespeare.
Here’s a quick thought for those political correct nuts at University of Ottawa… There’s an old saying that says imitation is the biggest form of flattery. You have someone who is giving up their time to help! They are asking for nothing in return, and because of a blind faith in political correctness, the university cancels the whole thing.
Who cares about the people who now lose their Yoga teacher right? As long as that one single person who complained is happy, nothing else matters.
There’s a time and place for political correctness, but it wasn’t created so single people can ruin things for the masses. Come on University of Ottawa, make the right choice here. This is crazy!
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Devin Sherrington was named #2 trainer in Canada 2015, is 8 time Best Personal Fitness Trainer Halifax award winner, and owner the award winning fitness studio 360fit in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He lives in Fletcher’s Lake with his girlfriend Lauren and children Reign and Journey.