We're Not Props for Photo-Ops! Oh, ethnic tokenism.

On Wednesday a Conservative staffer sent around an email asking if there were any ethnic people in Etobicoke, and if so, could they come to Harper's rally in "national folklore costume." Oh yes. He went there.

Of course both Harper and the Etobicoke Center Tory candidate are distancing themselves from the incident, and the Grits are having a field day wandering around blustering about how people don't wear costumes, they wear clothes. I read somewhere that Ignatieff said something along the lines of, 'it's not national costume, it's national dress', which admittedly isn't much better. But I can't find that article so I'm going to assume it's a claim as unsubstantiated as the Helena Guergis attacks.

Anyway, in AWESOMENESS news, there was a counter-rally on Thursday. From the CBC:

A Facebook page formed after the email was leaked calls the email "patronizing and offensive" and invites people to participate in a counter-rally outside the Etobicoke event.

"Whether you're Chinese, Arab, Portuguese, Italian, South Asian, Irish, Vulcan, Klingon, Zombie, or Ewok. Let's show the Conservatives that "ethnic voters" are not props for photo-ops," the Facebook page says.

Salmaan Khan, a Ryerson student who helped organize the event, said he felt it was important to respond to the email.

"Personally, as a person of colour, I found the comments that were made in the email from the Conservative camp to be offensive," he said Thursday. "We are not ethnics, we are Canadians."

He said cultural garb is not necessarily a costume.

"But that's how they worded it, and I guess that's what we'll show up in."

Khan said he is not sure how many people will attend the event, or what they would wear — but he said some people are planning to come dressed as Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.

"We're not props for photo-ops!" Good slogan, no? Sounds like something you would chant at a rally.

Now I am not a member of a visible minority group, but according to some people I am a member of an ethnic group, so I get sensitive about these kinds of issues. The rally sounds like fun. If I were in Toronto area I might have showed up in my Dolce & Gabbana or whatever is "ethnic costume" for us "Eye-talian" ethnics. Probably leopard print.

Anyway, here is the story, with footage from the rally, on Global: