Enough with the woke shit already

The Honourable Michelle Rempel, Canadian MP for Calgary Nose Hill, Alberta

Since the death and murder of George Floyd (may he Rest in Peace, Rest in Power) in the US on May 25, 2020, it seems as though White people have awoken from a deep, deep slumber and were ready to be so-called Allies to Black folks, Indigenous peoples, and people of colour (BIPOC). I’m not a fan of using “trendy” acronyms when writing or speaking about people, but for the sake of simplicity, I’ll be referring to this group as BIPOC. Please remember, though, this post isn’t about BIPOC vs White people; we’re all human and bleed the same, and my hope is that most of us – like… 95% of us – have a heart buried deep in that imperfect soul of ours. I say “it seems as though” because the rise to allyship went from zero to 100 overnight. One minute we’re all watching a video of Floyd being murdered by a couple of American cops; the next, every White champagne socialist and their mother had a black square as their profile with the caption, “Black Lives Matter.” Oh my God, folks, I don’t think I can write about this with a straight face. Don’t get me wrong. I made my stance pretty clear in my blog over the last couple of years that Black lives DO matter, and I, for one, would take a bullet for them – the same way I’d take 100 shots to save a Palestinian from the grips of their oppressors if I could – because they’d do the same for me. I know you’re thinking, “that’s a bit of a stretch, Hazar,” but I’m not afraid of oppression and laugh at the face of danger. If you only knew their overwhelming generosity and kindness even after everything they’ve been through and are going through today, you wouldn’t be so inclined to argue with me. In fact, every BIPOC in this world who is not corrupted by power, greed, money, or victimized by desperate times feels the same as I do. Our values speak of unity, loving thy neighbour, and peace; collectivism as opposed to individualism.

**Disclaimer: 1. Not ALL White people (I can’t believe I have to say this like it isn’t already obvious); 2. Racism, bigotry and all forms of discrimination are not exclusive to White people.

The idea of being woke emerged with White people attempting to champion the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. In other words, yet again, a White person appropriating a cultural word and highjacking a cause or movement because THEY believe they can do it better than us coloured folks. Lean too far to the right of the spectrum, and you’ll find White supremacists highjacking our cultures and robbing us of our lands because they think they’re better than us. Meanwhile, lean too far to the left, and you’ll find over-apologetic, guilt-driven White champagne socialists highjacking our cultures and robbing us of our voices because they think they’re better than us (at effecting their definition of positive change). The latter can be referred to as Toxic Positivity and is just as pathetic and gross as White Supremacy. It all comes back full circle where the right and the left make up two sides of the same coin because (some) White people still don’t get it. And as the saying goes, it only takes one poisoned apple to spoil the bunch. I know you’re all excited to hear how I really feel, so let’s get to it! 

Daddy Trudeau started it all

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had his eyes set on Prime Ministership in 2015. He ran his campaign on the fear that the then Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, was causing a divide between people of colour and white folks because of his insistence on pushing for Bill c24 (commonly known as the “Second-Class Citizenship Act”) in the name of protecting Canadians. He wasn’t wrong, in Trudeau’s defence (and I don’t defend him that often, or any politician for that matter). The bill was definitely targeting people of colour who immigrate to Canada with the hope of building a new home and realizing a new dream without removing any elements of their culture, heritage and identity by maintaining their homeland citizenship. In other words, such immigrants believe and want to contribute a piece of who they are to the Canadian cultural fabric. And with the Canadian Multicultural Act (1988) passed by the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (Justin’s dad), enriching Canadian culture through immigrants is indeed possible because it was welcomed and encouraged per the Act. However, merging cultures and moulding them into a massive national mosaic is no easy feat! The risks can be grouped into three major categories: 

• The “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” folks: People who fear change or are perfectly comfortable with how things are will resist any change to society’s social fabric. They don’t realize that things may seem OK but are severely broken outside their privileged bubble. These folks are often underestimated and dismissed with the idea that they’ll eventually comply once they’re done waving their flags and throwing their tantrums. But ignoring them only fuels the fire and sometimes leads to racially-motivated hate crimes.
•  The “change junkies:” On the other side of the spectrum, we have the people who are just never satisfied with the pace change happens. Nothing is ever good enough for these people. Also underestimated, these folks can go to extreme lengths to make themselves heard, with violent protests posing a risk to passers-by and society. Their intentions are usually good, but their methods give way for society to vilify them and go back to the way things were.
• The Silo Effect: Remember walking into the high school lunch hall and seeing each clique at their table disassociated from other groups and keeping to themselves? Imagine you are the new kid on the block walking into your new high school lunch hall with your unique identity, personality and culture and trying to figure out where you fit. Immigration is a lot like high school; always trying to find people who look like you and think like you, so you feel more at home and less like an outsider. As immigrants flow into a country, they gravitate towards what’s familiar to them, increasing the risk of silos and defeating the purpose of a multiculturalism act. It’s why regions, cities and boroughs are stereotyped. I can speak to a couple: Mississauga-centre and East Ottawa in Ontario, Canada, and Laval in Quebec, Canada, are the homes of Arab immigrants. In the worst cases, silos can lead to gang violence, much like in the 1979 movie, Warriors.

While the risks of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act (1988) may be high, the rewards are phenomenal if successful. But one can never rush success, for rushing is the prime recipe for failure. Since 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has ignored his fiscal responsibilities to his country and people. He rushed the process and hyper-focused on the need to demonize anyone who countered his definition of multiculturalism and unity, labelling them as *racists and *bigots, EVEN if the labels don’t apply to them specifically. The ugly irony is he could have simply started by reversing Bill c24 and erasing the Second-class Citizenship Act from our existence. Yet, it is still practised today, and people are targeted more than ever. Ask me what I think, and I’d tell you that Justin Trudeau’s only talent is blowing hot air up our asses. He put his over-apologetic, guilt-driven, egocentric, heroic Whiteman syndrome ahead of the well-being of this country, which brings us to 2022: people are f*cking sick and tired of his woke-ass shit. Why are we tired now, though? What’s changed?

*Remember, racism and bigotry are subjective words with definitions that evolve over time and space. No one is indefinitely a racist or a bigot; for example, racism is measured by a series of racial events one commits in life, and that is how one becomes defined as a racist. We all have moments where we make racially-motivated jokes or acts measured by society. We have the choice to correct ourselves and do better or continue on the same course ignoring the consequences of our actions. 

Everyone is a Liberal until they run out of money

People are typically generous. Even the most conservative among us have, at the very least, a trust fund set up for their child(ren) to keep their legacy alive. Think about your personal life: you’re in a better mood when you have a little extra cash. When you’re in a better mood, you’re more inclined to pull out your wallet and drop some coins in a homeless person’s used coffee cup. However, when your bank account is slowly dipping to zero, your anxiety is through the roof, and you clutch your purse strings a little closer to your chest. It’s a normal reaction to the circumstances in which you find yourself. However, some people will talk a BIG game about being generous by shaming others who don’t give rather than giving themselves. This is, by far, the prime definition of the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) and all its sister provincial parties.

A so-called woke liberal government has no place in a recession. They impose tax hikes on their people after having made poor investments and spent all their money (our money) on useless shit without considering how they would make that money back for their people. They shame everyone who opposes their demands into paying more into social programs or the useless shit they implemented. Believe it or not, I am not opposed to taxes when it serves us, the public, and when there’s a clear return on investment (ROI) to keep these programs alive. The LPC used to know this very well. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien (1993-2003) and classical Liberals – as we call them today – were not terrible (they weren’t perfect either). They believed that maintaining social programs and other government initiatives required responsible revenue-generating investments, so they didn’t have to turn to tax hikes as a reliable source of revenue. Alas, we can say today’s members of the LPC are pieces of shit that have moulded together to create a massive beautifully-chocolate-looking shit pie. You know, like the one from the movie The Help (2011). Totally unrelated to this topic, but I’m pasting the shit pie scene below because it is absolute gold… or shit, rather. 

It’s no secret that life in Canada and worldwide has become increasingly expensive after the pandemic. Organizations, banks and people are all trying to make up for the significant money they’ve lost in the last couple of years, including governments. You can argue that the LPC had no choice during the pandemic to hand out cheques, and I absolutely DO NOT dispute that (part). I believe a government’s primary focus should always be the well-being and safety of its people. People losing jobs and money during the pandemic was sadly inevitable; mitigating the risks was not. Furthermore, a government with a track record of recklessly spending before the pandemic and no post-pandemic recovery plan poses a disastrous threat to the livelihood of everyone in Canada. This is where champagne socialists turn into conservative vinaigrettes, and everyone except the 1% who thrive in such environments gets hurt. Still, we’re not talking about them today.

Jobs, taxes and cost of living

The bottom line for most people is jobs, taxes and cost of living.

• Employment: We need a job because the money we save will empower us to help ourselves and others by contributing to society however that looks like for each of us (for example, combatting anti-human rights regimes).
•  Taxes: We need lower taxes because the money we save will empower us to help ourselves and others by contributing to society however that looks like for each of us (for example, combatting racism and other forms of discrimination).
•  Cost of living: We need to maintain a manageable and realistic cost of living because – you guessed it! – the money we save will empower us to help ourselves and others by contributing to society however that looks like for each of us (for example, help end world hunger, etc.).

Everything in our lives comes back to these three main elements I listed above. Let’s circle back to my post, Long Live the Proletariat (Jan 31, 2021) and highlight the scenarios I presented about the impacts of a lockdown on people with different socioeconomic backgrounds. Fighting racism, discrimination, and inequality is and should be a primary focus for everyone. Simply put, don’t be an asshole. Nobody likes an asshole. They impede societal progress and are terribly annoying. However, focusing on these issues is more challenging when your livelihood and everything you worked hard to achieve are at stake. This is why racism and bigotry are defined by a spectrum of many events instead of a single moment. In a peaceful world, even The Grinch can’t help but hold hands with thy neighbour. But when you lose your car, home, spouse, kids, and everything that matters to you, the world you once pictured as rainbows and unicorns suddenly looks more like hellfire and boogiemen. You turn to numbing agents like drugs and alcohol and become increasingly irritable, looking for someone to blame, even if that someone has nothing to do with your loss. But as I always say, humans tend to react emotionally and backfill their emotional outbursts with logic.

There, indeed, are many factors that come into play when discussing racism and inequality. The point I’m trying to make is that a government that can’t mitigate the risks involved in maintaining its people’s livelihood become an accomplice to the growing pains of said people, thereby contributing to an increase in hate crimes, violence, racism and inequality. Prime Minister Trudeau and his entourage keep deflecting from the economic crisis we’re experiencing by: 

• Calling for action against inequality without taking any accountability 
• Labelling and blaming the anti-vaxxed and the people who oppose their views 

The above points clearly indicate that they have no plan; they’re irresponsible and dangerously jeopardizing everyone in this country with their blah-blah-f*ckity-blah-blah rhetoric and empty promises. There’s a strong correlation between people’s economic comfort and inclusivity which cannot be denied. Being woke, as they say, means being mindful of that fact and finding answers to the following questions: “How do we bring about social change (fighting racism, inequality, discrimination, etc.) without hindering people’s economic progress?” and “How do we build a more inclusive environment where everyone thrives?” Until we come together and collaborate in answering these questions with meaningful action plans, I beg of you, enough with the woke shit already.

Reference

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay