Challenging Woke Terms: Systemic Racism

Conservatism, Police, Canada...Not Racist!!!

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Wow! It’s been a month since my last update here on The Turn. I promise I haven’t been slacking, and the proof of that can be seen on Woke Watch Canada - where I’ve published twelve articles since Dec. 21 (the last date I posted here).

I also published a number of great essays from other writers like Mark DeWolf, Shannon B Douglas, Chanel Pfahl, Dan Clemens, Frances Widdowson, Pim Wiebel, an anonymous Canadian teacher, an open letter to a school from an anonymous parent, and today we have a guest post from Canadian anthropologist, Hymie Rubenstein.

Yesterday I appeared on the Richard Syrett Show (Sauga 960 AM) to talk about a recent Woke Watch Canada post I put together on anti-woke books. It’s roughly a ten minute segment (starting at 32:20). Richard has asked if I’d be willing to do a weekly segment with him on anti-woke books! Sort of an anti-woke book club if you will. I think it’s a brilliant idea, and I’ll have more to say about it soon.

Here’s the link - https://www.spreaker.com/user/sauga960am/richard-syrett-show-jan-23-2023-podcast

One of the pieces I wrote over the last month was concerning the Ontario College of Psychologists attempt at re-educating Jordan Peterson. As well, myself and a group of Lighthouse members attended the Jordan Peterson protest at the Ontario College of Psychologists in Toronto on Jan 11th, where the fierce culture warrior Chanel Pfahl spoke. Her speech was stirring, intelligent and ominous. The examples given of other countries dealing with illiberalism in various forms is highly instructive. And I love that she spoke about her process of waking up to wokeism. 

From Chanel’s speech:

“I think the first thing Peterson taught me, which I believe was actually fundamental to my “awakening” — if you will — is that I should be immensely grateful for the miracle of the West, and the miracle of our institutions, however imperfect they are. The fact that we have access to food, and water, and that we can coexist peacefully with others is an anomaly, historically speaking, and it is not guaranteed to last.”

I would also like to draw the reader's attention to three Woke Watch Canada articles I wrote as part of an ongoing series on social unrest in Canada (and the West). They were posted on Jan.16, 17, and 18. These pieces are the first I’ve written about police (outside of the work I do on The Great Illiberal Subversion with my co-writer, anonymous historian, Mr. M), and publishing them all-at-once was my way of officially kicking off the “police file.” From here on out, I will continue to cover developments in police services in Toronto, and across North America. I will be paying special attention to things like “defund the police.” It is not necessary to read the essays in any specific order. Here they are for quick reference:

• Reinvesting in the police

• A "few bad apples" does not a "systemic racism" make  

• The Consequences of Anti-Police Rhetoric 

Besides the above three, Mr. M and I, as part of The Great Illiberal Subversion series of essays for Woke Watch Canada, have also published writing on issues relating to police and radical activism -  From Police Brutality to Race Relations  and Importing the Perception of Systemic Racism into Canada.

The articles above discuss, among other things, the long tradition of anti-police rhetoric and activism, which seeks to problematize police as “systemically racist” institutions needing to be “defunded” and “dismantled.” This overt anti-police position is the hallmark of radical leftwing activists. Moderate and conservative voters understand the need for police and do not support defunding them. As well, conservatives generally do not believe the police are systemically racist. 

The following offers some comments about the dangers of either supporting conservatism, or challenging the validity of “systemic racism,” especially while being a white man - this became an inexcusable (cancelable) crime a few years ago. It’s chilling to think that Canadians have since been cowed into silence and pushed into falsifying their preferences on many politically sensitive matters, so as not to be seen stepping out of line and offending the ascendent woke orthodoxy, and ultimately, to avoid the chopping block.

In November of 2021, I wrote about high-profile Canadian cancellations that included, according to the woke, two particularly unforgivable crimes of thought treason:

1) challenging the claim that Canada is systemically racist.

2) showing support for conservative candidates or positions. 

In that article for The Turn called The Canceling` of Canadian White Men, I discussed a number of egregiously authoritarian instances of this type of thought policing. Two of which occurred in 2020.

One case involved Stockwell Day,  “a former conservative cabinet minister (who) was forced to resign from both the Telus board of directors and a business law firm for comments he made on TV about racism in Canada.” What exactly were those comments? Day had the nerve to utter, on national TV (CBC) no less, that “systemic racism is not an issue in Canada.”

Another was even more innocuous, but yet resulted in a man’s forced early retirement under totalitarian conditions. As I wrote for The Turn:

“That same month Michael Korenberg, chair of the University of British Columbia board of governors was forced to step down for ‘liking tweets’ supporting Donald Trump and condemning Antifa and the Black Lives Matter movement.”

It has never been more important to keep pushing back and challenging wokeism. Systemic racism, and other woke terms, should be taken as a sign of ideological capture. Don’t second guess your principals and what you know is true - Canada, the police, and conservatism are not racist. Labeling these things, and other vital public institutions as “racist” or “far-right,” is an attack on the working class and on the values of the majority of Canadians. Don’t accept it, when you hear “systemic,” call b/s!!

Here is what’s coming next: 

Within the next few days I should have some more writing to publish on indigenous issues. As well, I will be posting some writing from Canadian author and lawyer Peter Best. Peter blows my mind! He is one of the most important culture warriors writing from a knowledgeable and principled stance on indigenous issues (much of it regarding law and governance). I’m posting a highly informative long-form essay this Saturday to Woke Watch Canada written by Peter Best which details the “Federal Government’s Heedless and Unprincipled Giveaway of Billions of Taxpayer Dollars to Legally Undeserving Aboriginal Litigation Claimants.”

 Also, former Manitoba provincial Judge and columnist, Brian Giesbrecht and I have a piece we co-wrote discussing residential school denialism which is soon to be published (maybe this week!).

I currently have a list of over ten topics I am committed to write on, so on that note, I must get back to work. I’ll have another update soon for The Turn readers - when I’ll have more information on the next steps of The Great Illiberal Subversion project, as well as updates on my series on social unrest in Canada - the next piece in that series will cover violence at the Toronto District School Board. Stay tuned!!

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