When Immigrants Stand Up For Canada
When Immigrants Stand Up For Canada
The Woke Won’t Have It
Mount Allison University psychology professor Rima Azar, who was born in Lebanon during a civil war that lasted until she was a teenager, is facing a new battle as a cancel culture target since February of 2021. A former student initiated the mob pile-on after sifting through Rima’s blog posts looking for “problematics.”
The former student uncovered posts where Rima called Black Lives Matter a “radical” movement, which is a contentious thing to say, but not remotely inaccurate given BLM’s stated goals of creating a “global liberation movement” that will “dismantle capitalism,” abolish prisons, “disrupt” the nuclear family structure, and erase national borders.
Rima had also written on her blog, in response to a tweet from activist Husoni Raymond claiming “that New Brunswick is systemically racist.” Rima wrote:
"NB is NOT racist. Canada is NOT racist. We do not have 'systemic' racism or 'systemic' discrimination. We just have systemic naivety because we are a young country and because we want to save the world.
Oh, one quick question to Mr. Husoni Raymond: Upon your graduation from St. Thomas University, you have been named the 2020 recipient of the Tom McCann Memorial Trophy for your 'strong leadership and character' ... If NB is as racist as you are claiming, would one of its prestigious universities be honouring you like that?" -Rima Azar
Apparently this criticism struck the wrong chord. Rima had gone too far. To those who subscribe (and benefit) from the woke worldview, her disagreement was to be treated as a hate crime. People started piling on her Twitter. The CBC published a 19-paragraph story in which they denounced the professor for her “hurtful” ideas, without even having the decency to quote anything Rima wrote, or bring up the validity of her viewpoint. They were happy to contribute to the mobbing.
Jonathan Kay came to her defense in an opinion piece for the National Post, writing:
“...this gives readers the false impression that (Rima) Azar had said something really awful. Just a few years ago, it would have been completely shocking to see the CBC publish journalism on this sub-Canadaland level, let alone for a university to publicly denounce its own professor at the urging of a Twitter mob. But in 2021, it’s all part of the routine.”
Interestingly enough, the most aggressive and vocal “anti-racist” activists tend to be white people. In fact,the overwhelming majority of the mob who piled on Rima, from her former students to the people on Twitter to the CBC “journalists,” etc. Most accusations of racism directed at the Lebanon-born immigrant professor were from white Canadian virtue signallers.
Rima Azar was forced into unpaid leave and has so far raised $87,000 of the $100,000 goal on her Go Fund Me campaign for her legal defence.
In explaining her need to raise defence funds Rima says:
“I now have been suspended from my job without pay, based on false allegations. We are in a pandemic and times are tough on all. This is why your support means the world to me. I am so grateful for my union’s continuous support in dealing with Mount Allison University. However, the reputational damage already done (defamation, attack to my character) has implications beyond my employer and workplace. I will use the funds raised to cover my personal legal defence fund. I love my students, job, colleagues, university, province, and beautiful country beyond words. My story is beyond academic freedom. I precisely chose to move to Canada for democracy/ freedom of expression. Why are we doing this to ourselves?”
It is gut-wrenching to read her plea for help. An innocent professor voiced her disagreement with an idea, and has now been subject to such a grave injustice.
Why are we doing this to ourselves? Aren't things pretty good in the West? Why do people, like Rima Azar, who immigrate here from truly oppressive places, think Canada is not the systemically oppressive place a growing number born here say it is?
And more importantly, why doesn’t her viewpoint carry any weight? How can a university succeed in its pursuit of truth if those with opposing views are tossed to the curb because their views aren’t currently in fashion?
Another immigrant to Canada, Prof. Patanjali Kambhampati (originally from India) made headlines in November of 2021 when he discovered that if you “want to focus on merit, fairness and equality, then you get called out as a racist or sexist.” After his second grant application for scientific research was turned down, the award-winning minority Canadian scientist decided to go public with his story. Prof. Kambhampati, who has repeatedly experienced racism, believes it is the woke diversity, equity and inclusion agenda that is standing in the way of his research grant because he is unwilling to subscribe to the popular idea that identity matters more than merit.
The grant application in question required a statement on hiring practices, in this case for research assistants, specifically inquiring about how diversity and inclusion would be incorporated. Prof. Kambhampati wrote this in the relevant section of the application: “we will hire the most qualified people based upon their skills and mutual interests.”
Close friends of Prof. Kambhampati confided in him saying - “that was the kiss of death.” There is no question about it. Choosing meritocracy over diversity is not woke. Prof. Kambhampati, a victim of racism who refuses to judge others by race, in the name of diversity, equity and inclusion, is being excluded because of his refusal to accept so-called progressive views on diversity.
“As a scientist, our job is to think about how nature works, ask questions, and find answers without prejudice. We cannot do that anymore. We cannot ask how humans work, and how science and nature work, because the woke are interfering with us and saying, ‘You can’t ask those questions. You’re a racist. You’re a sexist. You’re a homophobe. You’re a colonialist. You’re a something.’ - Prof. Kambhampati
Prof. Kambhampati’s presence in the academy is the very thing that diversity, equity and inclusion claims to be supporting, fostering and incentivizing. But in this case - as in any case where a professor doesn’t parrot woke sentiments around diversity, equity and inclusion - the ideological climate creates dis-clusion, less diversity (mostly viewpoint diversity) and less of what the woke consider identity based equitable outcomes (tieing equity to physical identity is of course the obvious problem that equity people refuse to accept).
Indeed, when the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) said Prof. Kambhampati’s grant application was turned down because, “the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion considerations in the application were deemed insufficient,” his assessment included:
“I think what’s happened is the woke and the social justice warriors have made a moralistic argument the way the religious right used to make moralistic arguments. And now people are afraid to challenge them. But I think it’s okay to say I believe that equality is a morally valid position. I believe that meritocracy is a morally valid position.”
Thanks for reading. For more of a similar theme, check out the piece I wrote for Woke Watch Canada on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion industry - Profits Of Division: The Unfair Equity Of The Diversity & Inclusion Industry
Thank you