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SOME THOUGHTS ON THE RECENT ALT-RIGHT GONG SHOW by Bill Le

THOUGHT ONE: THE YEARNING FOR NEUTRALITY
Every so often I run into someone, see a letter to the editor in a newspaper, or a post on Facebook suggesting that the person thinks it is important to stay neutral in terms of the various convoy/blockade actions. They may not trust the media, at least unreservedly; or they may see “faults on both sides” (How many sides are without fault in any political issue?); they may be concerned that they will only “add fuel to the feelings of anger and polarization in society”; finally, others want to stay neutral because they don’t believe in talking about politics.

Frankly, while I can have some minor sympathy with the concern about the media, but not a whole lot in this case, the others seem naïve and self-serving at best, cowardly at worst. And the idea of avoiding political discussion, even when it is contentious, seems to me to be a raw dereliction of civic duty.
Fortunately, I am in good company. Many thoughtful, social-political philosophers have noted, in times of conflict and attacks on the public good, that social justice, power, i.e., money, information, status, etc. (Lee, 2011), is rarely a commodity that is evenly shared. Thus, attempts to maintain one’s neutrality only favours the oppressor. Here are some of my favourites.

  • · “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor” – Desmond Tutu

  • · “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented” – Elie Wiesel

  • · “Washing one’s hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral” – Paulo Freire

  • · “The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict…[an individual] who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Please notice that these experienced and thoughtful individuals are referring to those who refused to take a stand for social justice and the public good against those who attempt to assert their privileged dominance. Thus, by their (often) “holier than thou” inaction and fence sitting in the name of being even handed, they do nothing but lend support to forces like toxic-individualism, neo-fascism, xenophobia, racism, colonialism and other anti-democratic movements that attempt to bring down the common good and common decency.

I think that their words should be heard and should act as a guide for our actions in the case of the Freedom Without Responsibility Convoy.

THOUGHT TWO: THE INVOCATION OF THE CANADA EMERGENCIES ACT
There has been much celebration on the one hand, and apprehension on the other, at the invocation of the Canada Emergencies Act in reference to the silly, but highly annoying, and at bottom, dangerous, “Freedom Without Responsibility Convoy”. The Act has been withdrawn at this point but it was an important event and is worth a bit of reflection.
I personally am conflicted in how to respond to the use of this Act. No thoughtful Left leaning person can support, in any way, the loathsome right-wing organizers and financiers and their ignorant, neo-fascist foot soldiers, waving their obscene Nazi and confederate flags. This thing has been organized and managed by a degenerate cabal of alt-right, ultra-Ayn Rand, true believing libertarians who hate even the concept of the public good and who have neither an understanding of, nor an interest in, justice. They have conned, abetted by some low life Conservative politicians like Pierre Poilievre, a bunch of rubes and marks who should know better but don’t, with a line of facile and inane talking points and slogans. They in turn have rendered the lives of a large number of their fellow citizens miserable and fearful for the last three weeks. And they have shown no understanding, sympathy or compassion for the physical, psychological, social or economic pain these citizens have had to endure.

So, I understand completely the welcoming of the Emergency measures Act. I like the economic usage of the act to freeze assets and bank accounts which are far more likely to impact the right-wing wealthy individuals and entities than those of marginalized causes. The act also allowed for financial relief for the businesses that haven't been able to operate. So, I was supportive of that. But, I’m unsure how invocation of the Act can produce any results with a police force that has so many members sympathetic to the protesters. It feels like it never should have gotten to the point, where we thought we needed to invoke this, at all and I am hard pressed to define it as having met the criteria under the act. I believe that history tells us that this kind of act; a government granting itself and law enforcement extra power, having been used once to deal with these degenerate right-wing extremists, may well be used again, but to thwart justice seeking left groups engaging in appropriate civil disobedience and disruption. Only then it will be engaged in with much greater force and enthusiasm. We remember that Tommy Douglas stood alone against the invocation of the War Measures Act. Looking back, his stance is now understood, not only as brave and principled, but to be absolutely correct as well.

In the end I am glad that the Act did not last long at least. I am encouraged that it was being challenged in court by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. The logic and justice of the invocation will, we can hope, get a good workout in the courts even as it has been suspended. I’m also somewhat heartened that the invocation of the act automatically triggered a Parliamentary review. While we should beware of the propensity of taking too much of it “in camera” and thus there is potential for some important issues to not see the light of day, this is another at least partial check on government overreach.


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Resources
Lee, B. (2011). Pragmatics of Community Organization. Toronto: CommonAct Press.

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