issue 6// vol 47 opinions // no. 21

Is that white supremacy?

» Misusing this term serves no benefit but to make the accuser an actor in bad faith

 

Matthew Fraser
Opinions Editor

 

M ost people don't know what white
supremacy is. This has been my
startling conclusion after years of following
the news and politics at large.

All too often I see these words thrown
out to describe people as an affront to our

Bonnie Henry is creating
a culture of victimhood

Illustration by CJ Sommerfeld

society and ideals; these people must be
stamped out, expelled, or destroyed for the
safety of us all. Yet, just as often as I see the
words, I find on closer examination that
the people described are not as evil as the
label applied.

Though the fear and disdain of the
words is well placed and necessary, the
actions that are called “white supremacist”

» She is a victim of hate, not her gender

Colleen Vantol
Contributor

 

find it interesting that the same week

that a Canadian woman is identified as
being behind an attempted poisoning of
the President of the United States, our
own Dr. Bonnie shared that she has been
receiving abusive letters and death threats
over managing the Province’s health
and safety during the current COVID-19
pandemic.

I see parallels between the two
professionals, as they both occupy
positions of power and authority, and it’s
no secret that almost all people who occupy
some form of notoriety in any capacity will
become targets of hate and harassment (as
well as praise and appreciation) at some
point. There is a long history of this within
humanity—this is not new.

I note that President Trump did not
address this event citing that he was a
victim as a result of his gender. I likewise
note that Dr. Henry appears to think
that her gender is a relevant factor in her
victimization.

Notwithstanding her intelligence and

talent in the medical profession, I find it
disappointing that she is perpetuating a
culture of victimization, namely, she is
perpetuating the idea that she is a victim of
her gender.

The larger issue at hand here is that
people are being deluged in a victim
culture; you are a victim of your social
class, you are a victim of your race, you
are a victim of your gender. None of these
attributes are chosen, you are simply given
them by way of birthright, and propagating
a victim culture is feeding an unhealthy
psychology within society.

Since Dr. Henry’s disclosure the
dialogue has moved towards other women
in power stepping up and disclosing similar
events. Adrian Dicks, who fits the criteria
for true white male privilege, also went
onto the record to state that he has not
received death threats.

The issue at hand here is not gender,
it is hate and harassment. Sitting around
and interpreting events as being the result
of gender inequalities does nothing for
moving forward an intelligent solution
focused dialogue about how to deal with
the intense psychological trauma that

are rarely fitting of the charge. In fact, the
term “white supremacist” has become so
ill defined that it is functionally useless.
Books like White Fragility by Robin
DiAngelo have gone far to convince even
the most sane and open white person

that they are actively participating in
“white supremacy” through any and every
microaggression or inaction. Authors like
Ibram X Kendi have gone so far as to say
that there is only racism and anti-racism,
with no “not racist” option in between.
However helpful people think this view
might be, it certainly does nothing to
improve our world; realistically, the self-
immolation required by these admissions
of “internalized racism” serve only to make
the actor feel better about some fantasized
“white guilt.”

Consider for example the Covington
Catholic high school incident of 2019; a
picture began to circulate of a young white
man wearing a MAGA hat sneering in the
face of a First Nations man. The optics
were terrible, and the vitriol was swift;
soon adults as famous as Kathy Griffin
were denouncing the student pictured as
a white supremacist while calling for him
to be publicly doxed. Reza Aslan, a former
CNN commentator, released a tweet saying
that Nicholas Sandmann (the student
at the center of the controversy) had a
“punchable face.” Yet, when a full video
was released it quickly became obvious
that the boy with the MAGA hat was not
the aggressor. Shortly thereafter, multiple
defamation lawsuits were launched, and

comes from living ina
perpetual state of fear.

When you
cultivate a victim
culture you create
a disharmony
within society. Last
month, Conservative
commentator
Candace Owens spoke
on Adam Carolla’s
podcast and reflected
on her experience of
being targeted with
a hate crime in her
senior year in high
school. She reflected
that she was “diecast
as a victim [...] I felt
like I had a narrative
created for me, and
I was horrified that
people saw me as a victim.” She notes later
that this event and how it was managed via
the media “shaped all my ideas about the
media and race issues,” she said.

Arguably, Dr. Henry’s statement that
she is victimized as a result of her gender

 

_DR BONNIE HENRY

CNN had to pay a handsome out of court
settlement.

Similarly, the recent shootings
committed by Kyle Rittenhouse have drawn
many accusations of “white supremacy.”
Now, I am certainly not condoning political
violence, nor excusing vigilantism, but
the facts currently lead to a legitimate
claim of self-defence here. Not only that,
Rittenhouse may be the first person to
be accused of “white supremacy” as a by
product of violent interactions exclusively
with white people where few people of
color were present, and yet, multiple
news organizations and countless private
citizens have been castigating him asa
white supremacist. However, currently
there is no evidence that he is a racist.
According to Vice, multiple classmates of
his have come forward describing him as
a Trump sycophant intent on “owning the
libs,” it is very clear that he is pro-police in
an entirely uncritical manner, but so far as
I know, there has been absolutely no clear
or confirmed evidence that he is a white
supremacist. No manifesto, no history of
racial violence, no racist tweets, nothing.

Now, there is nothing wrong with
condemning racist behaviour, but we
certainly need a better barometer of
what actually is racist. Disagreement on
border security is not itself racist nor is
the presence of a MAGA hat. The sooner
people can look critically at the facts of
a matter before demonizing another, the
better.

ri Dy
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Cs

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Photo by Billy Bui

further fosters division and polarization
between genders, class, and race. The
impact is palpable, and I find it deeply
disappointing that people we look to for
guidance at this time, use their power, their
gender, and their role to further a victim
culture and narrative.