Race relations.

On Friday evening, after I came home from day one of a fraternity conference, I was made aware of the news of the verdict of Gerald Stanley (a white farmer from rural Saskatchewan), and that he was found not guilty of the murder of a 22 year old Indigenous boy, Colten Boushie, by a jury and judge that was all white.  The reactions of outrage and sadness from my friends came quickly.  The most swift reaction came from my Indigenous friends, who were mad and frustrated that another young Indigenous person, and his family, would not have justice for the crimes that were committed against them.  The words of frustration and anger from my friends circulated around my mind over the next few days, as I was attending my conference.  I kept on thinking about my Indigenous friends, many of whom were worried that their families could be put in similar situations if they were to be declared missing or murdered.

Many Americans came to this conference, and were unaware that of the racial tensions that are going on within the rest of Canada right now, which to me, was similar to the racial tensions that arose following the trial of George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin trial.  But today as I was showing a group of Americans the Reconciliation Pole at UBC, and was talking about what the pole symbolized, I overheard a comment saying about how we as Canadians put more effort into recognizing Indigenous culture than in the United States, and how it was a very good thing.  This gave me mixed feelings.  On one hand, I appreciate the fact that issues with Indigenous peoples in Canada form the backbone of our talk about race relations in this country, and that we talk a lot more about Indigenous issues in Canada than the average American does (despite the fact that Native Americans in the United States face similar challenges and traumatic experiences as Indigenous peoples in Canada).  But on the other hand, all this talk has still not led to much action.  This is where Howard Winant’s talk about the “Liberal Racial Project” really needs to come in.  Winant talks about this “Liberal Racial Project” as being a promoter of “greater substantive equality, linking class and race, and arguing for the necessity of transracial coalition politics.”  However, the weakness of this racial project is that it does not actively engage to help end white privilege.  In class, we talked about UBC and also our own federal government as being an example of this.  UBC keeps on erecting totem poles and doing land acknowledgements, but these are only symbols of reconciliation, which still do not help residential school survivors and their families to heal from their trauma.  Similarly, our federal government under Justin Trudeau is someone who continuously advocates for human rights and is seen around the world as being a promoter of equality, but in reality, he still has not worked too hard to make life better for Indigenous peoples in Canada, notably following his support of the Kinder Morgan pipeline, which would cut through First Nations land without their permission.  After Gerald Stanley was acquitted of his crimes, Trudeau had promised to work with his Minister of Justice (Jody Wilson-Raybould) and Indigenous Chiefs to better understand their needs, but it is hard to say if he will end up making any progress, as there is a really strong sense of distrust in the criminal justice system amongst Indigenous peoples.

Tying this back to the United States, if you are American, you’re most likely either considered a Liberal or a Conservative.  Those who are considered “Liberals” are often seen by themselves as the good people.  That they fight for the rights of marginalized peoples, believe that everyone should have the opportunity to succeed, and that they support candidates that will do the same.  But it is still important to be critical of yourself and other politicians, whether or not they fit in the party you support or not.  In the era of Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton is seen by Democrats and Trump opponents as being this godly figure, and that if only she were elected, we wouldn’t have the problems that we see with Trump right now.  But just because a Democrat is elected into the highest office in the country doesn’t mean that these issues will go away.  While Hillary likely would not have appealed DACA and also impose a Muslim ban, she was also for a lot of ideas that would have caused a lot of damage, such as fracking and also pipelines, which would have been harmful for many communities, and particularly communities of colour.  Most importantly, it is important to know that electing a Democrat does not mean racism and other forms of discrimination will go away.  It’s up to what the politician’s actions in office will do that will determine whether or not we will be on the path to ending discrimination.