In Ontario, Canada, over 5000 books have been burned in the name of reconciliation, including Tintin en Amérique (https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1817537/livres-autochtones-bibliotheques-ecoles-tintin-asterix-ontario-canada).
This has been done in so-called “flame purifications” ceremonies meant “for educational purposes” in which ashes were used “as fertilizer” to plant a tree and thus “to turn from negative to positive“.
The schools even made a video for students to explain this process: “We bury the ashes of racism, discrimination and stereotypes in the hope that we will grow up in an inclusive country where all can live in prosperity and security.”
How sad, absurd, and ridiculous even to burn books in life, regardless of the book or the noble motivation.
Why are we doing this?
How can we achieve reconciliation in a more constructive and wiser way?
In other terms, and practically, how will this intellectual form of “inquisition” bring justice to Canada’s Indigenous communities?
How will it bring healing to those mourning their loved ones?
And what about the MUCH needed clean water in some First Nations reserves ( tragic reality we usually see in the Third World)?
Will burning books achieve all the above?
Finally, will we one day in 25, 45 or 125 years from now regret such extreme gestures?
