Bambi came across yet another thoughtful article by columnist, Dr. Joseph Facal, published today in the Journal de Montréal. Here is a quick translation:
https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2021/03/13/universites-chante-en-chur-ou-tais-toi-sinon
“People outside academia have a hard time understanding what is going on there.
First, because it’s hard to believe.
Then, because the first instinct of university leaders is to put the lid on the pot.
Alliance
The gospel of Wokeism sweeping our campuses has three points:
“I suffer, therefore I exist.”
“I have to be right since only I can understand how I feel.”
“The freedom of expression to express disagreement is a weapon of the dominant to perpetuate his domination.”
The mistake of outside observers is to believe that this is confined to a handful of enthusiastic students and teachers turned gurus.
They do not see the establishment of a bureaucracy charged with tracking down supposed sins against this religion and re-educating staff through compulsory sessions.
Concretely, this takes the form of so-called “EDI” policies, aimed at equity, diversity and inclusion.
Presented like this, hard to be against. But we know where the devil lives.
These bureaucrats often have student associations as allies.
This alliance takes advantage of the fear of teachers and students of ending up on a blacklist.
At Laval University, under the leadership of Rector Sophie d’Amours, management has taken a courageous stand against censorship.
It will be accompanied by an EDI policy.
Last month, the graduate student association hosted a discussion on Zoom.
A student says that trans women should not be opposed to non-trans women in sports, that we should be able to make fun of all religions, that we can use the word “negro” in certain circumstances, and that we should not ban the words “man” and “woman” just so as not to offend a non-binary.
Here are excerpts from the email sent to her by the student association:
“[…] you made comments that were deemed unacceptable to the participants and to our moderator. These comments were sometimes racist, sometimes sexist, or even transphobic. Several members present felt hurt by your words […], we hereby warn you that we will no longer tolerate interventions of this content in the future. “
The student wanted to know exactly the incriminating comments. Impossible, he was told, since the session had not been recorded.
Feelings
Also in Laval, the student association in international studies and modern languages elects, during the General Assembly, a person named “the guardian of feelings”.
The statutes specify that this person “has the right to take a priority turn in order to address relations of domination or discomfort […] during the meeting”.
You can “go to the person at any time … to let them know about unease related to unpleasant attitudes on the part of a member or the terms used.”
“This post arose out of feminist demands aimed at deconstructing the relations of domination stemming from sexism, racism and homophobia. “
Right now, believe me, people who think otherwise are crawling close to the ground and whispering to each other.”
Hey, what do you think of this situation?
https://thepostmillennial.com/rob-hoogland-canada-prisoner-of-conscience
I know it’s a separate issue but the right to free expression is under threat in more situations than academia and was wondering what you thought?
Bambi will post your comment and the link, but she does not have the time to read/think about it now. Perhaps later. Thank you.
Good show, [Bambi]!
This wokeism is a descendant of rampant American ”feel good” culture married to Berkeley-style left-wing politics. It has nothing to do with the realities of Canada, to which it has been grafted. Your description of its ever-suffering yet utterly selfish proponents resembles the worst of two Star Trek episodes: ”Return of the Archons” and ”Spock’s Brain”. Let’s hope the cleverly named “guardian of feelings” has more in common with the Guardian of Forever from Star Trek’s ”City on the Edge of Forever”.
Many thanks! Although Bambi is not very familiar with Star Trek herself, she totally agrees that identity-politics is a dangerous game that can backfire on everyone, including those resorting to it. She does not need science fiction or beautiful movies or arts to understand this (like you do so well yourself). Her background in a birth country torn by civil war, precisely as a result of identity-politics (among other factors) is a life lesson (no… sadly not science fiction). The alternative to this may be MUCH simpler than we think: Respect, fairness, tolerance of others’ opinions, basic democracy, individual dignity, and some common sense, etc. Yes, those beautiful Canadian values that make her proud to call our country home for over three decades now.