Idle No More

Idle No More reverberates with echoes from Martin Luther King and the civil righrs movement.  A commonter noted on January 9, 2013 that Idle No More began as a response to a government action - a fact that is often missed.

What is obvious from much of the coverage and commentary is that the issue of Bill C-45 has been lost in the fray. It was this omnibus bill that started the demonstrations not just because of what it purports to achieve, but because of the way it was introduced without adequate consultation with First Nation groups. Idle No More did not start in a vacuum. It started in response to Bill C-45, which is the catalyst behind this.  http://www.guelphmercury.com/opinion/columns/article/866071--there-s-lots-of-confusion-about-bill-c-45-and-the-idle-no-more-movement

Why the protests?  Why not work through negotiation?  Through the AFN - quietly - without all this fuss?  As Martin Luther King commented in 1963, no privileged group gives up its privilege voluntarily.

 My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure. Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.  http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
 

One group that has voluntarily declared its intention to abrogate its prvilege is the Jewish Voice for Peace.

Jewish Voice for Peace affirms its support for the Canadian indigenous rights movement known as Idle No More. In November, Chief Theresa Spence of the Attawapiskat First Nation began a 42-day hunger strike in response to legislation threatening First Nations' treaties and rights to natural resources. In the months since, Idle No More has become a global solidarity movement affirming indigenous sovereignty and self-determination, with hundreds of rallies around the world. Idle No More has shed light on shared struggles against colonialism, including the Palestinian struggle. In December, Palestinian activists released a statement of solidarity, committing to honor the leadership of women and youth and to "stand with all liberation movements challenging colonialism and imperialism around the world." As American Jews, we recognize that our escape from oppression reinforced the theft of indigenous lands, both in Palestine and in the Americas. Today, we still benefit from colonial privileges: as diaspora Jews we may immigrate to Israel at any time, while Palestinian refugees are denied entry.Instead of surviving through the oppression of others, we seek to unite with colonized and oppressed peoples in demanding sovereignty for all indigenous peoples. We call on the governments of the United States, Canada and Israel to recognize the suffering inflicted by ongoing annexation of indigenous land, knowing that justice for colonized people means a safer, more sustainable world for all  
http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/blog/jvp-statement-on-idle-no-more-movement
 

Environmental activists should abrogate their privilige as well - and work with Idle No More.  As Elizabeth May states, we need meaningful engagement on environmental and other issues.  

The #idlenomore campaign has my full support.  ....we need a meaningful engagement on the wide range of critical issues being raised from coast to coast to coast. For that we need leadership, and right now, that leadership is coming from flash-mobs of drummers and blockaders, aboriginal women and youth.  http://www.greenparty.ca/blogs/7/2012-12-28/hunger-strikes
 

Find a local movment at http://idlenomore.ca/

 

Chilliwack

I'm going on holidays and will not be posting until September 20, 2012. 

The title reference is to the band, of course!

It is a perogative of privilege to take a vacation.  Or to live in comfort....................amongst much loved artifacts and books.

 

Climate change is caused by burning fossil fuels.  The developed world has caused  most of climate change to this date.  We in North America hog most of the world's resources. 

 

Are we prepared to relinquish our privilege and prevent climate change?  

 

 

What Privilege Looks Like In Everyday Life

If you have privilege, you can: 

Leave someone  who is  poor and disabled and  to whom you promised a ride  standing on the sidewalk for fifteen minutes while you rush into a family member's  house.  Suddenly,  you remember you were going to take them home.   Whoopsie!  Sucks to be them!  

Refuse to give someone who is on welfare and who is moving to another city  a reference  because their housekeeping isn't up to your standards.    Not that you ever do any housekeeping.......your maid does.  And the person who is moving has been very, very ill - but gee  - their apartment was messy.  Who'd want to rent to them?  

Tell a woman that your grandmother was a strong yet feminine woman and all women should match that standard.    Shrillness isn't necessary!    After all, you get to decide how all women should behave .....

Try to keep the poor and marginalized and old out of your neighbourhood.   Lie about your motives.  After all, this is Little Rhodesia and standards must be maintained!

Kiss your date on the lips ANYWHERE in this country  without ever, EVER worrying that doing so might attract nasty comments or even be dangerous.   

Signal in lots of different ways that people of colour are not welcome in your neighbourhood - including turning your head when you're greeted.  After all, this is Little Rhodesia and standards must be maintained!  

Have a cupboard full of food.  Stare astonished, at a little girl who says "This must be a RICH household! My mom never has enough money to buy extra food.  Sometimes we have nothing to eat but rice! "   (The little girl's mother lives on welfare.)  Explain you're not rich - no, no, not at all.   

Make comments about how First Nations should be PAST all that stuff about residential schools, shouldn't they?  Call First Nations people "Indians." 

Snap loudly and mean it " Who cares about what happens to those Africans and Pakis because of climate change?"

I've witnessed all of the above - or done them myself.

It's great having privilege, isn't it?  We who have it get to set the rules......