“The crowd was diverse. I saw young white people and old white people. Tall white people and short white people. Many wore Alberta-blue ball caps, draped themselves in Alberta flags and carried independence lawn signs they had purchased at the merchandise tables.”
“The crowd was diverse” … 🤣
As a fan of dry sarcastic wit: Well done!
Separatists complaining that ‘leftists’ “aim to replace Canada’s original character “with abstract, universal concepts: diversity, tolerance, equality.””
Separatist Stephens is mostly right: “Every single political issue comes down to a religious issue,” or more properly - is a matter of values. They see Canada is at risk of becoming more inclusive, diverse, accepting, pluralistic and the thought terrifies them.
“But not enough of these people exist to vote Alberta out of Canada, Lisa Young says. Independence organizers will need to dial back the crazy.
“I don’t know whether the leadership of the separatist movement has the capacity to make that strategic shift,” Young.”
Bc there’s nothing at the core: it’s bigotry and rabid hatred in a Stetson and boots instead of a swastica and brownshirt.
“Even when the independence referendum fails, the damage will be done. By legitimizing a movement built on bigotry, we’ve legitimized the bigotry itself. Alberta won’t emerge from this exercise as the bad place separatists yearn for. Thankfully. But I fear we’ll be a worse place than we were before.”
We are in this terrible position because of all the folk who have been convinced that tolerating the bigots is the only way to be prosperous, and that tacit support or sympathy for the bigots isn’t so bad after all.
Alberta separatists have started a war of values for the soul of Alberta: we need to stop being polite about sympathizers and enablers and call them what they are - bigots.
And just as much then we need be absolutely clear about who we are and what we stand for: a diverse, inclusive, pluralistic province that values people first; that celebrates joy, creativity, empathy, and love.
Alberta should be a place where we understand that *every* person is inherently, uniquely, and infinitely valuable.
The Tyee
DavidM_yeg