From Ottawa back to ISIS: Canada's Real Interests
Hawa Y. Mire
I've just spent the last two weeks flying in and out of the United States of America, and the subsequent impact of US fear mongering television currently fascinated with both Ebola and ISIS, the darling of every major news station broadcasting from coast to coast. Considering I've also been rocking a head wrap for much of this travel experience, the looks and comments that I received from everyone to workers, conference attendees, and most especially airport security gave me a reminder that anyone remotely resembling stereotypes of "Muslims" is constantly under surveillance. Ranging from quick glances to the head wrap and back, to sly questions about my opinions of ISIS.
It is little wonder that the very day I'm due to fly back into Toronto, the news of the Ottawa shooting unfolds. And as is my practice, I ditch the mainstream outlets for the word on the twitter streets. The propoganda around "terrorist ideology" has begun, propelled by the usual media frenzy furthering their own skewed political agendas highlighting the extreme to which the media will connect any kind of violence and/or terrorism to anything Islamic. Within seconds in the media world, tragedy becomes about using words like "terrorism", "muslim" and the current darling "recently converted" to derail from the actual news. The vitrol is not far behind, the thin fabric usually masking the stench of racism and xenophobia arrives in its usual glory, and people feel no ways about pronouncing their disgust of "those people". Within a 45 minute span, waiting in the airport security line furiously tweeting my rage, the older white man behind me, also on his way to Toronto, speaks to the woman next to him about the need to further police "Muslims from coming into our country". All I could manage was the world's deadliest stank eye.
When I speak to the state, I am also speaking about the masses of public that follow along with the media, the states messaging system, with an unwillingness to be critical about what it is they are consuming. We can no longer afford to believe (if we ever did) that the Canadian state doesn't have an investment in the othering & demonization of terrorists, a term they have been quick to conflate with Islam and/or Muslims. And that this investment in the othering process is about white supremacy, it is about settler colonialism, it is fundamentally about the concentration of power. Terrorism is a global political agenda, to believe otherwise, it to dismiss the changing reality and experiences not only of Muslims, but every racialized person around the globe. My religion and identity shouldn't be conflated with state constructed top of the hour sensationalized news.
For those of you looking for news about the Ottawa shooting, here's a reality check. The Canadian state is trying to tell us that isn't the real issue at hand. Because if they really wanted to speak about a 25 year old white man from Quebec who opened fire in Ottawa on October 22, 2014, the media wouldn't be wasting your time with click bait. Is it a derailment from his whiteness? Is it just lazy journalism that props up biased speculation and sensationalism instead of fact? It is a derailment from the very real issues of gun control, the connections between war violence, state violence and interpersonal violence? I mean it's not as if white men haven't been uniquely responsible for violently opening fire in public spaces since time. What is this really about?
We could speak to so many parts of this unfolding dialogue and the reality is its about the intersections of all of these things and more. What lies at the heart of this is the Canadian state's immediate desire to ramp off any responsibility and accountability to external parties, to preserve the myth of a liberal multicultural society invested in egalitarian principles. You see if we talk about any of the real issues, from the continued occupation of indigenous lands, rising youth unemployment, the explicit institutional racism, and the widening income disparity (to name a few) all of us would have to acknowledge our complicity. Canada has in fact several pressing national issues, and terrorism isn't part of that list. But it's Wednesday, we haven't had a shooting since the Brampton courthouse and it's time to remind the general public of our increasing big brother obsession with 'radicalization' and 'terrorism', our new wave witch hunt.
Terrorism is a matter of opinion. Folks organizing against the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and the G20 summit in Toronto were referred to as terrorists. This language is being increasingly modified and manipulated by the state to control the level to which people organize, mobilize and demand change. This recent Ottawa incident proves yet again the long arm of the media machine and it's deep links to the state and institutional structures. And for those of you believing that the jump isn't a logical one, I remind you of the significant investment Canada has placed into "terrorism" and "radicalization". On the first page of Public Safety Canada's website two older white men and one white woman stand, in front of them is the statement on the podium "protection of Canada from terrorists". In case you missed the point, these folks are here to protect the Canadian state from terrorists. It doesn't stop there, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), a state sponsored national public television and radio broadcaster has designated producers that focus on "national security" (which really means "terrorism"). And just in case you want more community based examples, it took all of an hour for mainstream media outlets, politicians and every third person on the #ottawashooting hashtag to sprout off about those "terrorist Muslims".
One could argue that Canada is in fact itself, a terrorist state, aiding and abetting war criminals, providing funds for the continuation of genocide, systemically creating policies that incarcerate and vilify Black, indigenous and other youth of color, looking the other way when large groups of indigenous women go missing. In fact, one could argue that a mass majority of Canada's foreign policy is by putting at risk the security of those believed to be at the margins, could qualify as terrorism. So instead of derailing by deferring to terrorism, Oh Canada, we could talk about how this state funds, supports and creates a place of violence.
So from me to you, a gift in light of all the contempt (whether intentional or not) aimed to the Muslims of the world, as a response to the 'love thy neighbour' rhetoric that is already being used to silence critical voices. Here is a resounding 'fuck my neighbour' because this is not about loving people even through the media, political pundit, academic hogwash masquerading as truth. It's about our shared accountability in not only naming these derailment and distraction tactics for what they are, but in asking ourselves the hard questions, who benefits while we scramble from constructed fear? And whether you choose to answer the question or not, what you do, what you tweet, and how you respond throughout it all tells me exactly how much you intend to benefit.
9:05:00 @ 10/22/2014
No comments:
Post a Comment