In today’s world, you never know when an innocent comment will be turned into a massive manufactured outrage.
That was the case for Governor General David Johnston, who found himself on the receiving end of outrage from the politically-correct thought police.
On Saturday, David Johnston said “We’re a country based on immigration, going right back to our, quote, Indigenous people, unquote, who were immigrants as well, 10, 12, 14,000 years ago.”
Pretty reasonable stuff. We can all see Johnston’s point here: Canada is made up of people who came here from other parts of the world, and their descendants. Thousands of years ago, those who society refers to as Indigenous people came here from another part of the world.
There is nothing wrong with Johnston’s statement, because it is factually correct.
Of course, facts don’t matter to the politically correct thought police – just feelings.
And Johnston’s comments seemed to generate tons of angry feelings. Here’s a sample:
Appalling though not surprising ignorance from @GGDavidJohnston Clearly he forgot to read any debriefing on #reconciliation #Canada150 https://t.co/VgvEiDjLax
— Colinda Clyne (@clclyne) June 19, 2017
Dear @GGDavidJohnston You must immediately resign. @JustinTrudeau Must demand your resignation today before the great #Genocide celebration
— Thohahente KimWeaver (@kimpweaver) June 18, 2017
I heard that and was concerned about Indigenous histories, relationships with our lands, creation stories and laws: erased in 15 seconds.
— Tracey Lindberg (@TraceyLindberg) June 17, 2017
Save your Crown/Settler myth for your late-night bedtime stories that allow your colonial mindset to rest at night, @GGDavidJohnston.
— Ryan McMahon (@RMComedy) June 17, 2017
As is usually the case when political correctness of any kind is breached, the “offender” quickly “corrected” their statement:
And I want to clarify a miscommunication. Our Indigenous peoples are not immigrants. They are the original peoples of this land.
— David Johnston (@GGDavidJohnston) June 19, 2017
Fair enough. It’s reasonable to say that Indigenous people are the first migrants – or first “immigrants” to Canada. And yet, even Johnston’s correction didn’t appease the anger. The new “outrage” was focused on Johnston’s use of “our” in his statement:
Please stop referring to us as "our indigenous peoples." We/I, belong to no one. #Cdnpoli
— B Jeff Monague (@brando44) June 19, 2017
Please don't use "our" when referring to Indigenous peoples. That is wrong ethically, legally and morally. Disrespectful. #cdnpoli
— Rachel (@catsagainsttar) June 19, 2017
Thanks for trying to correct your statement. But we don't belong to you. Stop using the possessive.
— vivian (@VivianOD) June 19, 2017
they are not 'yours', 'ours' or anyone's. How did you get to such a position, ceremonial though it is?
— Tom Andrewson (@Garlichege) June 19, 2017
We are not 'your' Indigenous peoples, either. We are not your possession. https://t.co/lNQYFwk7M0
— Veldon Coburn (@VeldonCoburn) June 19, 2017
What’s the point of apologizing when even the apology gets attacked?
When even an apology or “correction” doesn’t change things, it’s obvious that the politically correct thought police want to silence people, not have discussions with them. The point of “re-educating” people to the politically correct line is to silence any alternative viewpoints.
An apology is often then taken as a sign of weakness, and the attacks only intensify.
We’ve reached the point where more and more people will just want to stay quiet instead of saying anything, because the politically correct thought police are out to gang up on anyone who says anything that doesn’t fit the “allowed” discourse, even when it’s true.
This is very dangerous, because it is stifling debate and spreading an attitude of fear throughout our society.
However, there is a way around it: People can just stop apologizing or “correcting” their statements.
It’s possible to ignore the outrage and just keep sharing opinions – regardless of whether some find it controversial or not.
By refusing to apologize, you are refusing to play the game the way the thought police want it to be played. This is still a somewhat free society, and people just have to live with hearing things they don’t agree with. That’s part of freedom of speech and freedom of expression.
Every successful society needs a diversity of opinion and expression, and only by ignoring the manufactured outrage of the politically correct thought police will we be able to protect our freedom to think for ourselves and express ourselves as we see fit.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – Twitter
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