I wasn’t originally going to blog about Faith Goldy running for mayor of Toronto. When I saw the headline on Twitter I was disappointed, but not that surprised. Trump and his ilk have inspired other outright racists and their supporters, who employ semantic maneuvers to justify their racism.
Before I get into this, watch the short video below to get a taste of Goldy’s views.
I can sum it up for you, using her words, if you didn’t get to watch.
“I’m not a refugee or an immigrant…I don’t believe diversity is our strength…I believe in European Canadian identity, not multiculturalism…When studying our nation’s history I pronounce its founding peoples settlers and pioneers, not immigrants.”
So yes, I think anyone who is not racist can agree that Goldy is racist.
Goldy’s video was released on Canada Day (July 1). It has 45,168 views. That may not seem like a lot but what is more disturbing is the amount of likes the video has. It isn’t weighed down with dislikes, it has overwhelming likes and supportive comments. The people liking and commenting may work with people of colour and might say they value diversity if the topic were ever to come up in a public setting, a setting where they are not sure if their views would be shared. However, online is a different story. People like Goldy bring these bigots out of hiding and they also make them feel empowered, knowing that there is someone out there fighting for what they believe in. It is no coincidence that hate crimes, especially against Hispanic people, increased once Trump was in office.
Goldy’s announcement brings up the usual “let’s hear her out” arguments from people who either support Goldy’s racism or are just naive.
“You can’t talk about tolerance if you’re going to judge someone… Freedom of speech.”
There is no winning a debate with a bigot. Goldy does not believe in multiculturalism or diversity. She does not view people of colour as valid citizens of Canada. She does not recognize the Indigenous population of Canada as peoples, evidenced by her refusal to consider European settlers immigrants. There is no democratic debate to be had here.
In a sense, you can’t win with bigots. If you give them space, the people who are sympathetic to their ideas become emboldened and put them in power. If you deny them spaces and political power, you’re being close-minded or bigoted yourself. This allows them to embrace a victim complex that generates sympathy and eventual support from the naive and the bigoted. The below video is a good example of this.
Again, let me summarize.
Goldy was banned from Patreon after they found a video of her reciting the 14 words. The 14 words, were coined by white supremacist David Lane and are used exclusively by white supremacists or people sympathetic to the cause. The 14 words are: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”
Patreon’s message to Goldy says they support free speech but not “exclusionary ideologies.” So Goldy tries to paint her dismissal as being “exclusionary.” That’s just semantics, but it’s a pseudo intellectual argument that will appease the people who are already on her side and the naive free speech warriors.
Goldy also argues the video is not a new one like Patreon claims, and was from December 2017. Fair enough. Maybe she’ll say she has changed her views since then? Nope, she argues that if the 14 words said “black, Jewish” etc. then people would be fine with them. This is where you separate the pseudo intellectuals from the bigoted idiots. Context matters. If the 14 words were coined by a white supremacist and have become an anthem for the white supremacist community, then maybe that is the reason people think that they are racist? As opposed to the fact the sentence contains the word “white?”
The above video is also a good example of how terms like “identity politics” are the anthem of the right-wing bigot, who tries to defend and downplay racism by saying that minorities are too obsessed with race. People who are genuinely not white supremacists, can still end up parroting white supremacist talking points when they start to use terms like “identity politics,” “social justice warriors” or “political correctness.” While Goldy says minorities are “identity politics obsessed,” she also makes videos saying she only respects European-Canadian identity. Small consolation, this video isn’t drowning in likes. It has slightly more dislikes and less supportive comments.
Canadians can be smug when we compare ourselves to America. We look at our crime, shootings and racism in comparison to theirs and think we have it good. Then we elect people like Doug Ford and have people like Goldy running, and I am sure Goldy will get a sizeable chunk of the vote. If she wins I won’t be surprised. If she loses by a big margin, I will be pleasantly surprised.
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