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Canadians, a few weeks ago, responding to #ShutDownCanada: all these Wet'suwet'en solidarity actions are inconvenient and hurting the economy. We can't just cancel everything to fix social problems.

Canadians, now, responding to #COVID19: #CancelEverythingNow #ShutDownCanada

Well, that hit a nerve. Here's a short thread explaining why, though the two things (#ShutDownCanada and #CancelEverythingow) are obviously different, the way Canadians are responding to them is telling about our priorities and political will to deal with pressing social problems

The divergent responses to #ShutDownCanada and #COVID19 "inconvenience" reveals an uncomfortable truth: settlers care more about themselves/their own prosperity rooted in ongoing colonization than improving relations with Indigenous peoples, the original stewards of these lands.

Like, the past few days (unlike the past few weeks) prove that Canadians are clearly capable of compassion and making difficult decisions in the interest of the "social good," except when that means NOT continuing colonial oppression of Indigenous peoples for economic gain.

This, of course, is not news to me as a historian, or to Indigenous peoples who've been saying that for 150+ years. It's sad, but not shocking or surprising. That's how Canada, as a capitalist settler society, operates. But, and here's the thing, it doesn't have to be that way.

Imagine if Canadians were as concerned about sharing correct information about #Wetsuweten and ensuring politicians were responding to #ShutDownCanada so as to "flatten the [colonial] curve" rather than stalling or pumping their chests and calling for force + making things worse.

So, before you @ me with nonsense, this is the point: we get to choose how we respond to problems. The many thoughtful responses re: Covid-19 shows that ARE capable of working together to make informed choices. We should have the courage to do that about other issues, too.