Thread by @sunnshiiny

Interesting development from G&M opinion.

Classic Finkelstein Method being used to polarize the electorate.

On the backs of 215 dead indigenous children in unmarked graves.

That’s political opportunism at its worst.

Sickeningly gross.

https://twitter.com/globedebate/status/1399078672896770053

First we have G&M setting the premise. Laying the groundwork that treatment of indigenous people in Canada has been horrific.

It has. And still is.

Then we have two opposing polarized comments following to evoke an emotional response.

Truly this disgusts me.

Using dead children for political opportunistic messaging is repulsive and morbid.

A bot offers far right inflammatory rhetoric to accompany the opinion piece. The left opposition uses that toxic rhetoric as a foil. It’s really quite demoralizing and sad.

When political activists use horrific facts to further their agenda, it diminishes the atrocities committed to political fodder.

That doesn’t get Canada any closer to reconciliation with indigenous people. In fact it drives the wedge deeper.

When political activists use real tragedy as a weapon, it diminishes the actual tragedy and trauma experienced by the indigenous community.

Populist narratives are meant to juxtapose current govt behaviour with past atrocities is repugnant campaigning & needs to be called out.

Reconciliation requires hearing the inhuman ways indigenous people were treated by governments throughout the history of Canada, including contemporaneous policies and actions.

It does NOT include twisting truth and manipulating facts to present as an indignity when it is not.

Indigenous people do ourselves and our communities no favours to advance false narratives. How will we ever heal as communities if we manipulate truth and facts for political gain?

We won’t. And unfortunately that’s the point.

Sometimes we are our own worst enemies. Which is characteristic of a people that have been decimated by intentional violence and denial of human dignity.

People who are hurting have difficulty discerning truth from manipulation. Because their emotions run high and are volatile.

I’m getting seriously perturbed by left wing activists misrepresenting the court proceedings that the government has with indigenous law suits. It’s getting completely misconstrued and being used to score political favour for NDP and GPC and cast aspersions on LPC.

This has nothing to do with partisan support. It doesn’t matter who is performing this nonsense, it’s actually an attack on democracy, not a plea for support for the indigenous community.

What is disgusting is opposition parties are using indigenous people to perform it.

Emotional healing under the circumstances indigenous people have endured takes a lifetime and involves multiple generations of pain.

I grew up hearing stories about my mother, my grandmother, my great grandmother and her mother. There’s a book about my GGG grandfather.

And I have my own experiences to draw from. With my nuclear and extended family.

If you weren’t counting, that’s 7 generations, 8 if you count grand nieces & nephews.

Every other indigenous person has similar trauma to process, whether they’re FN, Métis, non-status or Inuit.

This is NOT the time to attach healing to a political party’s ambitions at the polls.

This is a time to honour the trauma. It’s a time to experience the utter horror indigenous people have endured for centuries & generations.

It’s a time to feel the pain and anguish.

There will be attempts to politicize this pain. To move through it quickly. To get to solutions before actually understanding the actual problems.

I’m calling for every settler Canadian to stop trying to problem solve. Stop immediately. Stop making commitments to do something.

Just listen. Just bear witness. There are so many stories of pain and anguish, you will be overwhelmed. You will be uncomfortable. You will experience your own trauma knowing you have contributed to this whether knowingly or not.

That is reconciliation. Settlers need to reconcile their past action and inaction and bear witness to the aftermath. Just sit with and own the pain and the knowledge that every Canadian past & present is responsible. That’s it. That’s your responsibility right now. Nothing more.

And indigenous people need to recognize that political parties use indigenous people’s pain and anguish to win support.

Don’t allow yourself to be used as an indigenous prop. Reclaim your dignity and self worth.

You are more than a political operative for a party. Much more.

This is the time to tell our stories.

This is the time to honour our pain. To weep, to mourn, to rage, to express all those emotions we have kept bottled. To suffer openly. And for our fellow Canadians to bear witness. We need settlers to acknowledge our suffering.

That takes time and trust.

Trauma and grief take time and effort to address.

Indigenous ways of being in the world means we don’t rush to point fingers and blame. We honour the process of grief and purging our trauma first.

Think of it as a giant healing circle.

Holding perpetrators of this injustice accountable comes after we gain acknowledgement for trauma. Settlers are just beginning to witness our trauma. There is a lot more to come.

Investigating the causes of the trauma will come. But first we mourn. First we honour the victims.

There will be calls to action.

We require a thorough investigation and analysis of what led to centuries of mistreatment. So we can ensure it never happens again. And we can easily identify efforts (settlers and indigenous people) to revive imperialist and colonialist policies.

This is not a quick process. This is not an easy process.

But it is a necessary process to heal as individuals, communities and as a nation.

That’s reconciliation.

I’m glad the process of healing has begun.

@threadreaderapp please compile