On the weekend, prominent activist, Chris Elston, popularly known as “Billboard Chris,” because he protests while wearing a sandwich board placard at events around the world making the case for a traditional binary understanding of gender identity, and Josh Alexander, an Ontario high school student who was suspended by his school for protesting the adoption of gender ideology in the Catholic school system organized a protest in Ottawa. To be absolutely clear, the Ottawa protest was not targeting gay rights but gender transition for kids. In fact, some prominent gay activists featured as part of the protest.
In response, a counter protest was organized by Horizon Ottawa, a far left NGO, active in promoting progressive social causes across the city. They partnered with labour unions, including the Public Service Alliance of Canada — now back at work after their prolonged strike — and community groups in the Ottawa neighbourhood of Westboro. While the protest and the counter-protest were largely peaceful, two apparent counter-protesters wearing balaclavas attempted to tackle Billboard Chris, but he kept his ground.
The demographic profile of the two groups couldn’t have been more starkly distinct. On the front lines of the anti gender ideology protests were people of colour and devout Muslims, as well as Christians, facing off against mostly masked old stock white Canadians leading the counter protesters. The progressive left which immediately judges any cause they disagree with as being “far right,” because it might constitute mainly white Canadians, were here mostly white, facing protesters against the trans agenda who were far more diverse than they were, almost representing a cross section of Canada. The cognitive dissonance was palpable.
The counter protesters appeared to be discomfited by the fact that the protesters weren’t their supposed bogeyman but included many people of colour, including socially conservative Muslims. This certainly doesn’t fit progressive ideology. After all, these were folk who stood up for minorities and called out what they perceived to be Islamophobia — yet there were Muslims lined up against them on the opposite side of the trans debate. It seemed to suggest that the price for supporting minority causes was that those they supported ought to support them on the social issues they cared about.
In fact, this sense of betrayal was made explicit in a widely shared rant by an Edmonton schoolteacher, who berated Muslim students in her class who stayed away from Pride events, telling them that, if they didn’t support Pride, they really didn’t belong in Canada. In other words, the progressive support of Muslim rights in Canada seemed to be contingent on their support of progressive social causes.
The hypocrisy runs the other way, too. Muslim Canadian advocates are certainly willing to accept progressive support in combatting what they perceive as Islamophobia yet, when push comes to shove, many conservative Muslims reveal their antipathy, not just toward gender ideology, but even of gay rights, which have not been a matter of contestation in Canada for decades.
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Put differently, the aggressive gender ideology advocated by progressives in Canada has, willy nilly, brought religion into the equation. Muslim Canadians, even conservatives, have had to accept gay rights as a fait accompli — but now have joined the battle against gender ideology. An unforeseen consequence of the aggressive progressive push on gender ideology and Pride may be a highly regrettable backsliding on the consensus around gay rights, that simply hasn’t been up for discussion in Canada in recent memory.
Progressive advocates for gender ideology, such as the counter-protesters in Ottawa, do themselves no favours by staking out an extreme position in which even legitimate disagreement on gender ideology, especially as it relates to minors, is considered little short of reactionary and atavistic. This was fully on view. All of the counter-protesters I spoke to, refused to engage with me. One even told me that he would only speak to an “accredited” journalist from the CBC or CTV.
The so-called progressives reveal their own reactionary side when, in response to what they perceive as betrayal from immigrants and ethnic minorities who don’t buy into their social agenda, some go to the extent of saying that such illiberal people should return to where they came from if they don’t share what they blithely assert to be universally agreed on “Canadian values.”
As always, the rest at the above link…
In response, a counter protest was organized by Horizon Ottawa, a far left NGO, active in promoting progressive social causes across the city. They partnered with labour unions, including the Public Service Alliance of Canada — now back at work after their prolonged strike — and community groups in the Ottawa neighbourhood of Westboro. While the protest and the counter-protest were largely peaceful, two apparent counter-protesters wearing balaclavas attempted to tackle Billboard Chris, but he kept his ground.
The demographic profile of the two groups couldn’t have been more starkly distinct. On the front lines of the anti gender ideology protests were people of colour and devout Muslims, as well as Christians, facing off against mostly masked old stock white Canadians leading the counter protesters. The progressive left which immediately judges any cause they disagree with as being “far right,” because it might constitute mainly white Canadians, were here mostly white, facing protesters against the trans agenda who were far more diverse than they were, almost representing a cross section of Canada. The cognitive dissonance was palpable.
The counter protesters appeared to be discomfited by the fact that the protesters weren’t their supposed bogeyman but included many people of colour, including socially conservative Muslims. This certainly doesn’t fit progressive ideology. After all, these were folk who stood up for minorities and called out what they perceived to be Islamophobia — yet there were Muslims lined up against them on the opposite side of the trans debate. It seemed to suggest that the price for supporting minority causes was that those they supported ought to support them on the social issues they cared about.
In fact, this sense of betrayal was made explicit in a widely shared rant by an Edmonton schoolteacher, who berated Muslim students in her class who stayed away from Pride events, telling them that, if they didn’t support Pride, they really didn’t belong in Canada. In other words, the progressive support of Muslim rights in Canada seemed to be contingent on their support of progressive social causes.
The hypocrisy runs the other way, too. Muslim Canadian advocates are certainly willing to accept progressive support in combatting what they perceive as Islamophobia yet, when push comes to shove, many conservative Muslims reveal their antipathy, not just toward gender ideology, but even of gay rights, which have not been a matter of contestation in Canada for decades.
Rupa Subramanya: The progressive left discards Muslims as un-Canadian — National Post
Support for minorities from the left is contingent on buying into an extremist position on gender transitioning for children
Put differently, the aggressive gender ideology advocated by progressives in Canada has, willy nilly, brought religion into the equation. Muslim Canadians, even conservatives, have had to accept gay rights as a fait accompli — but now have joined the battle against gender ideology. An unforeseen consequence of the aggressive progressive push on gender ideology and Pride may be a highly regrettable backsliding on the consensus around gay rights, that simply hasn’t been up for discussion in Canada in recent memory.
Progressive advocates for gender ideology, such as the counter-protesters in Ottawa, do themselves no favours by staking out an extreme position in which even legitimate disagreement on gender ideology, especially as it relates to minors, is considered little short of reactionary and atavistic. This was fully on view. All of the counter-protesters I spoke to, refused to engage with me. One even told me that he would only speak to an “accredited” journalist from the CBC or CTV.
The so-called progressives reveal their own reactionary side when, in response to what they perceive as betrayal from immigrants and ethnic minorities who don’t buy into their social agenda, some go to the extent of saying that such illiberal people should return to where they came from if they don’t share what they blithely assert to be universally agreed on “Canadian values.”
As always, the rest at the above link…
