Perceived Threats, Real Consequences
The Risks of Call Out Culture
“This idea of purity and you’re never compromised and you’re always politically ‘woke’ and all that stuff. You should get over that quickly. The world is messy; there are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws. People who you are fighting may love their kids, and share certain things with you. There is this sense sometimes that the way of making change is to be as judgmental as possible about other people, and that’s enough. That’s not activism. That’s not bringing about change. If all you’re doing is casting stones, you’re probably not going to get that far. That’s easy to do”. - (Barack Obama 2019)
An alleged hate motivated incident occurred at 12:30pm on May 17, 2023 at a DriveTest Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. The incident was recorded and posted on the victim’s social media account by 2:55pm the same day; police arrested the alleged offender by 10pm - At 10:18pm the story was in local papers, and by 6:15am the next morning, articles were updated to include comments from local politicians. Mayor Cam Guthrie of Guelph, Ontario commented on the actions of the victim, saying “You’re very brave and powerful to call out such vile discrimination against you and others that were in that room.” - Within 24 hours the victim while being interviewed by media called on the Federal government to establish a national support fund for survivors of hate.
Some people may feel rightful vindication and pride at how efficiently the system rallied to address such vile discrimination, as Mayor Guthrie characterized it. However the pace of condemnation and resolution should give us reason to pause and prompt some further reflection.
The victim reportedly overheard a generalized rude comment about brown people which contained an expletive. After canvassing if others heard it too, she chose to confront the person. The video available online shows her holding her phone camera and saying to the alleged offender “really you are going to be racist here in the Drive Test”. Most news stories begin quoting the victim at her next line which was “I just said don't be rude. I didn't say anything else. We're all waiting in this line. Everybody heard you here making a racist comment about brown people”
https://youtube.com/shorts/oFH67xRzbiE?feature=share
What follows is undeniably an assault. The alleged offender is clearly seen striking the woman, and throwing her phone. No reasonable argument supports her decision to use violence to deal with the situation, I do not condone it, nor argue in favour of it being justifiable.
While the victim claims to be shocked that she was assaulted, there are some other factors worth considering. The victim has stated on record that she works with the Waterloo Regional Police’s equity diversity inclusion unit as part of her job, with a local coalition that helps victims of this exact type of incident. She further reported that her active by-stander training promotes intervening from a safe distance, not physically engaging and not provoking. Advice that was not heeded, as evidenced by her proximity when the alleged offender struck her.
The victim also reported that she called a member of the Waterloo Regional Police’s equity diversity inclusion unit for assistance right away; she stated she felt lucky to have the connections with the police that she did, as well as possessing an “understanding of how to handle these situations” - The video seems to contradict that last statement. Which returns to my earlier comment about considering the facts and reflecting on the incident.
By any objective measure the alleged offender did not present an imminent physical danger to the public or the victim. Her decision to utter the phrase “fucking brown people” in a public space demonstrates questionable judgement to be certain. Striking the victim was wrong regardless of how she was confronted about her poor social skills. But, given she did not present a physical danger, what was the motivation for the intervention and how was the bystander training followed?
Calling someone out as a racist, activates what best selling author and educator Irshad Manji refers to as the ego brain. That primitive part of us that is ruled by emotions; and the natural instinctive reaction is to lash back. Manji reminds us “The problem is that the primal part of our brain cannot distinguish between mortal danger and mere discomfort” - Being pragmatic requires us to know that sometimes the best strategy to deal with ugliness, or bigotry, is to recognize when we need to walk away. According to Columbia University Professor John McWhorter, author of the bookselling book Woke Racism, calling someone a racist today is comparable with calling them a pedophile - a very pointed and defensive reaction is almost guaranteed to follow.
Within twenty-fours of the event, the victim along with the coalition she works for spoke to the media and called for “the federal government to, number one, make good on its commitment to establish a national support fund for survivors of hate, and number two to develop new hate crime legislation… also calling on the provincial government to deliver an anti-racism strategy requiring social service agencies to provide regular training on anti-racism”. The Chief Operating Officer of the coalition added that, “The incident also draws out attention to the need for diversity, equity, inclusivity training for all public and private organizations that serve the community” - A service their organization provides within the community where the incident took place.
Politicians may wish to be more judicious in what they call “brave and powerful”. One could look charitably at the actions of the victim and decide that she was merely acting with good intent, trying to spare other from hearing offensive comments. However when local politicians praise such interventions, they may be seen as advocating for others to do the same. A recommendation that could put people at real risk of physical harm if they are ill prepared when someone lashes back.
The police undergo extensive training in investigations, verbal de-escalation and defensive tactics, perhaps we need to let the police do what they are trained for. Citizens should absolutely do their part by calling 9-11 for active threats and the non-emergency number when there is no imminent threat to safety and security.
END
For your additional consideration:
I write this as an opinion editorial and only have access to information in the public domain. My opinion has been formulated based on the available information as reported in media stories and interviews and the actions visible in the video.
I refer to the woman who was assaulted as “the victim” because I chose not to draw any unnecessary attention to her identity.
This is not intend to “victim blame” or otherwise disparage her personhood. It is intended to objectively evaluate the direct facts and statements utilizing the primary evidence as supplied by the primary subject herself.
I refer to the offender with the common addition of the word “alleged” because that is standard convention when referring to someone who has been accused or charged but not yet convicted. As a logical follow through the crime is also alleged given she has not been convicted. I do not intend to diminish her actions or the severity of the charges.
(Bio: Neil Gonsalves is an Indian-born Canadian immigrant who grew up in Dubai, U.A.E. and moved to Canada in 1995. He is an Ontario college professor, a TEDx speaker, a German Shepherd lover and a recreational dog trainer).
The views contained in this article are solely those of the author, intended for opinion based editorial purposes and/or entertainment only. They do not represent the views of any organization I am otherwise associated with.)
NOTES:
https://globalnews.ca/news/9708134/drivetest-centre-kitchener-racist-assault/
https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/i-was-in-a-state-of-shock-apparent-assault-caught-on-camera-in-kitchener-drivetest-centre-1.6403684
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/cbc-asks-no-offence-town-hall-1.5484472
https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/coalition-of-muslim-women-k-w-calls-for-change-following-assault-at-kitchener-ont-drivetest-centre-1.6404640
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/31/us/politics/obama-woke-cancel-culture.html
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/woke-racism-tackles-anti-racism-performative-action-and-its-effect-on-black-americans