The Dangers of Anti-Racism

 In a previous post, I wrote about how Critical Social Theory could actually make racism worse, or at least not solve the problem. 

As an example of how this might happen I saw a video recently regarding Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). I remember talking with friends a few years ago about designating this awful situation as "genocide". 

I think those who are inclined towards Critical Social Theory (Anti-Racism) ways of thinking were wanting to designate this situation as a genocide to highlight the importance and tragedy of Canada's MMIW. Calling it a 'genocide' also calls the situation out as a racist action. 

Presumably, white people have been conducting this act of genocide. We imagine someone like Robert Pickton, mixed with a lack of concern and willingness to investigate missing Indigenous women on the part of police, which suggests structural racism in the justice system. Or, perhaps we imagine racist and murderous white truck drivers travelling the Highway of Tears. 

A 'genocide' brings to mind one ethnic group trying to kill off another ethnic group. My old Oxford Canadian Dictionary from college defines "genocide" as "the mass extermination of human beings, especially of a particular race or nation. ... [Greek genos race + -cide]".    

 My concern is that it adds a note of exaggeration. While I agree that the situation is tragic, is it really on the same level as the Holocaust or with what we saw in Rwanda?       

If what we are dealing with is a genocide perpetrated by white people against Indigenous women, then what should we do to solve this problem? 

We should deal with the racism that gives rise to the devaluing of indigenous life, especially the lives of women. This means teaching white people to identify their racism, even hidden and unconscious racism, and also work against those racist inclinations. It also means dealing with the racism that is in the structure of the legal system that allows white people to get away with (literal) murder. 

But, if we get this story wrong... 

If this story from the Toronto Sun is accurate (and some will discount it based on the news outlet) then this shifts how we label and solve this problem. 

(I recognize that there is a conflict between reports here- Someone will have to do an in-depth study as to why the Stats Can numbers are different from the national inquiry report on MMIW).

The reporter in the video points to a report from Statistics Canada, which states that 86% of murdered Indigenous women were killed by other Indigenous people, mostly Indigenous men. 

Obviously, this doesn't make the situation any less tragic, but it does change how we try to label and solve the problem. Is this still a "genocide" if it is a problem that is mostly internal to the Indigenous community? If we care about the actual lives of these murdered Indigenous women, then the proposed solutions for addressing the racism of white people, and fixing the racist structures of the justice system, would have done little to save the women who have already been murdered, and probably won't save those who will be murdered in the future. 

As the reporter points out, Canadians can't wash their hands of this situation as if this actually turns out to be an internal issue for Indigenous communities, because the history of Canada and its relationship with Indigenous people has had a role to play in where those communities are today. But the point remains...

The diagnosis is wrong, so the medicine that is offered won't help. 

Critical Social Theory has a tendency towards exaggeration to attempt to draw our attention to a problem. However, this exaggeration can twist the situation enough that the problem isn't solved. It isn't looking at the problem accurately. It is looking at the problem through a lens that twists the problem into a different problem. 

In the final analysis, to misunderstand this problem means that we will not be helping indigenous women who are in danger of being murdered.