(Photo: Mark Blinch, Reuters)
Confession:
I have never been especially excited about provincial politics. I pay enough
attention to know whom I want—and don’t want—to vote for, but that is usually
it. A few years ago, there was some buzz about this NDP MPP from
Bramalea–Gore–Malton. More so than his politics, most of the talk was about his
well-tailored suits and colourful turbans. My engagement with Jagmeet Singh’s
politics happened at a time when I was quite disillusioned with politics in
general. I’d grown up in a liberal-leaning household and had even been a card-carrying
Liberal for a while. My gradual realization that I was not, in fact, a liberal,
began in 2014, during the party’s leadership race. To my dismay, Justin Trudeau
swept it without much of a platform. Nevertheless, I subsequently participated
in the process of electing the federal candidate for my local riding. When the
victor was the only candidate without a platform, and the only candidate who
seemed inaccessible and beholden to wealthy supporters, it became clear to me that these were not my people.
In
Jagmeet, I saw hope for the first time in the possibility of change in Canada.
I thought, “If this guy were to become Prime Minister one day, we might
actually start to dismantle the white supremacist system that controls
everything here.” I followed him on Twitter and Facebook to get a better sense
of his policy positions. He was talking about social justice in a meaningful,
passionate way—something I wasn’t getting from any other politician. The
promises of “Real Change” that the Trudeau Liberals had been making seemed like
mere spectacle as they carried on the legacy of their Conservative
predecessors.
There
was talk in Ontario that provincial NDP leader Andrea Horwath wouldn’t run
again and that as Deputy Leader, Jagmeet would probably be next in line to lead
the NDP in Ontario. But as it became increasingly clear that Horwath would
continue in her role, I began to consider that maybe Jagmeet was ready to lead
the federal NDP. Accordingly, I began stating on social media that he should
replace Thomas Mulcair. Rumours began swirling early this year that he was
going to attempt to do just that. So, I declared that if this were to come to
fruition, despite my cynicism about politics, I would join the NDP and vote for
him.
So,
here we are.
All
political candidates should be scrutinized and questioned on their positions,
even when we like them. However, Jagmeet Singh has faced a different kind of criticism
from his fellow candidates in this leadership race. He has been called
everything from style-over-substance, to inexperienced, to (neo)liberal, to
conservative! But his supporters, who have kept up with his policy statements and attended his
JagMeet & Greets, have seen someone who believes in equity, respect,
listening to and learning from each other and, of course, facing challenges
with love and courage. In the first NDP leadership candidates’ debate in which
he participated, he was considerably talked over. It was clear that Jagmeet was
not an aggressive person. Indeed, I think anyone who has met him would agree that
he exudes humility and sensitivity. In this race, he has struck me as someone
who is careful about what he says and values consulting with those who are more
knowledgeable on a subject before he puts forward a proposal.
(Photo mine, taken July 17, 2017)
In
the current state of affairs in North America, where white supremacy is not
challenged in mainstream media, we need a leader like Jagmeet Singh. This
is not merely because he is a racialized Canadian—after all, this is not unique
in the Canadian government—but because he has given hope to many Canadians who
have felt invisibilized by the powers that be. He has shown a commitment to
amplifying marginalized voices and fighting systemic racism, which
is something that few politicians will even mention, let alone strive to achieve.
I
am a new member of the NDP. I am by no means an expert on the party, but it has
always seemed to me to be dominated ideologically by white men. However, one
cannot honestly use any adjective associated with the left end of the political
spectrum to describe oneself if one is not committed to the liberation of all oppressed peoples, and
this liberation cannot be separated from a commitment to dismantling white supremacy.
Sadly, no matter how nice and ‘progressive’ Canadian politicians are, few of
them have convinced me that they are prepared to do this. It stood out to me
that in the leadership debate on July 11, Jagmeet Singh and Niki Ashton were
the only candidates to mention systemic racism in Canada and its violent,
colonial history. Another issue that should be important to the left is that of
transgender rights. In addition to the violence and murder
of transgender women in particular, the Canadian populace shows significant hostility
towards transgender and nonbinary people that a simple ‘X’
gender option on a government document is not going to solve (Please read Jules’
blog). Furthermore, the current government has been criticized for its failures
both in upholding its promises for an improved nation-to-nation relationship
with Indigenous peoples and in advancing the inquiry
into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. And, of course, there are
still those defending and practising carding (or ‘street checks’ as they are
often called), despite evidence that this harassment
does not
produce great benefits for solving crime.
While
I remain cynical about politics, as I think all power structures are ultimately
oppressive, an NDP under Jagmeet Singh might be our last hope of trying to
effect change from within the system. His message of love and courage is one
that received some laughter when he entered the leadership race. But love and
courage is not a cheesy slogan Jagmeet borrowed from a greeting card or a new
age self-help book. The scoffs and eyebrow raises in response to it speak
volumes about how we (mis)understand ‘love’.
The
concept of love is one about which I have been thinking for quite some time. So,
again, I suppose Jagmeet Singh has taken centre stage in my thoughts at the
right time in my life. But I will not try to speak for Jagmeet; rather, I want
to discuss what ‘love and courage’ means to me.
We
often think of romantic love or familial bonds when we hear the word ‘love’.
Thus, it may seem out of place to talk of love in politics. Nevertheless, it
does come up. The words often repeated from Jack Layton’s final letter,
released upon his death in 2011 are as follows:
My friends, love is better than
anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be
loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.
Jagmeet’s positive message
resonates with this.
As
part of our understanding of love, we tend to rely on a love–hate binary. But
the opposite of love is not hate; it is indifference.
You either love me or you don’t care about me. Not loving me does not mean hating
me. This false love–hate binary allows racism to thrive, because without expressions
of hatred, a lot of people who don’t experience racism themselves don’t see it
operating. This creates apathy. This apathy is how some are able to believe that
the ideological positions of Black Lives Matter or Antifa are as unappealing as
those of the anti-Black and fascist/Nazi forces they are battling. Furthermore,
indifference is what the public generally gets from politicians, who seem to
use us to get elected so they can start their real jobs of working for corporations.
Love, therefore, is a promise not to be apathetic. Jagmeet has made such a
promise to Canadians, to listen to them and advocate for them.
This
leads me back to the question of love and hate. If not love, then perhaps the
opposite of hate is acceptance or tolerance. So, if hatred is not the
antithesis of love, can we effectively fight hate with love? This question is
relevant in light of Jagmeet’s response when his JagMeet & Greet in
Brampton was disrupted.
When Jennifer Bush invaded Jagmeet’s personal space and shouted her anti-Islam
rant in his face, he had little choice but to handle the situation the way he
did. On the one hand, of course remaining calm and talking over someone until
they get tired and leave is a positive way to handle such a situation. On the
other hand, the onus is always on racialized people to be polite in the face of
racism—to turn
the other cheek. The global standing ovation in response to how he handled
the situation was frustrating for me because I am tired of witnessing this
double standard that exists for white people and everyone else. We are
currently living in a time when people are advocating that we refrain from
punching Nazis, as if their beliefs are no more than a difference of opinion.
The
notion of showing love to bigots is one that I have difficulty grasping. Among
white people, there seems to be plenty of love for bigots already and not
nearly enough for those whom the bigots wish to eradicate. Just look at the
nonsensical ‘Hug
a Nazi’ arguments making their way into our North American media and
contrast that with the indifference shown to Black Canadians murdered by police
or Indigenous women and girls murdered by… we still don’t know who. It seems
more reasonable to me to battle indifference with love among those who are
sympathetic, and hatred with intolerance to the ideas of bigots.
As
for courage, Jagmeet is certainly not lacking in this department. What we know
of his personal history
speaks to this. He often speaks about growing up looking different and his
experiences of being carded by police. In addition, he faces significant backlash
not only from the most obvious white supremacist and anti-religion camps but
from those here and abroad who oppose
his social
justice work. The character he has shown in standing up to those who have
more power than he does is another reason why Jagmeet won me over several years
ago.
Now
more than ever, we need a full appreciation of what love and courage are to face
the threats of climate change, the exploitation of the global capitalist
system, systemic inequality, and bigotry. I believe Jagmeet Singh can steer
Canada in the right direction, and that is why I voted for him for NDP leader.
Excellent article. I could relate to your new found passion for politics because of Jagmeet. I have never joined a political party and I am a 58 year old Irish Canadian teacher. Finally someone grabbed my attention. Jagmeet is as real as they come. Thanks for an amazing piece of writing.
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