“Were you silent? Or were you silenced?” unpacking allyship with #freepalestine mvmt
Speaking up against genocide and civilian deaths shouldn’t be controversial. And yet so many people, especially racialized people, have been facing consequences for it
— so let’s talk about that.
We’re noticing a pattern in our DMs - many
BIPOC are saying one of two things to us:
“I spoke up, and I was professionally punished.”
“I want to speak up, but I’m afraid.”
And we know that in our community circles, so many of us feel multiple layers of grief, creating an exponential degree of chaos in our bodies.
We wanted to find a way to capture these stories anonymously.
It’s wild, because in Canada...
supporting the Freedom Convoy or the ‘parental rights’ (AKA: anti-Trans) march,
being covertly or overtly racist, sexist, transphobic, homophobic, etc.,
Selling the Greenbelt to your donors and developer pals,
being a covertly toxic boss, having deeply anti-human rights views, or being sexist
...won’t get you in trouble, at least not like being anti-genocide will.
But somehow, the stance that will get you in trouble, censored, removed from caucus, fired, dropped by brands, miss out on opportunities, or publicly shunned, is being public about an anti-genocide stance, even though that stance is consistent with what Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are saying.
And if you don’t know someone who has had to deal with getting in trouble for their stance, well, look no further because 🙋🏽♀️ hello, we’re On Canada Project, and taking the exact same perspective we’ve had for the three years of our existence -
(aka centring human rights, being anti-oppression, bringing nuance, warmth, and evidence-informed takes that speak to the needs of the most systemically oppressed communities)
– has caused us to miss out on critical financial opportunities/clients (through our consulting arm, Good Trouble Studios) that are directly connected to the livelihoods of our founder and co-founder, in addition to securing our future as a grassroots initiative turned social enterprise.
We know that people are punished for speaking up against power; it happens all the time.
For example, women were and still are forced to work in hostile, toxic environments with someone abusive (possibly even SA) because they know their company's HR department will protect the abuser and not the abused.
(Kind of like how Canada is protecting the Oppressor [Israel’s government] and not the Oppressed [Palestinian civilians] ... 🧐)
Or they know that speaking up will make them face ‘unofficial’ consequences, like being left out of work events and networking opportunities, being labelled as difficult, not getting a reference letter, etc.,
So many of us choose to return to work and pretend things are okay, enduring the degrading, dehumanizing, demoralizing behaviour because we do not have the luxury of speaking up.
Because speaking up against a system means you risk losing your job/reputation, so the only people who can do this with some safety are those who have family money or support, or a solid savings account.
This means most of us don’t have the luxury of ‘freedom of speech’ or ‘right to safety’ or speaking up to power - we endure injustices and unethical actions all the time because our basic needs require money, which means playing by the rules of systems designed for have/have nots, powerful/powerless, controlling/controlled, etc.,
So many of us choose to return to work and pretend things are okay, enduring the degrading, dehumanizing, demoralizing behaviour because we do not have the luxury of speaking up.
Because speaking up against a system means you risk losing your job/reputation, so the only people who can do this with some safety are those who have family money or support, or a solid savings account.
This means most of us don’t have the luxury of ‘freedom of speech’ or ‘right to safety’ or speaking up to power - we endure injustices and unethical actions all the time because our basic needs require money, which means playing by the rules of systems designed for have/have nots, powerful/powerless, controlling/controlled, etc.,
To…
People who have spoken up despite the consequences: Thank you. Thank you for your leadership, your compassion, your bravery, for your ability to know human rights are universal in nature. We’re sorry that doing the right thing isn't celebrated. We see you.
People who haven’t spoken up yet: We get it: survival instincts are real, and you are the expert on your situation. Allyship can take many different forms, so we hope you’ve been able to find a way to be an ally that is accessible at this time. If you haven't yet, we hope you take the steps towards showing support in a way that's safe for you.
We’d love for you to take the time to fill out our survey to understand better what this time has been like for you.
To leaders, executives, HR departments, administrations, nonprofits, Marit Stiles of the Ontario NDP, and more,
If you are generally principled and grounded in justice and human rights but, in this situation, find yourself getting called out for causing harm, we encourage you to hit pause and ask yourself, “How can I know better and do better in this moment?”
Most news and governments are saying something that contradicts International Human Rights organizations. So please be careful not to inadvertently cause harm to people - especially people you trust and brought onto your teams.
If you need support, reach out to us at GoodTroubleStudios.ca because not everyone has the tools to unpack issues like this with the anti-oppression lens it requires, but we are. We do it all the time for clients and can support you, too.
Yours in pursuit of collective liberation,
OCP MEDIA
