When We Fight Each Other, Our Enemies Win By Default

I’ve read with dismay the account of Tiffany Joseph on Thaw Victoria, depicting a recent rift between the Indigenous and Palestinian communities.

First of all, forgive me if I only use her colonial name. I mean no offence. I literally cannot spell her language.

Which brings me to the point I wish to make: this incident, like many breakups between cultural factions, come down to people reading way too much into harmless idiosyncrasies. And whenever that happens, their enemies laugh watching all opposition disintegrate on its own.

It seems to have started with a comment on the Canadian flag, which like every symbol means different things to different people. To the Palestinian it often means a land of tolerance known to welcome refugees and guarantee the freedoms they lost at home, whereas to the Coast Salish it symbolises a genocidal colonial invader which barely failed to either assimilate or exterminate them. Ask a WWII veteran, or a Quebec separatist, and of course you’ll get a different answer.

Another trigger, however trivial, was an attempt at hugging. Arabs are known to favour proximity in exchanges, hug strangers, and even kiss each other on the cheek, whereas Indigenous people on these lands, from what I gather, prefer distance and elaborate ceremonial. Each side took the other’s approach as an offence where none was meant.

I suggest all parties learn some diplomacy. All diplomats are learned in the opposite faction’s culture, language, and history, for starters. They also shake hands with rivals, even their enemies, and avoid making culturally insensitive blunders. When tensions arise their reflex is to deescalate, because failure to do so may cause or exacerbate a war. Countries don’t want to start a war merely because extending the left hand for a handshake is wrongfully interpreted as an insult (that’s not a joke; Arabs do because that’s the hand they use to clean themselves).

Which brings me to the next point of contention, and no topic is more controversial among protesters: cops. My opinion on the topic is known to all regulars of this blog; for the rest of you, allow me to put it succinctly:

And yet I don’t go out to fight the police every time I pass my front door. Of course there’s a time for that: when the protest is about them, like at the RCMP’s 150th anniversary, I’m all for giving them the finger.

At a Palestine solidarity rally? As long as they remain professional and don’t outright crack down on us, I make a truce with them. So far I have to admit they haven’t crossed the line, unlike in other cities such as Toronto; I’ve only witnessed one questionable arrest in town so far, and they seem to have learned from the incident. More importantly, VicPD has its own diplomats (you know, these police liaison officers wearing grey vests), and though it pains me to admit it they’ve been doing a decent job at reaching out to protest organisers in recent months.

Which brings me to rival factions among protesters. Once again my regulars know what I think of socialists and peace advocates spreading Kremlin propaganda, for example; there’s no way in Hell I could bring myself to ally with them. Which doesn’t mean I haven’t aligned with them, however. I’m on friendly terms with some of them. I’ve shaken hands with them. I’ve welcomed them at events—even as I kept them away from the microphone. And I’ve complimented a few for their speeches, as long as they stayed on message. Frankly, as long as they don’t show up at a rally for Ukraine, I see no point in antagonising them, even though some overtly embrace historical figures that have caused the deaths of millions and whose ideologies threaten millions more.

You ask why I would even think such a thing? Honestly, I never completely agree with any of the people I join with and advocate for. Yes, that means you. When I go out there documenting, volunteering for, and even organising protests, I seek allies for common causes, not friends. I side with people I’ve fought in the past, and fight people I’ve sided with in the past. So I make an effort to understand the people I interact with, careful not to unduly offend even those I feel strongly about. Because I know that whenever we squabble among ourselves, our enemies win by default.