Some of us remember a time when people used the “N” word. Today everyone understands it to be a racial slur. Respectful people don’t use it. If you do, you run the risk of being suspended, fired or worse. Just ask Wendy Mesley of the C.B.C. who retired early because she referenced the word during a meeting. She didn’t call anyone the N word mind you, she just mentioned it. Using the N word can end your career and your personal and professional life. Now a different word has taken its place: the R word.

A New Linguistic Bomb

I’m talking about the word “Racist.”  It’s not like the N word. If you use the N word to describe someone you are finished. With the R word it works in reverse. If someone uses it to describe you, then YOU are finished. The power of that one word: “Racist” is amazing. It’s a linguist nuclear bomb. The progressive left knows this. That is why they are using it to silence their opponents, but why does it have so much power?

The Power of Language

I talked about this in a previous post entitled “The Joy of Labelling” ( Feb. 21st 2021 www.freedomdefence.ca ) Words have power. They change your way of looking at things. The western world is going through a disastrous cultural revolution, one much like the Chinese cultural version of 50 years ago. Like the original Cultural Revolution, we have “Red Guards” who use cancel culture and language to achieve their goals. Different situation, same tactics, and that is why radical leftists and progressives want to change the names of universities, schools, roads, buildings and holidays. They even want to change the names of provinces. They know that language is a powerful weapon, and the most potent language weapon of all is the word “Racist.” 

Shamed into Silence

It’s everywhere. You can get called a racist for doing nothing at all, just for existing. So how did this happen? Weaponizing the word “racist” has many sources, but the most recent is the Black Lives Matter movement. BLM has its origins in earlier left wing movements. Its greatest achievement has been weaponizing the word “racist, ” and that is an unparalleled coup. The concept that “Black Lives Matter” (something everyone would agree with) is separate from the organization Black Lives Matter International, a self admitted radical Marxist group. BLM was successful in using the term “racist” to silence their opponents, and now it is being used in society at large to shame people, end discussions and terminate careers. In Canada one of the best exponents of the R word is our own prime minister Justin Trudeau, who has, among other insults, constantly described Canadians as a nation as racists.

The Soiled Mantle 

Once people are called a racist they lapse into silence. The word defeats them. People fear being called a racist more than anything else because it can result in job loss, life change, disgrace, and even physical harm. Few are willing to stand up to that. It takes courage to resist the mob. That is why so few people now defend traditional Canada or its values. There has been some pushback recently, but too few defend European culture and few indeed defy the race baiters always use the R word to silence others. They just put on the soiled mantle of shame and shut up. That’s how powerful the R word is.

You’re Not a Racist

Don’t worry.  You’re not a racist. Genuine racists are rare, and racism has been on the decline for decades. The vast majority of people are fair minded. For them the issue of race is largely irrelevant. But that same majority has been out manoeuvred. The progressive left has distorted our societal values by looking at everything through the lens of race. If you don’t measure up to their woke ideological framework you are, of course, a “racist,” and if they don’t like you they can shut you up by using the R word. 

False Arguments, False Narratives and Bullying

There are many ways the progressive left have succeeded in silencing people, not just the R word. Another way is to create a new structure of legitimacy. What do I mean by that? I mean they create new references and authorities. For example, they laud books like DiAngelo’s White Fragility and Ibrahim Kendi’s How To Be an Anti Racist, raising them to cult status and then inject their ideology into schools, universities, government and the military. In addition to this they continually spread false narratives. One of the most telling of these is the idea that Canada and the United States are despicable nations, racist “hell zones” that need to be cleaned up and rebuilt. According to this narrative, nothing about us is good and nothing ever was. You know this is untrue, but if the narrative is spread often enough people begin to believe it. Calling people “racists” is just one part of that effort, and  part of the cultural bullying now taking place in North America.

Don’t Buy in

We encourage you not to buy in. The “R word” narrative is false, and it is more important than ever that you don’t buy into it especially now that  it is being used to divide us on every level.  You know you’re not a racist, so don’t let anyone tag you as one. You, and the country you love,  are worth much more than that.