What is the Focus of our Indignation?

We went for a drive around the city this past warm weekend and stopped at a electronics repair shop to get a cell phone battery replaced.  Thankfully, this was considered an essential business!

Victoria Park is in the centre of the city and a large statue of Queen Victoria presides over the entrance to the park. Someone had written chalk messages all around the base of the statue asking for justice concerning the treatment of Indigenous children in residential schools. The recent discovery of the remains of 215 children in unmarked graves at a school in Kamloops BC brought the topic to the forefront again in Canada and around the world. I have previously mentioned the free course from the University of Alberta that is offered on Coursera called Indigenous Canada. It is a well presented, eye-opening history of Indigenous and Settler relations in Canada over the past 400 years. It is unfortunate that so much abuse occurred in both Protestant and Catholic church-run facilities. Reconciliation is needed! 

We noticed another protest the same afternoon where hundreds of people met in a town square to protest COVID-19 lockdowns as well as the government mandated use of face masks. I couldn't help but notice that the mask-less crowd was made up of at least 99.5% white, middle class people, many of them professing Christians. A local ice cream business posted today in response to the abuse that a few people from this protest heaped on employees who insisted that masks be worn in the tiny store.

We live in an age of indignation. The temptation to email or post a harsh comment or opinion on a topic we feel strongly about can be hard to resist. It is easier to voice our personal opinion than it is to thoughtfully listen to the views of others. I noticed differences in the two protests we saw this weekend. 

The people at the anti-lockdown rally were offended about perceived threats to their own freedoms and rights. From the placards on display, it was apparent that they were comparing the lockdowns to the loss of rights and freedoms in communist countries. Their protest was personal, self-centred and did not consider the burden that COVID-19 has brought on our public health care system, the risks that are taken by health care workers in all sectors, nor the disproportionate rate of infection in ethnic communities in our province. 

The benevolent, handwritten protest around the statue of Queen Victoria focused on an injustice that was not personal, but centred on years of mistreatment of a vulnerable minority in Canada. Historical and current protests that champion the rights of the marginalized, poor and vulnerable people in society have resulted in meaningful change and awareness of inequities. There is still work to be done.

There was a tragic attack on a Muslim family this week in a nearby city. Tonight there are a number of vigils being held to honour the victims and to bring attention to Islamophobia that is sadly too prevalent across Canada and in other parts of the world. We need to take a stand against injustice, particularly injustice towards those who do not have a strong voice to speak alone.  

Is the focus of our indignation self-centred and self-righteous, 

or do we advocate for justice on behalf of the needy and oppressed?