Hijacking the concept of freedom

What made my head spin for a long time was the use of word “freedom” by the leaders of divisive forces. Finally, I reached this conclusion that words like freedom, democracy, choice, diversity, community, and identity take on whole new meanings in the political lingo of the populist right than they do in general sense.

The best way to preserve diversity and the worth of many human groups, in their words, is to establish pure (white) ethnic states.

For example, freedom is understood as the right to be free of failed elitist experiments in social engineering like multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion initiatives, gender equality, and a variety of other attempts to address entrenched inequalities. It isn’t the right to be free from systemic discrimination, oppressive institutions and relations that limit the participation of the racialised communities.

The Diagolon movement in Canada is an example of a far-right movement that advocates the creation of an ethic state consisting solely of white people that would stretch diagonally from Alaska to Florida. Jeremy MacKenzie, a native of Nova Scotia, a combat veteran, a member of the far-right streamer movement, and the creator of Diagolon, emerged from the “Freedom Convoy” occupation of Ottawa. Although the group’s members are quick to point out that they are not racist, their rhetoric frequently includes antisemitism, and conspiracy theory.

#Racism #supremacists