sticking with the ndp

a few years ago i had a disagreement with the ndp over their stance on the second durban conference (the letter i wrote can be found here). i vocalised my concerns to jack layton and he called me on the phone to talk about it. we chatted for 20 minutes. we asked questions of each other and had an intense, yet fruitful, exchange. jack thanked me for the conversation. a few months later, after much inter-party debate, the ndp changed their position. i say this now because i want to highlight that i believe jack layton to be a thoughtful politician that reflects on, and sometimes changes, his decisions - a true sign of leadership. moreover, the party's history and current platform reflect many of my hopes for canada - they are anti-war, pro-universal health care, and committed to working towards better environmental policies. their entire platform is available online.

although some of us may long for other possibilities (i.e., more candidate options, different voting systems, or consensus-based revolutions that do not rely on electoral politics, nation-states, or parties at all), the reality is that this election is going to happen. moreover, it is going to have consequences for us. this is not a declaration of defeat. some may be concerned that investing hope or time in elections means siphoning energy that is better placed in autonomous organising at a distance from the state. these folks would rather see us create our own conditions of existence, imagine alternatives to equating sporadic ballot-casting with democracy, and rid ourselves of the hegemony of liberal-democratic state apparati that often violate us as much as they assist us. and i say, right on. i have said these things myself in other places.

however, voting in this election does not preclude the potential to realise these possibilities in the future. but we cannot yet abandon the state-structure as it continues to dominate our daily lives and political imaginations. it is not yet possible to think about broad-based political change without parties and without elections. and i do not think that simply ignoring the process (i.e., the election) will necessarily help in shifting our imaginations away from state-based politics. we are not ready. and so i am not advocating that we abandon these aspirations but that we recognise that, like it or not, one, or some combination of these parties, is going to have a lot of money and decision-making power in its hands for the next four years. i think that if we can ensure that the ndp is a major player in this configuration, we can expect to see a government that reflects the type of leadership and soft-left policies mentioned above. it is not revolutionary, and it certainly does not constitute the climax of our political demands or our imaginative capacities. our energy will not be drained because our energy has endless potential. rather, with an ndp (or ndp imbued) government, we will continue to think, and act, and organise as before, and we can hope that the only left-of-centre mainstream political party in canada can animate the background, legislating in favour of affordable housing, pensions, and the minimum wage while we continue to think and realise other possibilities. while conservative regimes are drafting up and implementing draconian austerity measures in the uk, portugal, italy, ireland, australia, and elsewhere, cracking down on public protest and ramping up cuts to public services, canada has the chance to do something different.

in short, on may 2, and in the words of stumpin' tom, i'm sticking with the NDP.

durban revisited

It has recently been brought to my attention that my name has risen to blogosphere-fame after an article appeared in the Jewish Tribune on September 3, 2008 written by Brian Henry claiming that I see Israel as "Satan incarnate" and hope that the next Durban conference on Anti-Racism will be an "antisemitic circus." This article comes as a result of a letter I wrote to Mr. Jack Layton, leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), on March 5, 2008, as a former federal candidate for the riding of Scarborough-Agincourt. In the letter I criticize the party for supporting Harper's decision to boycott the Conference on Anti-Racism, and ask Jack to reconsider the party's stance especially given what was at the time, a severe escalation of violent Israeli-lead attacks in Palestine.

Reducing my letter, which includes criticism of Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai's well documented threat of a "holocaust" of Palestinians if they didn't surrender to Israeli force, and the apartheid wall which was deemed by the International Court of Justice to be illegal and ordered to be removed in 2004 (and yet, has remained and grown larger), to an anti-Semitic tirade is a bit overly simplistic for my taste. Please forgive my invocation of the patriarchal and colonial hierarchy which glorifies rationality, but Brian Henry's - nor his blog-ocessors' - accounts of my stance seem like the kind of well thought out, sophisticated discussion of racism that I would like to be engaging with. However, as a result of this article there have been a plethora of other postings, mostly made by right wing ideologues who try to pass themselves off as objective and neutral reporters (if calling Iran and Syria "luminaries of repression" as if that is a self-evident fact doesn't count as ideological coercion, I'm not sure what does), that assert that my ruminations on Durban have landed me a seat on the party curb. In other words, it has been falsely asserted that I was "fired," "let go," and otherwise "dumped" for vocalizing my thoughts on the NDP's position on Durban.

All of these claims are incorrect. In response, I would like to say three things.

First of all, I would like to state for the record that I approached the party to let them know that I had to, unfortunately, back down from my position in Scarborough as I was starting a PhD in England in September 2008 and could no longer serve as a potential candidate. The party supported my decision and has since successfully replaced me with a fantastic local candidate - Simon A. Dougherty. Simon will be a great force in Agincourt fighting for social and environmental justice in the face of 20 years of the Liberal status-quo...which has proven to be less than adequate for many in Scarborough.

Secondly, regardless of who the candidate is, the party's stance has been made clear. On May 28, 2008, the New Democrats' Advocate for Multiculturalism and Human Rights, Wayne Marston, addressed a letter to Jason Kenney, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Identity), urging the Canadian government to reconsider their decision to boycott the Conference on Anti-Racism. In the letter Mr. Marston makes the astute point that "Canada should participate constructively" to "battle against discrimination in all its forms", which includes not only denouncing anti-Semitism, but also ensuring that the conference itself is hate free. They have taken proactive steps to address what some perceive to have been the problems with the first conference. Instead of boycotting the event and foregoing all international discussion on racism, the New Democrats have been working with Louise Arbour, the United Nations' High Commissioner for Human Rights and other conference organizers to ensure that Durban II provides productive discussion for all who choose to attend. The New Democrats should be applauded for their committment to engaging in important global discussions on racism and violence as well as internal debate over their own policies and issues. Indeed, in response to my letter, Mr. Layton called me to discuss the issue and my concerns at length. That is the type of democratic leadership that I support, whether as a candidate or otherwise.

Lastly, it is too bad that the real heart of the matter - the ongoing practices of racism which are entangled with colonial and imperial projects of which both Israel and Canada are so deeply inculcated - are further decentered by this kind of useless mudslinging. My hope in writing the original letter to Mr. Layton was to raise awareness of the lives of Palestinians who are increasingly subject to violent practices of segregation, implemented and maintained by a powerful military force, and to consider the ways in which Canada is also implicated through global markets, international relations, and our own ongoing project of colonialism. It is disappointing to think that the entire discussion - at least among Brian Henry and his blogophiles - has turned to an oversimplified, defensive reaction that, much like the practice of boycotting Durban II, comes off as a sad and unfortunate plugging of the ears.