Quillette editor tries to make sense of journalists’ refusal to admit they spread social panic and misinformed the nation about Residential school bodies
Beyond journalism, Kay describes what I see as a Canadian penchant for conformity. Unlike our American cousins, we are far more compliant and docile in the face of official doctrines. He suggests that within our culture conformity is informally enforced but I would argue that it has increasingly become formalized. The dissenters from flawed Covid policies know that all too well. The reflexive and rigid adoption of the residential school narrative, by media and the general population, even the face of contrary evidence, is very troubling. Rather than question authority, we label critical and objective journalists, like Terry Glavin, as heretics.
Well done, and thank you. It seems that only you and Terry Glavin have dared to touch this topic. (And when I hear of ppl commenting that it’s sad or surprising that there’s a loss of trust in our institutions, well, we can point to this type of behavior.)
Grave Error, a series of well documented articles including Kay's and (cancelled) historian Frances Widdowson's significant contributions to this truth telling, edited C.P Champion and Tom Flanagan, published not by any mainstream publishing house, of course, but by True North and Dorchester Books. There seems to be an active case of ongoing historical denialism and revisionism by just about every major institution to keep this error ongoing and protected.
I read Grave Error - it's an excellent book, and one I think every Canadian should read as it presents a much more realistic, nuanced and thoroughly researched perspective on residential schools.
Canadian progressivism is a religeon with a few principles. Canada is genocidal, based on residential schools, missing graves and MMIWG. Canada is racist, based on our colonial history and current jail populations. Canada denies climate change based on our oil industry.
Our priests are the Laurentian elite: Liberal politicians, most MSM, many academics and many bureaucrats. They declare what is true. Disagreement is heresy. Heretics should be silenced. The Online Harms Bill will be the tool for silencing.
The MSM cannot correct their error about missing graves. The fact that no graves or bodies have been found doesn't mean they're wrong: priests cannot be wrong.
This isn't about getting it wrong then correcting it right. It's not about "bad" journalism, it's about "fraudulent journalism". Hacks like Rosemary Barton and anyone working at the CBC/NYT don't get paid to write the news, they get paid to create government sponsored propaganda, clickbait, and lies. No matter it causes wars--Afghanistan/Iraq/Russia-Ukraine--and mass fear and hysteria-"covid".
Jon Kay stands out on many fronts because he can. He’s an independent and not beholden to one particular tribe. For this I am really thankful. Jon has raised not only the unaccountable graves story but also the Richard Bilkszto story. The terrible Ontario school boards are also a go-to for scrutiny and Jon does that very well. And need I mention all the genderwang exposure? Thanks Jon, and to Ms. Farrow for this story.
This phenomenon can't be understood in isolation: covid lockdowns and mandates have received exactly the same treatment, as have many other progressive shibboleths. Canada today is based on the unsayable.
Excellent article. As more Canadian truth tellers become aware of what is going on, this story is going to grow. I am personally committed to holding the lying media to account.
And anyone from "the provinces" [both English usage but also literal usage in Canada] looking for a job with those "organs" has to buy in to "the truth" as defined by the leftish cult before they are hired and they must continue with "the truth" as set forth by that same cult from time to time. Or else they are never hired or de-hired as "not our kind" of person.
I think no one is owning up because it is so grotesque, at so many levels. They conjured up a collective fantasy / nightmare about dead children and luridly ran with it for months and months. People built up their careers over this. And they genuinely traumatized millions of Canadians about it, especially Indigenous Canadians who were encouraged to believe Canada had intentionally murdered lots and lots of Indigenous kids in recent memory in truly horrible ways: abuse, starvation, torture including sexual torture. Most Indigenous Canadians are not in leadership positions or cynically on the take -- they cried real tears over this. I cried real tears over it too when I first heard about it.
To then say: oh ha ha ha ha we just ran with the dead baby fantasy material cause we got to make our Very Serious Face on TV and also sometimes, ya know, got grants and stuff... it's too disgusting for anyone to admit. So they won't until they are absolutely forced to do so, which of course is a prospect they will forestall for as long as they possibly can manage.
Jim McMurty's fate would be the same today. Everyone knows he spoke the truth, that the residential schools deaths were mostly due to TB. But he would have to be fired again rather than admit to a faulty narrative. I suspect we will have to walk carefully around the issue for years to come.
Beyond journalism, Kay describes what I see as a Canadian penchant for conformity. Unlike our American cousins, we are far more compliant and docile in the face of official doctrines. He suggests that within our culture conformity is informally enforced but I would argue that it has increasingly become formalized. The dissenters from flawed Covid policies know that all too well. The reflexive and rigid adoption of the residential school narrative, by media and the general population, even the face of contrary evidence, is very troubling. Rather than question authority, we label critical and objective journalists, like Terry Glavin, as heretics.
Well done, and thank you. It seems that only you and Terry Glavin have dared to touch this topic. (And when I hear of ppl commenting that it’s sad or surprising that there’s a loss of trust in our institutions, well, we can point to this type of behavior.)
Grave Error, a series of well documented articles including Kay's and (cancelled) historian Frances Widdowson's significant contributions to this truth telling, edited C.P Champion and Tom Flanagan, published not by any mainstream publishing house, of course, but by True North and Dorchester Books. There seems to be an active case of ongoing historical denialism and revisionism by just about every major institution to keep this error ongoing and protected.
I read Grave Error - it's an excellent book, and one I think every Canadian should read as it presents a much more realistic, nuanced and thoroughly researched perspective on residential schools.
This is very much like the novel ‘1984’. Truth is whatever is officially stated, with no questions asked.
They are shoving it down the memory hole.
Canadian progressivism is a religeon with a few principles. Canada is genocidal, based on residential schools, missing graves and MMIWG. Canada is racist, based on our colonial history and current jail populations. Canada denies climate change based on our oil industry.
Our priests are the Laurentian elite: Liberal politicians, most MSM, many academics and many bureaucrats. They declare what is true. Disagreement is heresy. Heretics should be silenced. The Online Harms Bill will be the tool for silencing.
The MSM cannot correct their error about missing graves. The fact that no graves or bodies have been found doesn't mean they're wrong: priests cannot be wrong.
This isn't about getting it wrong then correcting it right. It's not about "bad" journalism, it's about "fraudulent journalism". Hacks like Rosemary Barton and anyone working at the CBC/NYT don't get paid to write the news, they get paid to create government sponsored propaganda, clickbait, and lies. No matter it causes wars--Afghanistan/Iraq/Russia-Ukraine--and mass fear and hysteria-"covid".
You are totally correct.
Jon Kay stands out on many fronts because he can. He’s an independent and not beholden to one particular tribe. For this I am really thankful. Jon has raised not only the unaccountable graves story but also the Richard Bilkszto story. The terrible Ontario school boards are also a go-to for scrutiny and Jon does that very well. And need I mention all the genderwang exposure? Thanks Jon, and to Ms. Farrow for this story.
This phenomenon can't be understood in isolation: covid lockdowns and mandates have received exactly the same treatment, as have many other progressive shibboleths. Canada today is based on the unsayable.
Excellent article. As more Canadian truth tellers become aware of what is going on, this story is going to grow. I am personally committed to holding the lying media to account.
I have emailed Ian Austin of NYTimes at least twice, asking for a correction. No response.
The groupthink at CBC is sad, indeed. Too many Toronto based York University sociology and gender studies grads working there.
And anyone from "the provinces" [both English usage but also literal usage in Canada] looking for a job with those "organs" has to buy in to "the truth" as defined by the leftish cult before they are hired and they must continue with "the truth" as set forth by that same cult from time to time. Or else they are never hired or de-hired as "not our kind" of person.
I think no one is owning up because it is so grotesque, at so many levels. They conjured up a collective fantasy / nightmare about dead children and luridly ran with it for months and months. People built up their careers over this. And they genuinely traumatized millions of Canadians about it, especially Indigenous Canadians who were encouraged to believe Canada had intentionally murdered lots and lots of Indigenous kids in recent memory in truly horrible ways: abuse, starvation, torture including sexual torture. Most Indigenous Canadians are not in leadership positions or cynically on the take -- they cried real tears over this. I cried real tears over it too when I first heard about it.
To then say: oh ha ha ha ha we just ran with the dead baby fantasy material cause we got to make our Very Serious Face on TV and also sometimes, ya know, got grants and stuff... it's too disgusting for anyone to admit. So they won't until they are absolutely forced to do so, which of course is a prospect they will forestall for as long as they possibly can manage.
The false story supports the narrative and so there is no impetus to change the story.
This is all about the narrative, in this case “canada racist bad”.
Truth has nothing to do with it.
Like Carthage, CBC must be destroyed.
Yes, exactly. It's not about truth at all; it's about the narrative that works to accomplish the goal of power and control.
Jim McMurty's fate would be the same today. Everyone knows he spoke the truth, that the residential schools deaths were mostly due to TB. But he would have to be fired again rather than admit to a faulty narrative. I suspect we will have to walk carefully around the issue for years to come.
Well said! Thank you for addressing this.
To walk back this particular story would be to cast enormous doubt on the veracity of woke progressive culture.
The self anointed can't bear to say they were dead ass wrong on this.
It never ceases to be amaze that while the normies in the centre right looks for converts, the progressive far left looks for traitors.
To deny that baby weeping tiles are not bodies is heretical.
Real rich of Quillette to complain about refusing to own up to frothing a hysteria.
Extrapolating the nature of what is a “Canadian” from not reporting an issue is humbug; self-congratulatory virtue.
If someone claims to be a journalist, be a journalist, but don’t blame “everyone else” for being sooooo conformist. Balderdash.