Double Feature, Single Reel

Yesterday, the CBC, our national television network, gave us a pair of goodies. First, I learned of our Government's formal apology for the nightmare that was the Residential School Program, calling it "a sad chapter in our history (today, I find this... oops). Later that day, its investigative program, The Fifth Estate, set its crosshairs on gang violence and the trafficking of "illegal" firearms. Perhaps you're wondering why I have juxtaposed these two seemingly unrelated stories. Upon first glance, the only thing they share is the network on which they were broadcast, but if you see them for what they are, you will recognize them as two strands woven into the same fabric.

First, my thoughts on the former. I would like to believe this to be a sincere gesture on behalf of our Government, I really would. I firmly believe, by acknowledging our transgressions, the healing process can commence, and want very much to applaud our elected officials for undertaking the primary step towards this goal; as you may have guessed, I'm not quite ready to do so, for something tells me this is but another in the lengthy string of illusions by our masters of the sleight of hand, another tactic in the political repertoire that can be deployed come election time, another badge the Government can pin to its coat for the country to see. My intention is not to kick sand in the faces of our esteemed Members of Parliament - far from it! My hope, rather, is to test the sincerity of this apology, to see whether or not it means anything, or if it will end up lost in the archives of empty rhetoric. I imagine they're hoping no one remembers their rejection of the United Nations Declaration of Aboriginal Rights, one of only four nations to do so; Australia, New Zealand and the United States being the others. (!) If atonement for its sins is what our Government seeks, it is not off to a pleasant start. Perhaps it should get cracking on that myriad of land claims. Perhaps it should a revision of our Canadian history texts issued to schools across the country, in which our colonizing this land and subjugating its inhabitants is painted with one convenient broad stroke. Perhaps it should actively seek to improve the squalid conditions in which most First Nations folk live.

On to the second half of our double feature: the CBC's portrayal of this supposed pandemic of gang violence that has the nation in its throes. While The Fifth Estate ought to be commended on highlighting how easy it is to acquire firearms in the United States, I'm afraid it misses the mark - my use of this pun was purely coincidental, unless you subscribe to the theory of parapraxis, in which case, watch me pat myself on the pack for such a clever idiom - when trying to capture the big picture. For instance, while so much attention was directed towards "illegal" gun trafficking, not a single mention was made of the world's largest gun runners, who just so happen to hold permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council; not so much as a whisper of the dealings of the likes of Lockheed Martin, Kellogg Brown & Root, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman or the like, manufacturers of the largest armaments the likes of which we'll ever see (until they develop even larger toys, that is). Can you really blame the underworld for trying to make a buck?

So, how do these two stories connect? Well, for starters, they feature two marginalized elements in our merry society, who, for generations, have been forced to play catch-up to their White counterparts whose hands grasp the string from which the proverbial carrot dangles; who thrived until the coming of the White Man. Furthermore, these stories reflect the violent current shaping our glorious civilization: the wanton slaughter and subjugation of people the world over by our hands has now manifested itself in our own backyard. More importantly, perhaps, these events, particularly the manner in which they are portrayed, reflect our denial of what is: in the case of the former, I suspect it to be a case of "We said we're sorry. Now will you please let it go?"; in the latter, an outright refusal to acknowledge the connection between "gang violence" and the wars we fight abroad, and the torrid flow of capital driving both.

We ordered our children to kill one another when we arrived on this continent, we order our children to kill one another when we send them overseas, yet we act surprised when they do the same in our streets, and try so desperately to contain the problem by throwing even more muscle at it. I'm afraid the septic tank is full; it's time to start accepting the mess we've made.