PINDER: The woke are having a nightmare

Early in his 60 year career, Bob Dylan, one of the world's greatest songwriters, wrote “The Times, They Are A-Changin.” Capturing, and perhaps influencing the mood, it became an anthem for a generation. Change isn’t necessarily positive. In recent decades, slowly and then rapidly, the culture of North America and beyond, has descended into a progressive wasteland of self-serving, often racist, and increasingly nasty intolerance. Universities, corporations, and governments have initiated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) plans that exclude those arbitrarily deemed favoured, often characterized as settlers and colonialists..ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) policies are demanded by pension funds and other investment entities, requiring corporations to become spear carriers for their social values. The Toronto-based Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) is a leader in advancing those values through courses and seminars. Our self-important masters travel to Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, or the annual COP conflabs, in their private jets, only to direct we lesser people not to consume fossil fuels. Short-term weather volatility has required the fearmongers to pivot the narrative from global warming to a climate change crisis. This is a back door pathway to discredited socialism — more government and taxes, global governance led by the United Nations, and the requisite loss of personal freedom.The crescendo, for me, was the President of my alma matter, Harvard University, along with two other Ivy League Presidents, displaying their antisemitism, under oath in a House Committee, with clearly coached weasel words, for all the world to see and hear. An obvious DEI selection, the black female, named president despite disturbing evidence of repeated past plagiarism, resigned. Further belated reaction was validated by a US Supreme Court decision in June 2023 finding “it unconstitutional to consider race in university admissions”, according to a Wall Street Journal article on June 29, 2023. This eliminates “the principal tool the nation’s most selective schools have used to diversity their campuses”.The University of Michigan recently fired its lead administrator with the DEI office for antisemitic remarks. An interesting dynamic disrupts the trend as self-destructive tension between deemed minorities competing for DEI preferences — blacks versus previously underrepresented Asians and feminists versus transgender groups, for example.The outburst of antisemitism in Canada is shocking, a direct outcome of Justin Trudeau’s immigration debacle. In the first week after his election in 2015, in a New York Times interview, he imagined Canada as “a country with no core identity, no mainstream…the first post national state”.A few years later, reacting to Trump’s Muslim ban, Trudeau tweeted “to those fleeing persecution, terror, and war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith”. Canada now has 1.8 million Muslims, and according to StatsCan, as reported by Terry Glavin in recent Free Press article, “70% of religiously motivated hate incidents” last year targeted Jewish people or organisations, “up 670% in 2024.”Coincidence or inevitable outcome?Justin’s imagination has not considered the intolerance of women, gays, and other minorities in many Muslim countries. Canada is increasingly vague in defending the only democracy in the Middle East and attenuating the violence and intimidation at home targeting the Jewish minority.Dylan’s theme persists as 'woke has gone too far.'Republican states in the US are litigating against and dropping pension fund and other money managers with green/ DEI/ ESG social engineering priorities. Charismatic and courageous crusaders like Jordan Peterson are standing up to regulators to the loud applause of global followers. Required (with judicial support) to undertake remedial education, the professional association has yet to find anyone willing to confront this brilliant, courageous, and popular regulatory rebel.Corporations are successfully pushing back against ESG — Exxon for example, just won a judgment banning an environmental group from harassment in the North Sea, also requiring the culpable defendants to donate to a charity.The clumsy Bud Lite trans commercial program cost Anheuser Busch an estimated $14 billion and growing. Paraphrasing Warren Buffet, mistakes that cause losses are understood, actions that damage reputations are not.The most influential disruptor might now be Donald Trump. The much forgotten (not by him) and condescendingly described “ordinary people” have spoken in the US, portending further change.Many thought Elon Musk would implode financially after acquiring Twitter. Instead, he and his platform helped elect Trump, and will be tasked with reducing and streamlining government process. Hello Elon and Vivek, goodbye woke.The woke movement comprises a broad bundle superior, ideological, and often self-loathing initiatives. It moves freedom of choice and advancement by merit into the arbitrary hands of the woke elites, now competing internally for the spoils.Yes, the times are still “A-changin”, but fortunately back towards freedom of thought and choice, merit, generous but strategic immigration policies, the family as the foundation of our culture, and …you get the drift.The dangerous irony is that good intentions (am I being too charitable?) that evolved into the most pernicious racism, discrimination and associated crime, violence, and intimidation in Canada’s recent history, may be a long term problem.On the other hand, the delicious irony is that the solution partly resides with the rogue from south of the border elected by “ordinary people.”Still, the outcome of this culture war remains unclear — Muslims (and others) against Jewish citizens, elites challenged by commoners, self-inflicted disruption versus peace, order and good government.My wish for 2025 is further political change in Canada and elsewhere towards sensible and equal treatment for everyone; and who knows, maybe another anthem from the 83-yearold gifted composer..Due to a high level of spam content being posted in our comment section below, all comments undergo manual approval by a staff member during regular business hours (Monday - Friday). 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PINDER: The woke are having a nightmare

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