More than ever in my lifetime, the hallmarks of dangerous social turns are all around us. While we here at CIFRS and our friends working in other institutes and institutions have been writing extensively about the rise of the far-right over the past many years, today we are in a landscape of such potential calamity that it is difficult for me to parse out in a reasonable way. As Canadians, we are so tied to, and influenced by, our neighbours to the south that to not understand what is happening there as coming for us would be irresponsible. It is coming, with its Nazi salutes and erasure of diversity, its roundup of the “unworthy” and the pandering to the broligarchy. It is coming.
This is not a piece that details all the bad things that have happened and continue to happen (that is everywhere right now), or an addendum to all of the work that has been produced over the last few months post-election in the US detailing the histories of oppression that culminate in today (no-one should be surprised), but rather a call to you, and to us, that continued silence or quiet resistance to these forces is no longer acceptable. We act now, or we may never get the chance.
At their core, the thoughts that bring me to write this piece are mostly directed at us here at CIFRS. While we have been hard at work on CIFRS research projects that address anti-SOGI (sexual orientation and gender identity) content in rural Canadian spaces, and the impacts of violent misogyny on Canadian teachers, as well as the personal projects of each of our fellows, we have let our public engagement through this space slip. We are active on Bluesky and other social media spaces through our CIFRS and personal accounts, but our writing in this kind of long-form has been lacking. If this is the only way you engage with us, then we have been silent, and this is not a time to be silent. I am, and we are, hoping to change that. I think we can do better. For those of us in academe, it is possible that this becomes an important outlet.
As an academic, especially one who studies the far-right and its denizens, I am troubled by the ways that research in the US has been immediately curtailed by the new administration, and while I don’t believe that the same thing could happen here, it does not mean that we are free of danger (although we did see significant limitations in Canada for government-funded research under the Harper government – a government where the current leader of the conservative party served happily – we can’t forget the rock snot folks). Regardless, and with the importance of academic dissemination notwithstanding, most people would rather read a blog than an academic journal article anyway.
It is my hope that in the coming months, as we move further into a deeply impactful second Trump term in the US and head into a federal election here in Canada that this blog is re-invigorated with content – reflections from our fellows about what is happening in the world and why the work we do matters for Canadian. I also hope that I find hope here, as at the moment that is proving a bit difficult.
Please follow us, and we hope not to disappoint.
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