EDITORIAL – Statues and burning churches – ‘we must walk together’
(Image: Pixabay.com)
An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.
INDIGENOUS LEADERS on southern Vancouver Island are calling for unity and an end to violence and vandalism committed in the name of cultural justice.
They’re concerned about mistreatment of indigenous people but also about attacks on statues and the burning of churches.
Their signed declaration follows the destruction of a statue of Capt. James Cook in Victoria and the burning of a totem pole in suspected retaliation, and is a wonderfully articulate rejection of the eye-for-an-eye response to racism.
Contrast their plea for peace with a tweet from B.C. Civil Liberties executive director Harsha Walia in reaction to the burning of several Catholic churches. “Burn it all down,” she said.
Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
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