Oh oh oh, I am so happy. It is Sunday and I have gained an hour in my day. That means I got up super early and got lots of stuff done.
I was just reading an article of the perpetuation of class divisions, unwittingly by the middle class activists. I think there are a lot of people who try to do good, but by taking the role of 'care-giver' are taking the voices of people who are not stupid, who have opinions and can talk for themselves. Yes, there are major obstacles for some to be able to speak for themselves, but instead of speaking for these people, we should try to remove the obstacles. Most movements are trying to accomplish this, but indeed fall into the trap of being a 'care-giver' until they feel the said people can accomplish this on their own, but it becomes unclear to them that this has happened/is going to happen/doesn't need to happen.
Working with First Nations makes me feel guilty. I feel I am in a role that I do not need to be in and imposing more colonialism on them, but they did offer me the job and I did take it. We had a meeting the other day where some staff members we very vocal about the community parents sending their children with a bag lunch to some school event. "They don't need the school to do that. They can do that. They need to take control." This was a small way to put the parents back into control for their own children's life, by making sure they had a lunch, instead of thinking the 'colonialist' school is going to provide.
I continue to think about my role here at my job, perpetuating colonialism in my own way, and hating it.