Conservative identity politics &
the "wokeness of the right"

In the National Post, Carson Jerema made this observation about the outcry over the 55-foot Hanuman statue in my hometown of Brampton:

"The solution to 'wokeness' is not a 'wokeness of the right.' Conservative identity politics are no better than left-wing identity politics."

I agree with him almost completely — except that "wokeness of the right" is an oxymoron. It's like saying "the dryness of the ocean." It can't exist.

Yet it exposes the way many conservatives are pushing leftist views and don't even realize it. For example...

If you eat lentils you're on the left, if you eat steak you're on the right.

If you smoke marijuana you're on the left, if you smoke cigars you're on the right.

If you're into Buddha you're on the left, if you're into Jesus you're on the right.

This reflects a total misunderstanding of what right and left is all about.

Left = tyranny and collectivism (AKA fascism and communism)

Right = freedom and individuality (AKA liberty and capitalism)

And, quite frankly, these industrious Hindus — who come from a country that went full-blown communist after kicking out the British — seem to understand the right better than many conservative Canadians.

The 55-foot statue of their holy primate received no money from the government. It was erected on private property, not public. They didn't lobby Hanuman into Brampton, they paid for him and the land he towers over with their own money.

They are exercising their right to pursue their individual spiritual beliefs and the right to personal property.

If that isn't "far-right" freedom and capitalism in action, then what is?

"No one should begrudge Hindus for building statues," concludes Jerema's National Post article. "Those angered that their heroes and symbols have been removed from public life should respond not by attacking a minority, but by taking cues from it."

Om. Peace. Amen.

John C.A. Manley

PS Growing up in Brampton, I actually knew an Indian family who erected a large statue on their front lawn. But it wasn't of any Hindu deity. I'll tell you about it tomorrow and how it inspired a scene with the Chatterjee family in my novel, Much Ado About Corona: A Dystopian Love Story

John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona: A Dystopian Love Story, the forthcoming All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of speculative fiction. Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber at: https://blazingpinecone.com/subscribe/