The last point that Terry made cannot be understated. This "psychotic episode" did not just arise as a failure of journalism. It was a full scale failure of our society. Journalists not only influence public sentiment, they are also a reflection of it. Same goes for politicians, judges, bureaucrats, teachers, union leaders and so on. Any journalist who properly investigated and reported this story in the summer of 2021 would lose her job and would be afraid for her personal safety. Before we embark on a full scale Spanish Inquisition of journalists, we should all look in the mirror.
The "mass graves" story is not only failure of journalism (and of our society generally) to honestly search for truth on important issues, it is just one example that has only come to light because of the combined factors of its sensational nature and the relative ease in which it may be refuted. Other important examples include the "mainstream" Covid-19 and the climate change narratives. These issues are presumably more difficult because of widespread scientific illiteracy. But, excuses aside, if we are going to truly progress as a society, we need to genuinely, honestly and robustly scrutinize all serious issues. Truth is not a destiny; it is a process.
Finally, I want to give a shout out to the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. While seemingly never given credit, they publicly questioned the "mass graves" narrative from the very beginning. And they suffered the consequences.
One of the churches burned was founded by my husband's family when they first arrived in Canada, and it was the centre of the community for over 150 years. This entire episode has set reconciliation back for decades. Nobody wants the truth, and the history of our nation has been revised to set particular narratives without any understanding or complexities of how our peoples created our country. More Terry Glavins are required not only to write the truth, but to get to know people in regular communities, who are part of the mosaic of this country.
Andrew Wakefield’s 1998 publication of false proof that vaccinations caused autism has resulted in irreparable harm to children as their parents bought his theories hook, line and sinker. Children today are needlessly becoming ill and dying because naive adults bought into his theory. It is now30 years after his publication and the anti vaccine movement has, if anything, become more widespread. I suggest that the false mass grave lie will have the same results. No matter what proof is offered to refute the lie, it will not be believed and many will cling to the worse interpretations offered. The “dig up or shut up” movement is gaining momentum and is not without merit. The lie can easily put to bed with a few excavations and I don’t understand the indigenous reluctance to do so. Their refusal is increasingly looking like what many people think it think it is - another method to extort tax payer money. This latest indigenous controversy has set back reconciliation decades and maybe has made it impossible to ever reconcile.
The last point that Terry made cannot be understated. This "psychotic episode" did not just arise as a failure of journalism. It was a full scale failure of our society. Journalists not only influence public sentiment, they are also a reflection of it. Same goes for politicians, judges, bureaucrats, teachers, union leaders and so on. Any journalist who properly investigated and reported this story in the summer of 2021 would lose her job and would be afraid for her personal safety. Before we embark on a full scale Spanish Inquisition of journalists, we should all look in the mirror.
The "mass graves" story is not only failure of journalism (and of our society generally) to honestly search for truth on important issues, it is just one example that has only come to light because of the combined factors of its sensational nature and the relative ease in which it may be refuted. Other important examples include the "mainstream" Covid-19 and the climate change narratives. These issues are presumably more difficult because of widespread scientific illiteracy. But, excuses aside, if we are going to truly progress as a society, we need to genuinely, honestly and robustly scrutinize all serious issues. Truth is not a destiny; it is a process.
Finally, I want to give a shout out to the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. While seemingly never given credit, they publicly questioned the "mass graves" narrative from the very beginning. And they suffered the consequences.
One of the churches burned was founded by my husband's family when they first arrived in Canada, and it was the centre of the community for over 150 years. This entire episode has set reconciliation back for decades. Nobody wants the truth, and the history of our nation has been revised to set particular narratives without any understanding or complexities of how our peoples created our country. More Terry Glavins are required not only to write the truth, but to get to know people in regular communities, who are part of the mosaic of this country.
Andrew Wakefield’s 1998 publication of false proof that vaccinations caused autism has resulted in irreparable harm to children as their parents bought his theories hook, line and sinker. Children today are needlessly becoming ill and dying because naive adults bought into his theory. It is now30 years after his publication and the anti vaccine movement has, if anything, become more widespread. I suggest that the false mass grave lie will have the same results. No matter what proof is offered to refute the lie, it will not be believed and many will cling to the worse interpretations offered. The “dig up or shut up” movement is gaining momentum and is not without merit. The lie can easily put to bed with a few excavations and I don’t understand the indigenous reluctance to do so. Their refusal is increasingly looking like what many people think it think it is - another method to extort tax payer money. This latest indigenous controversy has set back reconciliation decades and maybe has made it impossible to ever reconcile.