PHOTO: SPUTNIK ARCHIVES
When the Grand River flooded Spring 2018 many communities in Brantford were in need of help.
Regardless of who the people were and what they stood for, the community came together to aid those in need.
This ability to come together warms your heart. However, not every storm will have the same effects, and they can not always be things that we can be ready for.
One particular storm that the community has fended off already once has made an appearance again.
In the downtown area of Brantford, there sits a campus of Laurier University, which has expanded as time goes on and there is an increase of students. If you look closely, you will find that there have been a number of posters hung up at our brand new YMCA.
I ask that you remain vigilant and whatever else that you may do, please refrain from contacting or aligning yourself with the organization that the posters are meant to advertise. The organization that has recently taken up residence in the city of Brantford refer to themselves as, the proud boys.
Do not be fooled by whatever cool exterior they may give off. The posters are in actuality, representing a chapter of a white supremacy hate group, a chapter of which has inserted itself in parts of the city.
In order to better understand who they are and why exactly it is, that they are here, I believe that a considerable amount of context is needed. The Southern Poverty law centre, acts as a wealth of information on many topics, the proud boys is an example of this.
Through this resource, I have found an article that was meant to explain the incredibly disturbing origins of this horrific assembling of people, that would eventually spread beyond the United states, where they were first known.
The group has been tied to extremist organizations. They have an utterly deplorable tendency to spout hate speech, which is generally targeted towards people of colour, and the various religious beliefs, that may be practised. They tend to appear alongside other groups at such gatherings as unite the right rally, that had taken place in Charlottesville Virginia.
It is vital to note that they present religions particularly Islam, in similar forms as other extremists, expressing such vile falsehoods about the faith, that they are not worth mentioning.
The organization is anti-Semitic, and is pro-nazi. Is not by any stretch of the imagination the founder of this disgusting faction happens to be Canadian. They had assembled several people who had shared their beliefs and began meeting in dive-bars in New York City.
And so, the group had been born.
It is also worth noting, that they had not officially come into the public light until 2016, the year that Trump had been able to secure his presidency, which should be an opinion piece in and of itself.
These people spew hate as though it is of monetary value. Their movement has gained traction, and that is why a chapter has made their presence known throughout Brantford. There are degrees of membership, and at one point, a man is supposed to aggressively approach others.
As a person of a visible minority, the reader can probably or at least I hope as such, imagine my complete and utter anger and dismay. I have been born and raised as a citizen of this country. Many people that I know, had emigrated here.
The very idea that such hate speech exists, not only in the country, but in the city where I live and learn, cannot be fully comprehended let alone expressed in some decent fashion.
My friends and family have been welcomed nearly everywhere we turn. It is sickening to be aware of the fact that such a group exists anywhere for that matter.
This is not the first time that they have reached out to the campus of Laurier Brantford.In November 2017 they held a rally to gain supporters on campus. Though I suppose that you cannot call it as such, as only one person had shown up from the chapter. At the time, there had been a counter protest about an issue that was not in relation to the proud boys chapter.
The heads of the two protests met a coffee shop, and the meeting had been drawn to a close, after the brantford police had been called. I believe that I may speak for the majority of both students and faculty alike, when I express my intense displeasure.
The campus of Laurier University condemns this organization, to the highest degree possible. It is not what they stand for, and I for one, find this entire concept hateful and intolerant.
Know that anyone regardless of where you come from, what you do or do not believe in, your sexual orientation, or whatever your limitations may be, you will be openly embraced here.
