White supremacy

White Supremacy is "an historically based, institutionally perpetuated system of exploitation and oppression of continents, nations, and peoples of colour by white peoples and nations of the European continent, for the purpose of maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power, and privilege." - Elizabeth Martínez

White supremacy identifies the power-over present in racism. Both refer to the same problem, but the term White Supremacy gives white people a clear choice of supporting or opposing a system, rather than claiming to be anti-racist (or not) in their personal behaviour.

How is white supremacy historically based?

Every nation has an origin myth. For example, Canada suggests it began with Columbus's so-called "discovery", continued with settlement by white europeans, expanding into the rich, developed country you see today. This myth demonstrate that White Supremacy is fundamental to the existence of this country. In reality, the first stage of settler colonialism was the European seizure of the lands inhabited by Indigenous Peoples. Before the European invasion, there were between nine and eighteen million indigenous people in North America. By the end of the wars, there were about 250,000 in the so-called United States, and about 123,000 in so called Canada. Moreover, it was enslaved Africans who provided the labour that made the growth of North America possible.

White supremacy in Canada

The Freedom Convoy

Disposability discourse	Much discussion around the severity of COVID was lessened by expressing how it mainly sickens and kills elderly, chronically ill, and disabled people. This discourse suggests these groups are seen disposable.
Loosened restrictions too early	When governments loosened COVID restrictions in response to business demands, political pressure, and public impatience, rather than scientific evidence, high risk populations (the chronically ill, disabled and elderly) were subsequently told they are disposable yet again.
Working through illness	Regulations around how many sick days should be required when someone falls ill with COVID also demonstrated ableism. In relation to these regulations, and in favour of profit above health, many politicians including US President Joe Biden, praised themselves for working through COVID, instead of encouraging people to rest and recover if they'd fallen ill.
Individualism	Individuals have been encouraged to make 'personal' choices on vaccines, masks and gatherings. "There is no individual safety without collective safety and collective safety requires that no one is safe unless everyone is safe." - Mia Mingus

Police and government responses to the convoy that took place in Ottawa during a wave of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed a clear inequality gap in the way out society treats some protestors at the expense of others. The convoy was made up primarily of white settlers.

If those involved were from Indigenous, Black or other racialized groups, they would have been likely met with heavily militarized force involving massive arrest, excessive use of force, and even police-involved death. We have seen this on the frontlines of pipeline resistance when the majority of defenders are Indigenous. We can compare the way police protect predominantly white protestor groups to the way they ignore the concerns of, or violate, Indigenous, Black and POC groups.