On Feb. 3, 2020, the federal government added four right-wing extremist groups to the country’s list of terrorist organizations. The Proud Boys, a neo-fascist, all-male white nationalist organization was one of the four most recently added to the Criminal Code of Canada’s list of terrorist entities.
The Proud Boys gained notoriety in the U.S. following the nod they received from former president Donald Trump during the first presidential debate of 2020. Members of the group also participated in the storming of Capitol Hill on Jan. 6.
Not only is Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes Canadian, he is a Carleton alumnus. He was also a Charlatan contributor.
It is rare the Charlatan writes editorials about itself. The editorial section normally is a place for our editors to comment on issues or events which affect the student body.
However, after receiving a message from a former student on social media alerting us to the Charlatan’s connection to McInnes—and thus the terrorist organization he founded, albeit has distanced himself from in recent years—we decided we should publicly acknowledge this connection, and reflect more profoundly on what this means for the Carleton community.
McInnes was never a member of staff at the Charlatan, though he was a volunteer from at least 1991 to 1992. He occasionally contributed graphics that accompanied stories by staff and writers in print issues. Following his time at Carleton, McInnes went on to co-found Vice magazine in Montreal in 1994—yes, that Vice magazine—with co-founders Suroosh Alvi and Shane Smith. Vice magazine would eventually become today’s prominently liberal, new-media online news platform, Vice.com.
However, as all people are, McInnes was multifaceted. Acknowledging the complexity of McInnes’s character is important— not to excuse or diminish the weight of his actions, but to recognize that you don’t need to look far to find hate and extremism. He was a Carleton student, just like most of you, and a Charlatan contributor, just like us, the authors of this editorial.
It goes without saying that the fact that a Carleton student is the founder of a neo-nazi terrorist organization—one that was directly involved in an attempted coup in the U.S.—is disconcerting. McInnes likely sat in the same lecture halls as you have, ate in the same food courts as you have, and enjoyed the same views of the Rideau River as you have.
As an editorial staff, we were taken aback when we heard McInnes contributed to the same paper as we have, likely sat in the same office as we have, and probably partook in the same Charlatan traditions as we have.
Racism, white nationalism and supremacy are not always as loud and apparent as the 2017 riots in Charlottesville, Virginia. White supremacy does not always look like a white hood or a swastika tattoo. More often today, it looks like your neighbour who volunteers to plow your driveway in the winter, your professor with above-average reviews on Rate My Prof, or the guy who makes graphics for the student newspaper.
Learning this lesson now is a privilege. If the way you realized racism pervades our society is learning an alumnus of your university founded a white nationalist terrorist organization, it’s probably because you’ve had the privilege to be distanced from it.
BIPOC individuals don’t have the privilege of forgetting that racism is alive and well, as they (and in this case, us, as many of the Charlatan staff are BIPOC, as well) are forced to experience it every day—through microaggressions, systemic barriers, and violence. We believe it’s important to take this opportunity to acknowledge what is a fact of everyday life for some, and something that requires remembering for others.
The next time you read about an affirmative action program or building being renamed at Carleton, think about each time you’ve passed by the Gandhi statue on Carleton’s campus, or each time you’ve looked at the mostly-white membership page for the Board of Governors. Racism is not always loud—microaggressions and systemic inequalities prevail despite efforts made to curb them.
Where McInnes garnered his penchant for white nationalism is unclear, but failing to acknowledge that he is part of Carleton’s legacy is an injustice to members of the Carleton community, and BIPOC movements. Acknowledging our school’s history is an essential step towards mediating Carleton’s role in the barriers put up by racism and white supremacy. While McInnes and the Proud Boys are already prominent subjects within the media, attempts at examining what their prominence means for BIPOC individuals and our country are seldom made. However, it is the examinations of people and actions we might rather cast aside in shame that lead action.
“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist. We must be anti-racist,” said civil rights activist Angela Davis.
Carleton is no exception. We can be shocked, hurt and disgusted at the fact that McInnes is a Carleton and Charlatan alumnus, but we cannot receive this news in a state of disbelief.
If you are in a position of privilege, don’t ask yourself how such hatred could have existed here. Instead ask yourself: “What can I do to ensure this hatred doesn’t prevail?”
That would be much more productive.
Featured graphic by Pascale Malenfant.
