I left the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) executive debate a little early, and watched the final moments from The Charlatan’s live-stream. I saw the “commotion” many on my Facebook feed have called “deplorable,” “shameful,” and “terrifying.”
Unfortunately, I do not relate to these sentiments because I burst out laughing in the comfort of my bed, as vice-president (internal) candidate Cat Kelly shouted that she was was a “feminist.”
From what I seem to understand, the fact she is a “feminist” allowed her to publicly call candidate Kenneth Aliu a “misogynistic homophobe” for tweets he sent out at the age of 16.
Many seem to be shying away from the heart of the matter by focusing on people’s reactions to Kelly’s claim to feminism, rather than focusing on the claim itself. I urge people to reconsider and reevaluate their understandings of what they believe in, before allowing the name of valid movements such as feminism to be used as a deflective shield against valid criticism.
It is extremely important for everyone to pay attention. Kelly’s shaky claim to “feminism” was used as a way to avoid answering extremely valid questions from the public.
Feminism is not a buzzword that can be used when one is out of options. It is a philosophy, a movement, an ideology that can be explained and defended when questioned. I do not feel that is the feminism Kelly claims to be part of, but then again, there is no way for me to know how she feels.
I laughed because I now know Kelly is a “feminist” (she mentioned it three times), but I still do not know if she believes Kenneth Aliu is a misogynistic homophobe, and if she has concrete evidence to prove so.
Let’s assume her evidence is five year old tweets.
I urge everyone to ask themselves the same question about everything it is they know and champion today. How old were you when you embarked on the quest for understanding of your identity, of its relationship to the world, and relationship to other identities and perspectives? When was the exact moment you became aware of your own ignorance to the workings of this world—within the realm of identities, and when did you consciously dedicate yourself to the noble quest towards truth and understanding? When did you begin making consciously dedicated strides towards growth and openness?
Once everyone answers these questions honestly, we will have a much more truthful debate about whether tweets sent out at 16 years-old constitute as strong enough evidence of Kenneth Aliu’s alleged “misogynistic homophobia”—who is now a fourth-year university student running as a CUSA executive candidate.
University is a place for growth. To make people slaves to their youthful ignorance is against the space’s commitment to pushing us towards our constant pursuit of knowledge. And to wrongfully claim you are doing so in the name of feminism is unsubstantiated and cowardly.
So yes, Cat Kelly claims to be feminist, but that still does not answer the question of whether she has evidence that a candidate is a misogynistic homophobe. The people asked because they believed the tweets were not enough.
And as long as the question remains unanswered, I will keep laughing.
