The Double Standards of Pretendians Versus Other Pretenders

Once again, the guardians of decency that filter the acceptable from the unacceptable have declared another success story to be merely a product of cultural appropriation. Evidently (according to the CBC) Canadian indigenous singer/songwriter and outspoken advocate for indigenous people, Buffy Saint Marie, is neither Canadian nor indigenous. According to Friday night's Fifth Estate report, the 82 year old has been nothing short of a grifter for the last 60 years or so.

Brace yourselves for the litany of denunciations and the taking back of awards. In the event that awards are withdrawn, we will discover that these awards had very little to do with actual accomplishments, and everything to do with DNA and appearance. I fully expect that's what will happen, and it will be sad. And it is sad.

While we are formulating our opinions about whether Ms. St. Marie was whom she purported to be, we must be very careful that these critical thinking skills don't extend to people like Dylan Mulvaney who has assured us he is a woman and has been reaping the benefits of being a woman while modeling women's underwear for Nike. This, we are told, is not a grift or any kind of appropriation at all, but an unshakable "identity" that must be respected without question. The fact that he is reportedly taking in upwards of $150,000 per instagram post is surely not relevant in this context, because obviously no human with breasts could model feminine underwear as effectively as Dylan Mulvaney.

I would also hope that this newfound skill of thinking critically would not be so bold as to encroach on the acts of one such as Lia Thomas, the mediocre male swimmer who dominated quite handily in the female category. Again, no grifter here, because as we all know, trans women are women and should be treated and respected as such. Well, according to our Prime Minister’s statement on International Women’s Day anyway.

Speaking of swimming competitions, it seems many parents in Toronto are up in arms simply because a 50 year old university professor was allowed to compete against their 14 year old daughters. Incidentally, this professor also happens to be a man. What is wrong with parents these days?

In the case of Buffy St. Marie, I'm going to reserve judgement simply because compared to all the other pretenders whom we are ordered to believe in, Ms. St. Marie seems the least harmful to me.

If the CBC article is factual (which it appears to be), then she's obviously not who she's been telling us she is. My initial reaction to this was: So what? At least no one is currently telling me that I have to believe her because if I don't I’m some kind of Buffy-phobe or something. That at least is refreshing.

In fact, what we've been hearing over the last year or two is that even questioning our indigenous people about what they believe or what their lived experience tells them is tantamount to racism. If you voice questions or concerns about the ability of ground penetrating radar to identify indigenous grave sites, you're obviously a residential school denier. Same thing if you insinuate that maybe stories passed down from indigenous knowledge keepers may not be 100% accurate. Again, who are you to question someone's lived experience?

For what it's worth, the chief of Piapot First Nation and the entire community has come out in support of Buffy, as have many others in the indigenous community.

*** begin unhinged rant ***

So many people are so tired of this shit, and I'm one of them. But it's kinda like when you come across a car wreck on the highway and there's emergency vehicles everywhere, and all you want is to be able to get home and have a beer, but you can't because you have to wait for them to clear the road, and then when they finally do, there's another one a mile down, so you turn on the radio hoping to at least hear some good music while you wait, only to find out that that car wreck you're seeing is merely a microcosm of our national situation and you can't NOT look away because it's all around you and on top of that, you can forget about that beer and just be happy to find some shitty roadside coffee so you can keep moving.

*** end rant ***

If I were a bigger BSM fan, I might feel slightly differently than I do. Or I might not. I might feel a deeper sense of betrayal, or I might just chalk it up as another human living a human life. I've never been one to put these kinds of people on pedestals on which they really have no right to be, but I'm well aware that it's a common failing.

So how do we come to terms with something that seems like such a betrayal? What do we tell the kids (assuming they even care)? In today's world of “everything is either black or white and what the hell does ‘nuance’ even mean?”, it's almost impossible not to bring that hammer down hard in immediate judgement. I'm a little surprised at how much restraint and constructive dialogue there's actually been over this story so far.

If we're going to be turning this into a teachable moment (which we probably should, if not for our kids then at least for ourselves), then what we should be realizing is that yes, saying you're someone you're not is wrong, but the reason it’s wrong is not because society or government says it’s wrong, but because the truth matters - and it should matter for everyone, not just the folks you don't like. Also if the "benefit of the doubt" is a real concept (and I believe it is), then we should also be able to apply that at our own discretion when needed - especially in a case where a person has done a lot of good.

The biggest issue here for me is not that Buffy is a grifter (seems likely), or that Lia Thomas and Dylan Mulvaney are opportunists (more than likely), but that our opinions on these matters are being fed to us by government and media through the filters of “cultural appropriation” and “diversity, equity, and inclusion”. It's only by removing these filters that we can get even a glimpse of the real story and perhaps get a little bit closer to the truth. Then we can decide for ourselves the value of the judgement, or if judgement is even required.

In this case, the CBC story is only the evidence. The judgement and the sentence is what will be meted out by her many fans. Let's hope they can do it wisely.

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