Last week, at a City of Yellowknife meeting, Niels Konge compared people having to provide proof of vaccination for getting into municipal facilities to Black people not being allowed to sit at the front of buses in the United States. Eschia (take it easy, eh)!
Can you imagine? Konge basically said that asking people to prove they have been vaccinated is similar to laws that forced racial segregation. OMG.
He was referring to laws in the former Confederate States of America that forced black people to use different toilets from white people. They also had to sit at the back of the bus in the “colored area” that was clearly marked to make sure that they “knew their place.”
All I can say is that Konge leaves me SMH (shaking my head).
Councillor Shauna Morgan objected to Konge’s comparison, saying, “I think that is a really inaccurate and inappropriate comparison to make and could be profoundly disrespectful to people in groups who have historically suffered from systemic oppression.”
Morgan went on, “The experiences and concerns of people currently who are choosing to be unvaccinated is very, very, very different from historical and current cases of systemic oppression and racism, and I think it would be really unfortunate for us to confuse the two.”
Well said, Councillor Morgan. You have my vote next election. Mayor Rebecca Alty wrote on Facebook that Konge’s comparison was “completely unacceptable.”
The NWT’s Black Advocacy Coalition condemned Konge’s remarks and asked Konge to apologize to Black people and to learn about the issues that people who are not white have to face.
Apparently, Konge later sent a text to reporters in which he apologized.
He is quoted as saying, “It was not an appropriate comparison to make. I’m deeply sorry to the people that my words hurt and harmed. Moving forward, I commit to continuing to learn, improve, and be respectful in our discussions.”
Konge did same thing a month ago
Do you believe Konge? I don’t! In fact, I question whether he is worthy of representing us on City Council. You’re wondering why?
Because Konge made this disgusting comparison not even a month after he responded to a question from a Sixties Scoop survivor by comparing small business problems caused by the pandemic to the Sixties Scoop.
The Sixties Scoop was a period of time when Canada passed a series of policies through which child welfare authorities “scooped up” around 20,000 First Nation, Métis and Inuit children from their families.
The children were later adopted by white families and usually taken far away from their culture, family and friends, and communities.
Can you imagine making this comparison to a Sixties Scoop Survivor? To someone who was taken from his community, denied his culture and raised as a white kid with brown skin? Truly uncool.
My wife is a Residential School Survivor, and when I told her about Niels Konge’s scandalous comparisons, she was disgusted by his remarks.
Francis E. Kendall defines white privilege as white people “having greater access to power and resources than people of color [in the same situation] do.”
We discussed how Konge’ remarks are prime examples of white privilege thinking. He was making their business sorrows equivalent to the sufferings that people of color have experienced. And there is no comparison.
Alderman Konge, you cannot minimize the atrocities that Indigenous 60’s Scoop Survivors have endured to the level of businesses being affected by the pandemic. Sixties Scoop Survivors had no power over where they were being taken.
My wife and I are small business owners and our revenue stream was greatly affected due to the pandemic, but the government provided many incentives for individuals and businesses.
So, is Alderman Konge fit to be on city council?
