My favourite pieces from 2017
1. When Racist Trolling Becomes Real-World Violence for The Walrus on Feb. 3
https://thewalrus.ca/when-racist-trolling-becomes-real-world-violence/
I was struggling to write something else for The Walrus when I was asked to write this. This was my first article for The Walrus and it was difficult write because the Jan. 29 shooting at the Centre culturel islamique was so close to home in every way. I said many times that this tragedy was like watching a train barrel towards a crowd of people, and not being able to intervene. Linking the rise in online hate to real-life organizing is critical, if we’re collectively going to be able to stop it.
2. Re-engaging unions in the fight against fascism for rabble.ca on August 16
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/nora-loretos-blog/2017/08/re-engaging-unions-fight-against-fascism
This was one of the most important things I wrote in 2017. It formed the basis of my opening remarks at the International Labour Communicators Association remarks, and I wrote more about this for The Walrus. Four days after I wrote this, the famous rally in Quebec City happened. Man oh man, we could have used a stage, sound equipment and food donated by a union. Watch for more of this in 2018.
3. The White Supremacy Episode from Sandy and Nora Talk Politics on March 13
http://sandyandnora.blubrry.com/2017/03/13/the-white-supremacy-episode/
Sandy Hudson and I failed at creating a regular podcast. But what we produced in the first half of 2017 should have won us several Nobel prizes.
4. Billions wasted and jobs lost as Ontario’s Green Energy Strategy continues to fail for rabble.ca on July 19
Liberals love a good scheme and this post was one of those moments where every new thing I read about the Green Energy Strategy made me laugh, actually, aloud. It’s one of those stories where I wish I had coworkers to collective marvel in how corrupt and short-sighted the Ontario Liberals really are.
5. The Limits of Facebook Activism in The Walrus from June 12 https://thewalrus.ca/the-limits-of-facebook-activism/
The final version of this piece took six months of editing. By the end, I realized that there was a major problem with how I conceived activism and how my editor did, and so a big chunk of the piece was ditched. It made the piece better, though there were some holes in the analysis left that didn’t get filled. That said, I think that the role Facebook has played in destroying community is something that not enough people are contending with.
The only criticism that I got from this piece was that Twitter has created new communities, and I really regret not being more clear that I fully agree. Watching Black Twitter emerge from a gathering space of young, Black social media users a decade ago to be a powerhouse location of social action is one case in point. Twitter offers possibility where Facebook doesn’t, and I should have examined this more.
I recorded a version of this for the last episode of CBC’s The 180. On the first edit, I had removed everything that they wanted, which I thought was a very interesting comment on how far apart we were from what the most important parts of The Walrus piece was, but anyway. Here’s the link (which my parents played for my Grandmother the morning that she died, the last time she heard my voice) http://www.cbc.ca/radio/the180/weed-reviews-hypnosis-and-medicine-and-gord-downie-needs-to-step-out-of-the-indigenous-spotlight-1.4171996/facebook-activism-isn-t-real-activism-1.4163053
6. The Context Ignored by Journalists At Quebec City’s Anti-racist Protests for my Medium blog, August 21
This was the article that made me leave behind my rabble blog. Things at rabble got a bit weird this year for me and accusations that some people were leveling against my integrity were enough. After blogging for rabble for 5 years, I left. Initially, it wasn’t my intention to fully leave their platform but as things spun out with an organizing drive for the Canadian Freelance Union, it was clear that it was time for me to stop giving them so much free content and labour. The end.
The August 20 rally was immediately reported as being a defeat for the anti-racist left, but none of the analyses reflected what I had seen in the streets that day. I wrote this quickly to add my own perspective on the events of August 20. Canadaland asked for a version of this, which I agreed to. It ended up being too cold by the time it was finally published, so I’m not ultra proud of it.
7. CBC Opinions is a right-winger’s dream for my Medium blog on Nov. 7
https://medium.com/@noraloreto/cbc-opinions-is-a-right-wingers-dream-6856d41fa7ef
This article got the most attention of anything I wrote in 2017. I saw a hole in CBC’s coverage and wrote about it. I didn’t anticipate that the hole was actually a flesh wound and my article, a bucket of vinegar poured into it. Since I published it, folks at CBC who initially reached out to me asking how to improve the feature never followed up. Feature publisher Robyn Urback’s claim that my numbers were wrong has never been corrected or corroborated. CBC Opinions has published more shit. And so it goes.
8. Sexism: Niki Ashton’s toughest opponent in #ndpldr for my Medium blog on Sept. 27
https://medium.com/@noraloreto/sexism-niki-ashtons-toughest-opponent-in-ndpldr-5edde1ee1910
When I saw Niki in Quebec City during her campaign, she told me that she was pregnant. It hadn’t been announced yet. I asked her if it was twins because as the mother of twins, it’s what I ask. She said no and I went on and on about how lucky she was to not be expecting twins. Ah ha ha did I find this funny when she announced it was twins!
My critiques of the NDP leadership race based on gender earned me major wrath from NDP insiders. I heard from a friend that someone at a party asked if I was “a crazy person” for having written this. It was part of background research for this article for This Magazine. I remain deeply critical of the NDP and hope that the party figures out how to expunge the intense bro-ness that exists. I’m not holding my breath.
9. The Quebec Liberals Have Pinned Their Election Hopes on Hate for The Walrus on Oct. 30
https://thewalrus.ca/the-quebec-liberals-have-pinned-their-election-hopes-on-hate/
When I was asked to write this, I was at Pearson about to fly to St. Louis and then to Winnipeg. Writing this … on the fly … was a challenge. When you can’t find a keyboard’s accent shortcuts, you cannot write about Quebec politics. Remember that.
I’m proud of my analysis and I think it’ll further reveal itself to be true as we march towards the next provincial election.
10. Kevin O’Leary isn’t a Canadian Trump, he’s a Conservative Pierre-Karl Péladeau for rabble.ca on Feb. 28
I had just been on The Current to confidently agree with two other guests that Kevin O’Leary is a sideshow. Later the same day, I was kicking myself for not making this comparison, though perhaps it didn’t matter. Not many Canadians know who PKP is. O’Leary, of course, flamed out as predicted. The health of the Conservative Party relative to the Parti Québécois is one reason for that — the PQ is in a fight for survival while the Conservatives narrowly chose a very safe, elfin-faced Scheer.
The most politically relevant for The Left:
Is self-determination just a buzzword for the Canadian left? for my Medium blog on Sept. 25
https://medium.com/@noraloreto/is-self-determination-just-a-buzzword-for-the-canadian-left-bd70047edf54
The most important issue for the left is the role of the Canadian state and the continued colonial oppression of Indigenous nations and people. The system cannot be reformed, so why are so many happy enough to imagine that it can be?
