Rant Warning - What I Was Told I Cannot Say!

What a way to start a week. In all honesty, these are the videos I dislike making the most. But silence is acceptance. And here on this channel, this indigenous centered space, we don't just accept when someone oversteps. Even when instead of choosing to comment, they want to keep it hidden by emailing me. That's what happened recently and we need to talk about it. Hi everybody. My name is Sandy Boucher. I'm Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan, a proud member of Seine River First Nation in Treaty 3 Territory in Northern Ontario. And like I said, this space, my YouTube channel, is indigenous centered space. In a country that has such few spaces dedicated to the indigenous worldview, to us sharing our truth. Spaces where non indigenous people can learn without the power to inflict harm. Harm. Even though sometimes they try their best. So every now and then, well, most days I get emails and I love it. I have people that comment on my videos all the time. We got a dialogue going on. I love it, absolutely love it. I mean, it's easier if they comment right on the video, but maybe you want to email me. So be it. And sometimes they're emailing me because they want to share something personal or they want to get my opinion on something that's more of a personal variety. I totally get that. Feel free. But there's this group of people that email me because they know if they commented what they put in the email, then people would jump all over them that I would not be the only person they hear from. And I, I have zero respect for those people. I chalk that up as passive aggressive. If you're going to say something problematic, have the balls to do it publicly and then deal with the consequences. Because guess what? Free speech doesn't mean free from consequences. And they know there's going to be consequences. That's why they email me. They want to try to keep it private. They want to kind. They want to affect me and my work so that no one else knows. That's not how we play in my world. Honey. I'm sorry for the people that comment and you know, the trolls. There are trolls on the Internet. I know you're shocked, but they're there. Sometimes comments get deleted if they try to take it off on another tangent. Like they're not talking indigenous centered anymore. I'm deleting those comments. I'm sorry if it's an offensive comment. Well then I'm deleting you and blocking you from the channel. That safe space, right? Safe spenses, Safe spaces must be defined, maintained and defended I take that job seriously. But the people who email me now block to lead. You're not going to be able to email me again, that's for sure. But depending on what the comment is, sometimes you got to call it out and that means a YouTube video. And that's what we're going to talk about today. So before I explain, explain why this is so problematic. Because if you're new here, by the way, sorry that the first video you see is a rant video. This is not my natural state of being. Well, if it is, if you cross the line. But anyways, there's a lot of informational stuff on this channel. I hope you choose to stay subscribe so you get notified. We got tons of good stuff coming out today. But for those who have been around for a while, I'm like trying to take you on a journey. Like maybe when you first came on my channel, you didn't know anything about Indigenous engagement or Canadian Indigenous reconciliation. And I'm hoping over time and watching daily videos that you have learned. So what I want to do before I give my reaction, because trust me, there was one. I'm going to tell you what the email said and then you maybe pause the video and figure out, see if you can figure out why it's offensive, why I would have thought it's offensive, especially if you're non Indigenous. This is going to be that practice of hearing from the other side of the feather. Okay. Yep. For the challenge, let's make this fun. It's. It's a negative. We're going to turn this into a positive. So and I'm paraphrasing here, I didn't copy paste the flipping email. I deleted this block delete as fast as I got it. But this is pretty close to what it very short, very direct, very. I'm not going to get into my reaction yet. So all it said was and I'm going to get. I'm adding in again. Every now and then I say things like do you realize what this means to Indigenous people? Do you realize what it says to us when you say that kind of thinking? It's in response to one of those comments. I don't even know what video but what they had to say. Yes, handy dandy index card. Here's the paraphrase. Do you have any idea how offended I am as a Christian every time you use the word crucified? Give yourself a second pause the video if you need to. Let's see if you can come up with. I had like four points to make on this one. Okay, let's get into it. Why did this peeve me off so much? First and foremost, let's get real here. How much audacity do you have to have to think that for one, in 2024, that the policing of an indigenous voice by telling us what we can and cannot say as a non indigenous person is a good idea? Like how out of touch, how clueless, how missing the boat do you have to be that you would think that's a good idea? Add to that so that's, that's at its worst, like that's enough in itself. Add to it that I make it clearly known this is indigenous centered safe space. So now I'm going to take the audacity even further and I want to tell indigenous people what they can say and not say in an indigenous centered space. Back up the bus because that's not happening. Now, on the topic of using the word crucified, correct me if I'm wrong. And by the way, I was raised Roman Catholic, so Christianity, I have a concept of it. Jesus wasn't the only one crucified. In fact, during the crucifixion, were there not two other people on their crosses as well? They weren't nailed, they were tied. Like, isn't this the Easter story? So, so what, you're just going to decide that a Christian word? I can't say I can't be crucified. How presumptive of you. Now, I wanted to talk about the email, not comment. It's always the attacks. They want to keep the attack in the dark corners as whispers. Do you remember that teaching, like a few videos back, I talked about how my mom used to always say that when you see someone doing something that you would never consider doing, like they're taking an action, that just totally seems like a ridiculous choice to you, then instead of judging that person, and I mean, it's always judgment burns bridges, right? Humility builds them. Instead of judging that person, you got to ask yourself, how scared would I have to be, how overwhelmed, how lost, how terrified, how isolated, how exhausted would I have to feel for me to think that that action's a good idea? And by asking yourself that, you actually start to get a slim little, little glimpse of what it's like to walk in their shoes. My point, instead of complaining or having the audacity to say I can't use the word crucified, maybe ask yourself why I would choose to use that word. Maybe what the problem is that you're minimizing how devastating the attacks I Endure are you're thinking it's no big deal. I know the pain that these attacks inflict. And when I use the word I'm scared of being crucified because something I'm about to say, it's because I know the pain of that crucifixion. Sorry if that doesn't meet your definition. I got a feeling you're on the wrong YouTube channel. Go to a Christian chat room and I'm not even condemning you for that. If that's where you want to be. You want to be. But thinking that you have a say in what I say on my own YouTube channel was going to say something I can't say on YouTube. So let's do better. Let's stop the policing of indigenous voices if you don't like that we used a word, take the time to understand why we used it. And maybe it's to make a valid point because every one of these videos I do, I'm not putting in my time and effort to assist people if I didn't think it was important. And if I use a word it's because I think it fits nowhere. Nowhere. I never got a memo that says I can't use that word. The fact that I have to do this in flipping English because the powers that be decided my mom couldn't use her own language. Go jump. Seriously, take that opinion and run as far away from here as you can with it. Because I mean my 60th birthday is right around the corner. Do you. Do I present myself? Is someone that you can tell me what words I can and cannot use? I'm not being disrespectful. I'm not swearing at you. I'm not calling you names. Back up the bus. I hope we can all learn from this. I don't want any more emails for the non indigenous watching. Now you know the questions you got to ask yourself. Abandon the judgment. Try to figure out why the word was used or the action was taken. And for the indigenous watching, if you're in a situation where your voice is being policed, call it out like I just did. Defend your safe space. Create your safe space. And if you can't, maybe you're standing in the wrong place because a flower can't grow in soil doused in gasoline. And this channel is good soil for indigenous growth. I hope that made sense. I'm peeved that someone actually thinks they could have that they have the right to police what I say. I'm a grown ass woman. Back up the bus. I hope that made sense. I hope. I know it's. I don't try to start a week off with the rant, but safe spaces have to be defended. Silence is acceptance. And that crap I will never accept. Can I get a hell yeah? Until tomorrow. I love you. I am still here. I am still fighting the good fight because I believe in Canada. I don't believe in those people until they learn the humility lesson and back up to their side of the feather. Reconciliation will not come from non indigenous trying to tell Indigenous what they can say and do. That's how we got in this mess. I promise tomorrow is not a rant. I promise. Until tomorrow. I love you. Take care. Bye. Bye.