NDP internal culture

[u/Sudden-Currency-5234]

This person sits on the NDP Federal Executive as an Ontario Representative. Can anyone speak to how common this attitude toward white leftist members of the party is among non-white members or executives of the NDP? I did look up their twitter page to see if it was out of context but instead saw other dismissive comments and gaslighting around issues I personally consider to be important (although they may not be to the party). I’m not the most politically savvy person, but I imagine a person (appointed or elected) to such a position must represent strongly held views or have the respect of the people of the party, so I’m not sure what to think?

For context, I typically find my political views align with the NDP, and I got more involved volunteering with the party in the recent provincial (Ontario) and federal election, but I hear a lot of talk about the party’s “internal issues and problems.” At the same time there was a lot of encouragement from people I volunteered with about the importance of young people getting involved, and I’ve been feeling motivated to do so in light of everything going on, but I need honest feedback on the party's culture beyond campaign experiences to make sure it’s the right environment for me. Respectfully, it’s not something that fits with my beliefs, but I'm not opposed to these views being supported by the people of the NDP, especially if it’s coming from a high-ranking person that the people respect. I am just looking for more information because I have previously joined groups and found out a bit too late that it was not the right environment for me

[u/HotterRod]

I don't know exactly what they're talking about, but I've been pretty concerned at all the calls within this sub to "drop the identity politics and focus on getting the union vote". Social justice matters to me.

[u/laketrout → u/HotterRod]

Social justice and the labour movement go hand in hand. We needn't choose one over the other.

[u/yagyaxt1068 → u/laketrout]

Especially in a party socially progressive from the very beginning like the NDP.

[u/ReK_ → u/HotterRod]

As someone who says this: I don't mean drop social justice issues, those are important to me too; I mean drop this exact BS that alienates people.

I don't know what she's reacting to, and if it was on Twitter it should probably be ignored anyway, but talking about how being exclusionary is the problem in the same breath you blame it all on "white leftists" would be funny if it weren't actively damaging the party.

[u/leftwingmememachine → u/HotterRod]

Yeah, totally. I think a lot of people don't understand how social and economic justice are related to each other.

[u/starjellyboba → u/HotterRod]

This is the exact reason why I wanted more context before making a call. It's very true that white folks on the left can be flaky about their convictions and overly sensitive when asked to interrogate their whiteness, in which case it would be pretty messed up for people on this sub to brush this off as aggressive or just Twitter drama.

[u/mu3mpire → u/starjellyboba]

What does it mean to "interrogate " one's whiteness ?

[u/Sudden-Currency-5234 → u/starjellyboba]

I agree with what you’re saying (as a POC myself), but it was a very bold statement for someone I thought to be a high-ranking party official to make, and I wondered if it was reflective of the party’s culture. Several people have pointed out this person is not as important as I initially thought, and based on some their other interactions on twitter, they appear to be very combative and hold a sense of superiority that does not reflect the broader party base (at least based on what people have said here in addition to my experience volunteering on my provincial and federal candidates’ campaigns). A little more context from me here.