Chapter Listing:
#HireWheller has staying power.
1. This entire experience since late August, starting with advocacy about Energy 106 FM’s & Evanov Radio Group’s decision to hire Dave Wheeler, allowed the experience & exposure of so many systemic failures. Under ZERO circumstance, is this a “Fire Wheeler” campaign (and I don’t think most realize how it’s hardly a solution either). Still, the October 19, 2020 blow-up of “Be Kind,” which led to #HireWheller memes, reflects one of the most significant roots. I could easily suggest the “Be Kind” tweet was ground zero for firmly enabling continued online abuse, which spawned #HireWheller shortly afterward.
2. It’s innocuous enough to be nothing but words but meaningfully sufficient to ask questions. It is powerful to answer “What is #HireWheller & why does it matter to this” on any topic. #HireWheller can easily get segued to every narrative.
Look at Milt Stegall’s timeline & you will see #PaperPlates everywhere.
4. It’s short enough to be added to tweets & conversations without stealing typing room. It’s been that way for ages.
5. It’s a silly digital war game, but it’s already got meme value. To have an innocently meaningful tag that people can latch on to quickly & mindlessly allows visibility to spread with more hashtags, more attention & so on & so on & so on.
#HireWheller - What are the goals?
While it’s easy to have tunnel vision & see this as an Energy 106 FM-focused narrative, I feel an easier heartbeat to be in sync with is recognizing that non-mainstream discrimination is widely accepted, which is unacceptable. Acknowledging & responding to some acts of discrimination because society expects it for fear of penalty does not validate the same parties turning their backs to other discrimination.
It’s easier to press forward when we recognize that the situation with Energy 106 FM is not the cause but a representation of societally accepted systemic malfunctions. They are a nucleus of this experience, but this is & always has been infinitely larger than “Fire Wheeler.” It feels like the cries for “Fire Wheeler” overlooked incredibly blatant realities:
1) It’s not like Dave Wheeler simply waltzed into the studio & sat down to work. Paul Evanov made conscious decisions, Adam West & others chose to accept the conflict & they have stood behind it since.
2) Affirming to be “the strongest LGBTQ+ media allies” to an impressionable demographic is scary because their action is an accepted reflection of those who don’t know better. i.e. They are eroding the principle of allyship & abusing the naivety of the impressionable demographic to get their goals with no legitimate commitment to upholding the values they state.
That extends into our community. How do community, civic & provincial leaders not react to that? Same with social systems! To be passive while an influential corporate citizen devalues, exploits & mishandles their relationship with marginalized communities? Whole Foods got raked by parties on all platforms about their policy about poppies, didn’t they? That’s different but similar. Energy 106 FM hired a known person of conflict & told everyone in communities who have shown concern about it to STFU & to wait it out. Constitutionally, yes, that’s “fine.” That is flatly unethical & our leaders & prominent voices dropped the ball by not speaking about the consequence that gets enabled because of that decision.
Speaking of enabled, that goes to the online harassment & police. Saying “Be Kind” instead of denouncing the behaviour enabled a safe space for online harassment. The same leaders allowed that and did not address the consequences again. Police are acting as expected (i.e. it’s still not-crime-y enough).
Visibility fails because discussions don’t happen. Our community seems to not speak on it & our media prefer not to cover topics where they would have to moderate feedback. We need our community to express that visibility is expected & to hold appropriate platforms accountable for oppressing the visibility of marginalized groups.
Visibility fails because discussions don’t happen. Our community seems to not speak on it & our media prefer not to cover topics where they would have to moderate feedback. We need our community to express that visibility is expected & to hold appropriate platforms accountable for oppressing the visibility of marginalized groups.
Mayor Brian Bowman & Brian Pallister must acknowledge that our city & province failed by not holding a corporate citizen accountable for being a channel of harm to our marginalized communities. They must also address our media for not allowing those same communities to hear these stories. Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smyth must acknowledge that Winnipeg Police has been aloof & not taking requests for assistance as seriously as they deserved. Paul Evanov realized he made an error that his father would be ashamed of & he will pursue the “how to be an ally” thread in detail. Community pressure on Energy 106 FM to denounce the online abuse they enabled is also essential.
When it comes to an action plan, we first need to discover who would be willing to be leaders for each narrative & who has an inherent passion or tools or resources available for that project. Multiple people can be on numerous teams & I would like to leave it up to that project leader to handle it going forward. Please let me know how you slot in for each one. (Leader? Party member? Valuable resources?)
#HireWheller - Online Abuse
This one has the potential to be incredibly mentally & emotionally taxing.
Online abuse is a topic to draw attention to, and I received an email from AmnestyCanada that dropped a lead regarding the federal government tabling legislation about online hate. Between that & the Cyberbullying Prevention Act that @Chelsolo brought up suggests it’s good to liaise with the Politicians/Leaders team about using this experience as an example.
Regarding action, I’ve referenced my blog post as having the ability to be somewhat of a sentry. I’ve been doing my best to keep it updated about both antagonists & allies, plus any beaconing tools that some of these users allow.
Fundamentally, the core of this group are many things:
1. Not worth trying to reason. These users are deliberately ignorant at the minimum & at risk of creating violence at the maximum. There are users in that group whom I can easily say would gladly knife me at the first chance if their presentation matches their person.
2. I am beyond confident they were drawn to this by a dog whistle. Look closely at the agenda of these antagonists. They get wrapped up in a handful of narratives. Fire Jess Allen, hate The Social, dump Justin Trudeau, dump Jagmeet Singh, pro-Donald Trump, anti-masking & this. How does Energy 106 FM get special attention compared to this political riffraff? Nothing to do with Dave Wheeler’s political bias, totally not his affiliation with Manitoba First/Party, totally not the same Manitoba First/Party headed by Gary Marshall, who got dumped from Twitter for his very transphobic stance. I’m not saying this IS what happened, but you’ll have to work hard to tell me that it ISN’T what happened.
3. I’m even more confident that the nucleus of this group is a hired bunch, which means the likelihood of these being “people” is not 100% certain. There is some human influence, but the overall squad is suspect at its finest. That’s why I address them as users/accounts.
4. Dangerous. I’m not kidding when I reference the behaviour to QAnon and Pizzagate. It inspired the idea. The behaviour of the most prominent antagonists is incredibly mechanistic & systematic. They don’t jump on posts that have the potential for many “strangers” to see because these users would show their activity to people they haven’t blocked, which puts them at risk of exposure. They also stalk with likely setting up handles on private lists or simply a search saved as a link. These users have ZERO boundaries because they are out for blood. That said, they also have zero limits & this is far beyond a “Twitter thing,” which is why I don’t travel to other social media platforms. I can say with solid confidence they will follow & cause harm there too. I’m doing my best to keep a leash on them by staying in one place.
I want to remind everyone that I have a police report filed & a Canadian Human Rights Commission complaint filed. Knowing that, DO NOT INSTIGATE SHIT WITH THEM. I have explicitly told other people who were not invited to this group straight-up to fuck off & stay out of my business because every incident of instigating anything with them lessens the argument about being stalked. If they get directly provoked, “they” earn the statement of defence/retaliation. I ask that any interaction with these users gets done mindfully. I’m not saying you need to be angels, but I am saying that goading them into digital shit-flinging is a one-way ticket to a bad-Taylor-time. I appreciate that dealing with this is emotionally draining and emotionally charging, but my ONLY ask is to be conscious & mindful of the consequences. Imagine what you say ends up in a courtroom, will what you do be helping or hurting the cause? It’s incredibly possible that someday, it gets to that point, so please be aware of that.
And, to be succinct, it’s the same with the Winnipeg Police. They don’t get it. They see “a Twitter beef” on a public platform, so this is “not illegal.” Don’t say things to make it even less likely to get them to do what’s supposed to get done.
Regarding how to handle this:
1. Disrupt their stealth. That “sentry” I’ve referenced in those blog-post tables only works if it’s turned on. Accounts that aren’t blocked can use those links, screenshot the harm & call it out. “Calling it out” is also not by directly addressing the users but talking around them. If they’re in my post, for example, screenshot what’s happening, quote-tweet MY post & address it with something like, “This is hateful conduct.” “This user is a stalker because of *reason.*” and “This is ...” Back-and-forth bickering with these users is pointless. Giving them validation for their feelings fuels them. Expose their behaviour publicly, call for action, and create change. That’s all that we can do because otherwise, you’re spending your energy telling idiots they’re idiots. That doesn’t create solutions.
2. Challenge the behaviour. If you -are- going to engage, keep it solution-oriented to give to police/legal. Use phrasing to get affirmations of stalking and intentional harassment. The shitty part of the law is that insinuating behaviour isn’t enough, which is bullshit but whatever. It is what it is for now.
3. Report abusive behaviour. I already discussed that script earlier, which would help by using Twitter’s abuse form. All that banning/suspending accounts do is prompt these users to create a new one and join their friends again & the process repeats. There needs to be enough attention on them to earn IP address/phone number bans, but even that doesn’t truly address the issue. That’s Politicians/Leaders & Police/Legal territory.
4. Call out foundations who see this behaviour by being mentioned by these users but do not act on it. Look at that table & see how many times some of them have noted Winnipeg Police. Winnipeg Police know they’re an issue, and why don’t they say anything? Klinic CHC. CMHA MB and Wpg. United Way Winnipeg. Politicians. Platforms must be held accountable for fostering this activity equally as much.
Ultimately, the work needs to get put into taking the veil off. It’s exhausting & draining, but when these antagonists realize they can’t hide because we’re willing to put the work in to find them, it disrupts their game significantly.
#HireWheller - Corporate Endorsement
To gain visibility, you’ve got to talk shop & sometimes you’ve called to speak TO shops. The spirit of this narrative is to follow up with organizations that have separated their affiliation with Energy 106 FM by encouraging them to publicly express solidarity with this movement. Disagreeing with Energy 106 FM’s actions and saying “shit’s broken & it needs to get addressed” is something to turn 11. I mentioned The Tallest Poppy earlier today & the heat they got from Winnipeg Police for presenting a visible bias about Winnipeg Police, which is no different. Non-mainstream marginalization such as transphobia, non-BIPOC racism, ableism & so on is shushed far too frequently, so earning some corporate clout to gain that visibility is invaluable.
An action plan involves:
1. Create a statement to approach organizations with, phrased to say, “Hey, that stuff you denounced is still happening, but WHOA BOY, HERE’S SOME NEWS!” & “If you’re not aware, this is happening & your help is wanted.”
2. Send it & follow up shortly after if necessary.
This narrative has the potential to overlap with Energy 106 FM/Evanov Radio Group as there are target organizations to reach out to:
1. Organizations that have denounced Energy 106 FM since August. The most accessible place to start is the mega thread from September & October, and tons of businesses got sprinkled through the line and its branches. There would be HUGE gains to get an affirmation from Pride Winnipeg because I know Adam West has his eyes on being involved with Pride 2021.
2. Organizations that have stood in solidarity for similar things in the past. The Tallest Poppy is an easy example from recent times.
3. Personal affiliations. Once #HireWheller is rolling & an impactful statement gets set up, I will gladly hit up my workplace, sports leagues, and similar associations. If you own a business, the same principle holds.
4. Manitoba LGBT* Chamber of Commerce & other similar organizations locally, provincially & federally. “We ask you to stand in solidarity to combat …” doesn’t have boundaries or jurisdictions.
5. Visible business affiliates of Energy 106 FM & Evanov Radio Group, including guests & artists. What band or brand that shares values like ours is comfortable being promoted by a corporation that enabled hate-based abuse? These antagonists have amplified some businesses that are worth following up on, seeing if they’re aware of that & if they support it.
What happened to Energy 106 Advertisers? It feels like that project fell asleep. Winnipeg Kia bunged up their position recently. New partners may be unaware & engaging them to be aware of what they’re partnering with is very important. What is essential is to be consistent & persistent.
#HireWheller - Community Visibility
Our visibility needs to grow by shifting Twitter behaviour, persistence on multiple platforms, & getting this message into “real-life” conversations for this team to succeed.
Regarding Twitter behaviour, two things improve traction & conversation immediately:
1. For any posts you have that align with this campaign, please remember to include the #HireWheller hashtag. When more people see multiple people using the #HireWheller hashtag, the brand builds, the curiousity increases & the conversation grows. It also shows a team is in solidarity & doing this together instead of a myriad of independent voices with shared values.
2. Likes & retweets are fine, but an inherent flaw allows the message to get overlooked when advocating. If User A mutes User B & User C likes/retweets B’s statement, it gets muted to A even though A didn’t mute C. The workaround would be for User C to copy User B’s message & quote-tweet with the same note, which is especially valuable if it had links or media.
From personal experience, I only use Twitter & splash on Reddit or YouTube once in a while. Aside from the odd screenshot shared with me, I’ve no clue what’s happening in those other universes. We must make sure to communicate across those platforms in sync. We can have many teammates who only use Facebook or Instagram. Creating the same campaign on those platforms with the same principles increases our social media visibility. Suppose there are controversial posts by media, Winnipeg Police, Energy 106 FM/Evanov Radio Group, and additional accounts on other platforms. In that case, it is valuable to screenshot it & bring it over to Twitter, including a link to the post from the other network. Using Energy 106 FM as an example, they’ve all but disappeared on Twitter. They don’t & won’t acknowledge it, so we need to ensure our conversation reaches out to all platforms to get heard.
Aside from social media, being talked about offline is essential. Creating community visibility, so there is a conversation that drives questions such as how our city/province allowed this to be enabled, or why media doesn’t talk about it & so on, only creates more reason TO be discussed. Non-mainstream marginalization is a real thing & reminding people that, socially, we only talk about what we get told is okay to talk about & that is hardly close to “okay.”
A practical place to start is creating a statement as a printable image. We post it on all of our accounts. Demand visibility. Doing that can overlap with Community/Social Services & Journalism & Media. All social service centres & marginalized groups/organizations are easy targets to share the message with & ask for solidarity & amplification. Being a printable image is valuable as it’s easy for organizations to print it & pin it on their billboards & we can explore raising cash to do the same at a larger scale around our neighbourhoods.
Lastly, we can have one hell of a rally. March 31 is Transgender Day of Visibility, for example. There are plenty of upcoming awareness dates & as far as I can tell, there’s something for everyone in this group. I don’t have it in my skillset to organize things like that, but using March 31 as an example, I sure don’t mind going hard at demanding visibility if it gets set up. Rally *here* for an hour, rally *there* for an hour, rally *elsewhere* for an hour, all day long, so long as it is COVID-compliant. If people are good with social, have their Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok live streaming the events. Work to capture time on-air for once. But, overall, let’s make it a gee-danged EVENT & get some eyes on this campaign.
Then, we do the same thing for every day of observance that we want to put work into until the message gets finally heard that the reason for these events is not for 15 minutes of PR fame by politicians & leaders.
Most of this is an ask of everyone to participate in, please. (solidarity with sharing the message, for example.)
#HireWheller - Community/Social Services
I’ve received “it’s not our job” many times. I wish I could describe how it feels having doors from organizations you would expect to be engaged & responsible slam in your face when you ask for visibility & amplification. These organizations seem aloof & focused on their agendas, no matter how many times I have tried to explain to managers & executive directors from some locations that their platforms are critical voices to raise awareness about many of these systemic malfunctions.
They are all businesses, nothing unlike any others & they’re looking out for themselves long before they act on their stated values. At the same time, it is frustrating to see because you would expect these places to have the forward-thinking of “Oh, hey, if we stopped wrecking shit in the first place, maybe our resources wouldn’t be limited!”
But, no. These platforms don’t, or at least that’s where I’m at about it. It’s a consistent, unspoken message from multiple places that they are comfortable being bandages instead of solutions.
That needs to change. I’ve challenged organizations such as KlinicCHC, CMHA MB and Wpg & Rainbow Resource Ctr by asking how they allow themselves to be tagged & mentioned & see first-hand hateful or harassing behaviour, often to get replies like “we prefer to stay neutral” or “we only use our social media to post ….”
It doesn’t work like that. Of all the places I would expect to take a stand on *everything* that’s been happening since August, it would be those types of locations. On what planet does it make sense for organizations that offer support for community wellness, up-to-and-including shelter from violence & crisis management to be completely aloof about an environment that harbours violence & crisis? I get disheartened with my experiences from these conversations & if I had to say it in one sentence, I would prefer to stay in a situation than trust these places to be authentically helpful.
The goal is to get these organizations to give their collective heads a shake. There is junk happening in our & their backyards & we rely on them to use their significantly more relevant platforms to amplify our experiences. We rely on them to be leaders to denounce discrimination & hateful conduct & demand positive change from the influencers & lawmakers. If they’re genuinely about protecting & supporting the marginalized, things sometimes have to get dirty; otherwise, they’re silently saying they’ll be helpful & supportive, but only when convenient.
The action plan on this is:
1. Create a statement & engage with organizations that have stood in solidarity since August. Nine Circles CHC & St. Amant are two that come off the top of my head. The mega thread has their affirmations posted. But, we follow up with them & ask them to repeat & amplify our message, explaining how silence causes further harm.
2. Engage with all the other similar organizations & ask them to do the same, to use their platforms to express that non-mainstream marginalization is a real thing & contributes to an already-stressed system. This idea includes local, provincial & national-level organizations.
3. Challenge the organizations that have ignored calls for help & allowed harassment & abuse to happen right in front of them. Challenge them that it is better late than never & to revisit those situations & act accordingly. Intentional selectiveness about what they care about is a systemic malfunction like the rest.
#HireWheller - Journalism & Media
*lol*
{send}
I don’t even know where to start. Media is a business, and they are not interested in talking about topics that make their patrons uncomfortable. It is blatantly discriminatory & oppressive. I legitimately don’t know how to write a synopsis without an unhealthy “I’m going crazy” laugh or a “this is so defeating” cry. This has likely been the most emotionally challenging topic & I am grateful to those who’ve been supportive while I’ve been pounding my head against the wall for months trying to break through & gain needed visibility & conversation.
Among many others, @thepancakejake, @acabforbooty, @Amandaaych, @Chelsolo, @HotnBright, @Shazmataz141 & @svnflowers_k, thanks for hearing me when I needed it & helping keep me from feeling like throwing people through walls is what I need to do to get visibility. Media is the X-factor to creating change at an amplified pace & to be blatantly & systemically silenced is a soul-wrenching feeling that I can’t describe by my best effort.
During Transgender Awareness Week, how does a well-respected journalist who is the parent of a transgender kid show visible hesitation to write about *all this* for the “fear” of the subject suffering harm? That’s not helpful. That’s not equity. That’s not visibility. That’s not AWARENESS. That’s oppressive & transphobic. That is a systemic malfunction. That is the bread & butter of mainstream media & journalism.
On a note, who here thinks I can’t handle it? I WANT the controversy. I will eat every punch every transphobe our city has to offer if that means our community gets the visibility it deserves. I WANT every ignorant comment & I WANT every action of hateful conduct if that means it brings unnecessary nonsense & violence to light. I WANT to have all this shit on my doorstep so that we can all look at our politicians, leaders, social services & beyond & say, “This is the community you want? Are you happy letting this be enabled? This behaviour is okay & normal to you?”
I got asked if it’s worth being a martyr for this. I had been a shell of myself for 39 years before I came out & I’m not allowing what I went through to happen uncontested so long as I’ve got a heartbeat. Is it worth being a martyr? If this message & this fight & a solution about it gets passed forward & being a martyr is what it takes to get it done, then yes, it is worth it.
Does anyone remember that a journalist offered to pick up the story back in December? Vice. Big-ticket. I understand there has been no follow-up to any additional contacts I provided that she asked to receive. I’ve followed up a couple of times and never heard back. Time & time again, I’ll see the odd DM from a writer saying, “Hey, if you’ve got a story, let me know!” Nothing.
Media & journalism discuss mainstream marginalization because if they don’t, they will get raked by the community around them for being discriminatory. The word to note here is “mainstream.”
“We’ll talk about this because we get TOLD to talk about this, not because we WANT to but because we NEED to; otherwise, we will suffer consequences by not.”
The action plan is:
1. Call the media out about it. Call media out about the selectiveness. Call media out about their broken policies. Tell media that non-mainstream marginalization is a real thing that they are a catalyst of, are directly responsible for the oppression of communities that are valid & deserve their voices to get heard & they have a responsibility to allow those communities to be as visible as the next. A statement that we can use to share the same narrative across the board is invaluable. Sharing the same message clarifies that our communities deserve to be heard by those who need to listen to us. All of us have voices that are valid & can share our experiences, whether it is from our communities, as allies, or both.
2. Breaking away from mainstream media, we can say the same message for niche & independent press. Those are channels to pursue because visibility on those platforms is equally as valid & also likely to exchange outreach for authenticity & impact.
I will reach out to a few people for radio, but I will likely need extra support to earn a plug. With March 31 being Transgender Day of Visibility, I know that Rogers regularly promotes increasing their LGBTQ+ visibility, so I’ll check in with TJ Connors, Dalby & Sarah Nick to see if #HireWheller can get some attention during their respective shows. I am on the “Equity & Inclusion in Sport” committee with Sport Manitoba, so I’ll reach out to Greg Mackling to see if I can earn a chat about that endeavour on the 31st too. I’ll get in touch with @BrittJonesRadio to know if he wants to collaborate with his usual work. Those are people who have given positive affirmations about this situation in the past and are worth reaching out to as allies.
Breaking the glass ceiling for this is critical to advanced visibility.
#HireWheller - Politicians & Leaders
One of the reasons I have sustained *all this* & have consistently been persistent about it is because the entire experience, from front to back, has been wrong, wrong, and evil. Marginalized communities have been deceived & exploited under constitutionally sound practices. Online harassment has been enabled & privileged to continue because of the perpetual greyness of policies. Ultimately, attention from political leaders is minimal at its best & calls to action seem unlikely.
What’s frustrating is that aside from what’s lawful & not, where are political candidates & leaders at all levels to simply use their brains, frankly? I struggle to believe that the consequences of every action since the initial uproar have not passed the thoughts of a single person with political clout & especially not left a “this is not right at all” feeling. Is it that much of a stretch to believe not a single person dared to say, “this is not healthy for our community & we can not allow it to continue,” & stay on it?
The most I remember hearing was modest squeaking at its absolute best. Private denouncements are scattered here & there, but nothing built on the principle of how an abuse of privilege has enabled harm to marginalized communities & then expanding the concept to how dysfunctional our systems are to mop up the consequences efficiently. MLAs like Lisa Naylor are quick to say, “you should see the authorities!” That’s the last frickin option & I have no idea where to start about it. I even spoke on the phone with her & asked her to use her visibility to make noise. Nada. Scott Fielding, recently the same thing. I’ve had okay-ish feedback from Wab’s office, nothing from him directly after his original reply. Uzoma’s by far been the best I’ve had a conversation with, where we have bounced some ideas off each other, but ultimately it feels like every step towards a solution is off in the future someday when what needs to get addressed is happening now. I’ve expressed many times before that the result of everything that’s happened could have been significantly more grave if it was another person. Would people act then? Is that what it takes?
The action plan is to reach everyone we can in our political landscapes & ask for their voices to amplify ours. I have sent the following asks to both Wab Kinew & Scott Fielding in my last emails to them:
1. Denounce Energy 106 FM for enabling these users to be abusive & predatory as far back as September, refusing to be “allies” to the LGBTQ+ community as they affirmed they would & ultimately causing great harm. This behaviour fosters hate-based violence and, far too frequently, suicide.
2. Denounce our city & province for maintaining ignorance about the repercussions of enabling hate-based behaviour.
3. Call on individuals like Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smyth, Mayor Brian Bowman & Brian Pallister to acknowledge the countless efforts from me & my community to discuss this & be the leaders & solutions everyone seems to expect them to be! I can not express how difficult it is to raise awareness if we can’t talk about this to the people who can redirect systemic discrimination.
4. Receiving an affirmation that our city & our community have no tolerance for transphobia. Assurance that it gets recognized as discrimination gets taken nowhere near as seriously as it should be. Seeing a call to peers & fellow leaders to put an end to what recently got injected into our community & a call to recognize non-mainstream marginalization fosters hate-based abuse & must get eliminated by encouraging greater visibility about those communities by media & similar channels.
I’ve earlier alluded to examples I’ve seen in the past where a statement/form gets developed & users who wish to submit it simply fill out their name, address & contact information & that data (particularly address) automatically routes the message to the appropriate individual(s). I am very confident I remember experiencing one in the past that went to multiple people simultaneously, which can be an invaluable resource, especially if anyone is familiar with that. Having that form available can make getting the message out incredibly easy & effective. Texts, emails, posts & encouragement to share the link & the boundaries of whom it can reach give our outreach limitless potential.
As mentioned earlier, something is getting tabled at the federal level & a bill at the provincial level here, which makes this is an excellent opportunity to create visibility because of those things, especially by using this experience as another example of why they are essential bills to see through.
#HireWheller - Police/Legal
Where to start? How many things have happened, at least by my count? Online abuse, stalking, harassment, defamation, libel, incitement, threats, doxing ... & that’s not even on me exclusively. Other people on this team have suffered some similar abuse too.
But, not a single thing is criminal. Well, that’s according to Detective Tricia Zurawsky (2554) from Winnipeg Police Division 43 (Major Crimes Unit - Hate Crimes). That said, this is the same detective who openly told me she’s not familiar with how Twitter works, told me I’m not going to end transphobia, told me racism is better (days after the Eishia Hudson ruling) & so on. The detective I asked to do me a favour & write something up for me to share with my peers that Winnipeg Police doesn’t see criminal activity but wouldn’t do that. It’s curious to me because Officer K. Braden (2526), during the original investigation, blurbed how Winnipeg Police could make a statement to the antagonists to piss them off. I’m missing something. I’m not a lawyer. I’m not into law, but what I do know is that it gets far too frequently repeated that online harassment is a criminal offence, but again, “nothing criminal has happened.”
Right.
Don’t forget the post that @thepancakejake brought up not too long ago that showed Winnipeg Police looking thoroughly past a transphobic remark.
This narrative feels like beating a dead horse to the nth degree. It’s supposed to be my (our?) responsibility to identify what is happening that is explicitly criminal so that Winnipeg Police can do whatever needs to happen. I’m stumbling at what else I’m supposed to say because I’m baffled, over-encumbered & at a complete loss.
A while ago, I spoke to Constable Alex Morin from the RCMP Manitoba & the vibe I got from him is that there is helpful stuff here. Winnipeg Police has the tools to take care of it & to stay persistent with them about it.
Simply typing this synopsis is emotionally exhausting.
The action plan is:
1. Hold Winnipeg Police accountable for allowing hateful conduct under their noses. I remember Officer Braden told me something along the lines of “Do you know how many notifications we get a day? We can’t acknowledge all of them.” Officer Braden was also the same officer when I asked, “Does this mean I can let go of this & you guys do your things now?” he aggressively stepped forward, challenging, “Is that an accusation?”… but I digress.
2. Hold Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smyth accountable for having (likely) the wrong division even working on this specific incident & challenge how many other cases have people outside their elements. Earning a conversation with him about this experience is a bonus.
3. Identify criminal activity & bring that forward to be pursued.
4. Challenge Winnipeg Police about how things “aren’t criminal” when we get advised by every other platform to ask for their assistance because they perceive the behaviour as criminal activity. We’re not involved in law, so what type of argument is it to have with someone involved with it?
5. Probably more crap, but this whole narrative is depressing & deflating. ACAB.
I’ve said before that Energy 106 FM/Evanov Radio Group is a nucleus of all of this. While they are not the be-all-end-all of systemic failure, their actions have represented lord knows how many cases of abuse of privilege since August.
One of the most significant frustrations I’ve observed in our community has been the relentlessness regarding Dave Wheeler. Does he deserve a platform? No. But it’s not like he walked into the studio & said, “I’m working here now.” He’s an opportunist who has taken advantage of something created for him.
Absorb those words, “created for him.”
I’m frustrated at the amount of yelling & screaming & elementary-level hate thrown at Dave Wheeler because there are significantly larger pieces at play. Someone had to make a mindful decision to change their format. Someone had to make a conscious decision to accept the risk & controversy. Someone had to make a prudent decision to lie, deceive, misguide, & essentially say, “Fuck what they think.”
Dave Wheeler is a pawn, and he is an absolute NOBODY except controversially-generated revenue in the eyes of Paul Evanov & Adam West.
Paul Evanov doesn’t give a SHIT about Dave Wheeler. Paul Evanov cares about the attention Dave Wheeler brings.
Dave Wheeler was looking for work for two years like any unemployed human being rightfully would & some dark suit in Toronto decided that now, since his dad’s death, he could finally stop caring about the queer community & do what he wanted with the radio group instead.
Dave. Wheeler. Is. A. Nobody.
I’m not dismissing Dave Wheeler’s antics. I’m not disregarding overdue atonement or responsibilities. I’m not overlooking his manipulativeness from having a platform of influence. But, if Dave Wheeler sat in the studio and literally said NOTHING & people got frustrated still. Is it truly because of Dave Wheeler or because a station decided to amplify his visibility?
It’s the latter. The station says, “Yes, Dave has hurt you. No, he hasn’t apologized, but we are on his side & if you like us, you need to be on his side too.” It could be Dave Wheeler. It could be Brian Pallister. It could be Ted Cruz. It could be Donald Trump. It could be WHOEVER. It’s not about Dave Wheeler, and it’s about a platform of influence completely blowing their responsibility of being an ethically aligned & socially responsible corporate citizen.
FIRING DAVE WHEELER IS CANCEL-CULTURE. Dave Wheeler has done NOTHING to get fired. Every “Fire Wheeler” post is empty because Energy 106 FM has zero grounds to fire him. If they fired him, they would 100% owe him whatever he goes after for wrongful dismissal. & even then, what does that solve? That doesn’t address the malfunctions that happened to start this gong show in the first place.
I can easily suggest Dave Wheeler’s related to online abuse, as I’ve mentioned in that narrative already. So, what are some of the other catalysts to the issue?
1. Tyler Carr, whether by being uneducated, gaslit or by existing personal values, fosters this ecosystem by enabling it. I’ve repeatedly said that Dave Wheeler will not apologize for things he’s said in the past because he has a $1.4M lawsuit against Rogers for wrongful dismissal & defamation. Suppose Dave Wheeler apologizes or gets affiliated with an organization sympathetic to the hurt or apologizes on his behalf. In that case, that blows his case apart because it would suggest an admission of guilt. Tyler Carr allowing it to happen in his backyard without contest makes him equally as much of the problem. Adam West & Paul Evanov hide behind Tyler Carr as their LGBTQ+ “shield.” However, breaking the shield and exposing the decision has caused internal dissension.
2. Speaking of internal dissension, Matt Barron has left Twitter twice now. It is clear that the situation is stressful enough that it gets on his mind too much not to want to deal with it, but still not enough to speak up about it.
3. AJ Leite blocked me from day one but has been proven to tail some of my posts & throw support to people opposite of me & @svnflowers_k in a conversation. It’s a perfect example of “good guys” vs. “bad guys” with that behaviour.
4. Adam West. He’s the one who had interviews explicitly saying they want to disrupt the city. The same Adam West who said “Black Olives Matter” isn’t racism because Dave Wheeler’s a comedian & that’s what comedians say. Do I need to further detail how people should be yelling at Adam West?
5. Paul Evanov. Paul Evanov decided to hire Dave Wheeler to offer PR to support it (which, by the way, I’ve got a vibe is EmbraceDisruption PR, but I only have anecdotal reasoning, nothing I can do lean on with certainty) & the consequences that come with it.
So, what’s the solution? We go back to basics. They ran away from Twitter & stuck to platforms where they could moderate their comments. So, in line with Community Visibility, we need to make sure the same behaviour to expect accountability happens on other platforms & we need to see it here, back to addressing their visible business partners. And, considering it’s gone for as long as it has, I’d say it’s right to make sure their staff & business partners at every other branch of Evanov Radio Group would probably want to know about their business affiliations. So, an action plan for this narrative is lengthy.
1. Energy 106 FM must address enabling the online abuse by not standing in solidarity as allies like they affirmed their values. They must denounce the behaviour, explain the harm it has caused, the error by not recognizing consequence, they are accountable for their outcomes & it is not cancel-culture, the abusers must piss off, or they will assist in the legal process to detain them & to apologize to every community member whom the experience has hurt. For the latter, I would prefer if they said the names of everyone willing to share.
2. A follow-up to #1 would be a complete shakedown of the entire station, including most suggestions in the “allyship” thread.
3. Continue to challenge Tyler Carr & Energy 106 FM about why they offered protection to a protester in the past but have run away when they have been asked for support, especially since Tyler Carr was so proud & gloating about making sure that person was safe.
4. Create a statement to share with all visible business partners. I would go as far as phrasing it as Energy 106 FM, Hot 100.5 FM, CKJS AM 810 & Evanov Radio Group to share the statement with all visible business partners on all of their brands.
5. Create a statement to email to all the staff at all locations to know the ecosystem they support.
6. Non-stop Canadian Broadcast Standards Council complaints. For every valid Canadian Broadcast Standards Council complaint, there is a legal obligation to investigate & respond. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s around $2K per incident because lawyers aren’t cheap.
I want to bounce some fast math to everyone here: 50+ people in this group x ~$2000/incident x 14 incidents to review = ~ $1.4 million if everyone worked together.
It’s not unreasonable that if anything controversial happens, we describe it on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/and so on, add the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council complaints link, the #HireWheller hashtag, ask for support from others, and help get the eyes we need on the situation from Evanov Radio Group.
Energy 106 FM/Evanov Radio Group will not react to any pleas or reasoning unless it is in their financial interest to acknowledge they made a mistake. Every “oops” on any of their stations at any time of day can cost upwards of ~$100K. Every business affiliate that withdraws is money they don’t get. They need every new hire because someone quitting costs money to train & invest. Word of mouth from business & personal denouncement costs them financial support. We must continue to lean on that until they acknowledge they have caused harm.
Like most of the projects listed, it is essential to have as many people as possible on board because this is a significant undertaking.
