All of us in the West, or virtually all, have ancestors who were at some point colonized. But only a select few of us get to have, in “decolonization’s” pursuit, streets renamed something no one can pronounce. And only a select few can enjoy this despite their ancestors never having created streets or, even, a written language to write those streets’ names in. This has happened, too, in Canada, where authorities have renamed a street something you can’t type on your keyboard. The reason?

Need you ask?

The old street name belonged to a long-dead man who we’re now told, definitively, was “racist and wrong.” Translation:

He was white and Western and helped build modern civilization.

Since the suspense may be killing you about now, here is the name in question: šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm.

Yeah, seriously, no foolin’. I copied and pasted that, by the way — and, no, I won’t even try pronouncing it.

Commentator Matt Walsh reported on the story Tuesday. Stating that Canada exists now, apparently, to provide the world comic relief, he offered background on the story.

In brief, Kitsilano, British Columbia, changed the name of a street that recognized Joseph Trutch, the province’s first lieutenant governor. The new name reflects the culture of the Musqueam nation. Some of its members, you see, complain that their forebears were compelled to “abandon their language.” (Of course, if šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm is any guide, we can see why.) Moreover, Trutch’s attitudes “are now recognized as racist and wrong,” claims Global News, and have “long troubled the Musqueam.” (And you thought the threat of nuclear war or AI could keep you up at night.)

“There was unanimous support [read: synchronized value signaling] at city council to remove the sign,” the outlet continues (video below).

It’s hard, though, figuring out who’s more phony, the pouters or panderers. And pundit Walsh would have none of it. He described the renaming ceremony thus:

They had an obese man in feathers and face paint dancing in a suburban neighborhood while the mayor declared it an incredible day…. Another obese man in feathers, named Chief Wayne … explained that the Musqueam people are upset about being forced to speak English.

… A couple of points need to be made clear. First, Joseph Trutch contributed more to British Columbia than these costumed men or their ancestors ever did. He was the civil engineer behind the Alexandria suspension bridge, a key reason British Columbia grew into a viable province, as it facilitated the movement of gold and later automobiles. As British Columbia’s chief commissioner of land and works, Trutch ensured that primitive tribes did not waste the land’s potential…. Second, the idea that white settlers are the reason the Musqueam never had street signs in their language is absurd. They never had street signs because they never had streets, signs, or a written language.

Commenters under Walsh’s video added further perspective. “Canada didn’t exist before the French and British showed up,” noted one. “All that existed was war[r]ing tribes with no borders.” Another stated:

“My favorite part is referring to a phonetic alphabet created by White academics as an ancient language.”

And yet a different respondent summed up:

They’re speaking English, driving cars, living in European-style houses, they have television sets, computers, bank accounts, etc — but no one is forcing them to. They seem to prefer it, especially when it’s all free, courtesy of the taxpayers.

Note, too, that Chief Complainer (the headdress-sporting, rotund man) was wearing glasses, a Western invention. And he didn’t get that fat on his ancestors’ diet, no sirree.

In reality, everyone shares much with the Musqueam. My ancestors’ name wasn’t “Duke”; they shortened and Anglicized it at some point. They didn’t speak English, either. I could, too, wax atavistic and embrace my remote forebears’ “culture.” I could parade around like a little Dutch boy or could don a kosovorotka or kontusz ensemble. And we all could go “on the natch” and disappear into the bush with loincloths and stone tools. Why, Canada is 85-90 percent unpopulated and has wilderness you can get lost in. Will Chief Complainer take the plunge?

None of us will because we all love the fruits of Western civilization. The occasional hike or camping trip is nice — but so is returning home to creature comforts.

But then there’s the difference between me, and most of us, and the complainers. Our ancestors assimilated, or were assimilated, and consequently we today are happy being assimilated. So a striking conclusion suggests itself: The default assumption is that assimilating the Indians was wrong.

But is the truth actually that they weren’t assimilated enough — enough so that their descendants could be content in America?

Really, the Kitsilano Indian ceremony reminds me of an old Sanford & Son episode. (For the young’uns, that was a popular black-character, 1970s sitcom featuring an elderly working-class widower, Fred Sanford, living with his adult son, Lamont.) In the relevant episode, Lamont becomes hung up on embracing “his” African culture and parades around in a dashiki (video below). He even complains about Western norms having been imposed on him.

But it’s all performative. Lamont is playing at being African, like a child, possessing some of the style but none of the substance. And toward the episode’s conclusion, a Nigerian friend gives him a real dressing down for it, too (video below).

Spoiler alert: Lamont’s African kick did not survive his chastisement. Is there a Musqueam who can deliver such to Chief Wayne?

The truth is, all of us had ancestors who were, at some point, colonized by some group (often the Romans). We should thank God for it, too, insofar as those colonizers brought with them superior culture. That was often how civilization was spread, after all (as I explained here and here.)

A second lesson: The Canadian lunacy is what occurs when large portions of a population are demoralized and have been conditioned to dislike or be ashamed of their own culture. This has happened to Westerners all over the Occident — including the U.S.

In fact, the West is so engrossed in nonsense, in “wokeness,” that it doesn’t even keep its house in order. Walsh points this out regarding Canada toward his video’s conclusion (below). He contrasts its intolerance for past sins with its tolerance for present ones; e.g., urban decay.

Of course, it’s much easier complaining about past problems than actually solving current problems. And the beauty is that you can signal your moral superiority in the process.

Performers these people are, and bad ones at that, one and all.