An open letter to the membership of INCLUDE

Here's my response to a open letter that Bobby Del Rio wrote to the Shaw Festival's artistic director Jackie Maxwell on August 5, 2008.

You'll notice that I'm not providing a link to the original note. The reason I'm not doing this is that I believe it contains slanderous accusations which I've no desire to perpetuate. I sent my response out yesterday after a considerable amount of editing. In this post, I've included hyperlinks that reference the additional material I trimmed.

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I was very disappointed by Bobby Del Rio’s open letter to Jackie Maxwell. I believe that it contained unfounded accusations that are damaging to individual reputations and to our collective desire to make the performing arts more inclusive.

I reject the notion that Jackie Maxwell is a racist. I have known her for more than ten years and nothing in my experience has led me to suspect any racist leanings on her part. Frankly, it depresses me to even have to put this down in print.

Branding someone a racist is no small matter. It is an extremely serious accusation that has led to lawsuits and job dismissals. The taint of racism can tarnish reputations for years. Thus, an accusation of racism must be held to a high standard of proof.

On what basis does Bobby call Jackie a racist? If it is based on personal history, I believe we are entitled to specific examples – otherwise, the charge is merely scurrilous. Is it based on third-party testimony? If so, I think that fails the standard of proof and more care should be exercised before applying harmful labels.

If, as I suspect, Bobby claims Jackie is a racist based not on her personal actions but on how he perceives her leadership of the Shaw Festival, I would like to offer examples that contradict his assessment.

In November 2007, the Shaw Festival opened its door to Cahoots Theatre Projects for a two-week playwriting retreat. They very generously housed almost twenty artists over a two week period. They provided the use of their rehearsal facilities and green room. They came to our readings and went out of their way to make us welcome. I came away with a strong feeling that the Shaw recognizes it can and should do more to open its doors to artists of all backgrounds. I sensed tremendous good will on their part to embrace diversity.

And even if one disagrees with my assessment, it is unfair and irresponsible to extrapolate the actions of the institution and ascribe any sort of personal bias or bigotry on Jackie’s part. What exactly has she done to deserve this sort of treatment?

I’m also saddened by the letter’s tone of confrontation because I feel it undermines some valid discussion points. For example, Bobby talks about the urgent need to seek new audiences. While I feel his pronouncement “ … YOUR COMPANY WILL GO BANKRUPT” is an oversimplification, I agree with its basic premise: theatre audiences are aging and must be replaced with younger patrons. Many young Canadians are first- or second-generation immigrants so it’s imperative that theatre make itself relevant to people from diverse cultures or it will languish. The ad hominem attacks also distract us from the many excellent questions that Andrew Moodie raised in his original Facebook posting.

I’m slightly puzzled why Bobby elected to take such a hostile stance in his letter. I’ve known him to be a pretty thoughtful person and his passion for inclusivity is unquestioned. So why assume a posture guaranteed to alienate? I’d like to give Bobby the benefit of the doubt and assume that he intentionally wanted to play agent provocateur or that he was willing to be a lighting rod for criticism in order to foster spirited discussion. Because if these were not his intentions, the accusations in his letter are flat-out ignorant. And since he speaks as the representative of an anti-racism movement, we appear ignorant by association.

Personally, I’m not interested in being part of a movement that uses character assassination as a means to an end. Bobby, I hope you do the right thing and either clarify your statements or offer Jackie an apology for the undeserved slight.

To those of you who know Jackie, I urge you to drop her a note of encouragement. I can’t think of a worse nightmare than having a thousand people told I’m some sort of bigot. If you disagree with Bobby’s actions, let him know. If you think I’m full of it, let me know.

But please, above all, let’s keep the discourse civil and be sparing with the R-word. There’s enough anger and divisiveness in the air and it’s not helping us achieve our ultimate goal: to transform our cultural institutions into a reflection of modern Canada.

Sincerely,
Jovanni