One friend said, “I loved your appearance on The Ben Shapiro Show, man, but don’t tell anyone I said that. I’ll be crucified.”

In August 2020, Paul Henderson, the editor of my local newspaper The Chilliwack Progress (who happens to be white), started taking to social media to accuse me of downplaying racism in our society and spreading misinformation. Worse, in January 2021, he went on to describe my views as “alt-right” (frequently used to describe white nationalism).

I have also faced backlash at my college, University of Fraser Valley. Last August, concerned with social justice activism pervading academia, I tweeted at Sharanjit Sandhra, a history professor at my college, to ask if my perspective would be welcome in her course on race relations. Expecting her to welcome my ideas, I was shocked to see her blunt reply, “not interested.”

Later in 2020, Carin Bondar, another professor at my university (who was recently elected to the local school board) criticized an essay I wrote about Joe Rogan, praising him for his heterodox views. Why? Because, as she tweeted, he is a “#whiteman.”

Incidents like these have forced me to avoid courses on racial inequality and gender relations at my school, two of my favorite subjects.