A Protest Against the Protester's Protesters
All these restrictions have stolen our freedoms and rights under the law…But it’s not a virus that has done this to us. It’s a government response to a virus that has done it.
Note: For better context, refer to an article on page 3 in the February edition of The Northeast Avalon Times. This is a free monthly newsletter that can be found at any convenience store within the Northeast Avalon…Torbay, Portugal Cove – St.Philips, Paradise, Bell Island, Pouch Cove, etc.
I’ve always liked Ottawa. I lived there for four years while completing my undergraduate degree in Environmental Engineering. Ottawa is beautiful with the all the amenities of a large city but with a small-town feel. I was particularly fond of the Byward Market and the canal. I also enjoyed Ottawa for its proximity to everything awesome including the Gateneau Hills, Meech Lake, Toronto, Montreal and the United States.
So it was with great anticipation that I waited for the arrival of the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa. Initial report had shown the intention of the truckers to be peaceful albeit disruption as it should, for it to be an effective protest. As the truckers are law abiding citizens, the protest was to proceed all within the confines of the law.
Stories of respect for monuments, feeding the homeless, providing shelters with a surplus of food, keeping the streets cleans and so many people carrying Canadian flags, made me well up with Canadian pride as this is what Canadians do.
Most curious for me were reports that some protesters out of the thousands in Ottawa were wearing the Star of David, suggesting the similarities between the 1930’s Germany and today here in Canada. Were protesters in Ottawa referring to the ‘innocuous’ rhetoric in Germany at the time of how Jews were disease spreaders, how they need to be isolated and subsequently identified for the general population’s safety by making them wear the yellow star?
Was this poor treatment of the Jewish people a precursor to the eventual and horrific genocide of the Jewish population across Europe? Was the propaganda espoused by the Hitler regime during the 1930’s intent on persuading good German people to not only accept but to participate in the extermination of a race of people? Could this be why some protesters are wearing the Star of David…to draw the analogy and awareness of the 1930’s Germany prior to the commencement of the Holocaust to the vilification and segregation of the dirty non-vaxxed?
I have pity tinged with love for the people that choose to exercise bigotry in the context of the pandemic. I am having a difficult time in understanding how people simply choose not to hear the arguments from people that want to wait a little while longer before injecting something that hasn’t gone through the proper clinical trials…or from people that want to visit their dying mother in the hospital but are forbidden by the health authorities. Even a conversation seeking understanding of why and how ‘these people’ think a certain way has not entered the minds as a consideration of the covidians.
Anyone can check the ongoing trials by going to the Covid-19 living NMA initiative.
The covidians have short memories, for even during the AIDS and SARS epidemics, life continued on. There were no lockdowns, businesses were not shuttered, and extra protection measures were implemented only for the vulnerable in society.
Heck, Toronto held a SARS benefit concert for God’s sake where 500,000 people gathered. It was well promoted and referred to by many names such as Toronto Rocks, Stars 4 SARS, SARSStock, SARSfest, SARS-a-palooza, the SARS concert and finally, The Rolling Stones SARS Benefit Concert. This response was at the opposite end of today’s SARS CoV-2 pandemic response spectrum. I cannot recall SARS-a-palooza resulting in mass casualties but if I’m mistaken, someone please let me know.
If people choose to take measures such as getting vaccinated, masking, distancing and the like, that is up to the individual. It is the choice of the person. However, this doesn’t give people the right to push these measures on everyone. Health officials have not given any evidence to suggest the effectiveness of any of the measures. One’s own health is a personal responsibility. If someone thinks a mask will protect them, then wear a mask. Practicing a particular measure should always be about choice, especially when the evidence simply does not justify it.
If somebody wants to live in the basement and have their groceries delivered, then have at it. It doesn’t mean though that everyone should live this way and if they don’t, they are selfish and a grandma killer. Sheesh!
My dismay of the inaccurate reporting by CTV, CBC, Global, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, The Montreal Gazette and more, of the Convoy, was nothing when I heard The Telegram was taking pictures of a rally at Confederation Building in St. John’s, January 29th, in support of the Convoy participants.
I was at the rally and never knew a Telegram reporter was there. To my knowledge, nobody from the publication approached the group to seek an understanding of the perspectives of participants. Who were these people on the Hill? That day, I met so many like-minded people with diverse backgrounds, young and old, native NL’ers, immigrants, foreign students and blue and white collar working folks. They were in full colour waving the flags of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador expressing their views on the mandates.
These people were strangers to one another but came together on that day as if each had known the other for a lifetime. We all exchanged stories, ideas and sometimes contact information, like humans are meant to do. The stories were generally themed around how the restrictions affected the life of each one of us. We are all affected differently, and everyone’s story was unique. Conversely, the stories carried a common theme of adversity, resilience, resistance and empowerment.
Many hugs, smiles and well wishes were also exchanged. Many at the rally on Confederation Hill said that this was something they gravely needed as they were missing human interaction and connectedness. Many were feeling despair and once they found the Freedom Convoy via social media, and followed their progression to Ottawa and beyond, they were smiling for the first time in many months. Hope and optimism returned to their lives and the lives of the Convoy participants in Ottawa. I would consider this a win regardless of the outcome in the months ahead.
Didn’t ‘these people’ in Ottawa see the waving of the nazi flags? It would be understandable if they didn’t. Two nazi flags out of the thousands waved in Ottawa would be hard to find but interesting how the media cameras did in such a timely fashion.
Also, interesting is how the nazi flags were not seen again after the first couple of days. It didn’t matter as the legacy news cycle was flooded with these two images and the damage was done. All people in Ottawa were now relegated as nazis and this story is still perpetuated even by the Prime Minister. What was not reported by the legacy media, unfortunately, was how these images were immediately condemned by the Convoy participants and organizers. Shame.
A similar story was brought to light about confederate flags being waved in Ottawa. Again, I’ve seen only two among the thousands of flags. The only person among thousands in the Ottawa crowd wearing a full face covering just so happened to be carrying a confederate flag. This individual was immediately called out and left hanging his head in shame. No violence, no incident. The video of the exchange went viral and am surprised, not surprised, the legacy media didn’t pick it up.
And what about those that were waving Canadian flags? What exactly was the message they were trying to convey? Could it be they were patriotic Canadians who are proud of the country that has traditionally demonstrated to the world what it is like to live in a free and democratic society where one, in accordance with Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, can peacefully assemble and express their grievances against the government? And they did all while not wearing a mask or social distancing. The horror!
And what about the children that accompanied the peaceful, freedom loving protesters? They must have been so happy to see all the people hugging, singing and gathering. While the children likely didn’t know the gravity of why they were there, they were witness to the love, compassion, playing, connectedness and realization that they are not spreaders of disease like outside influences have been telling them for almost two years. Some also realize they can and should speak up if they see something unjust being pushed onto them. For the smaller kids, it must have been cool to see the big trucks and hear their loud horns blaring.
The children were not masked or distanced at the Confederation Hill rally either, just as it should be. Since masks do nothing in preventing the spread of a respiratory illness, but do much in psychologically damaging the children, some irreparably, it is a breath of fresh air to see their smiles and free from the covid mandates.
Parents and guardians that deliberately place children in a loving environment by allowing them to breath and socialize as they were meant to do, should be praised and congratulated.
The rally at Confederation Hill as shown in the Telegram, supporting the Convoy in Ottawa, is a show of solidarity for all Canadians that are tired of the restrictions the COVID-19 pandemic response has brought into our lives. We miss the jollity of having daily contact with family, friends and colleagues, many of us miss the opportunity to provide for our family, we miss going for pints and miss going to concerts.
All these restrictions have stolen our freedoms and rights under the law.
But it’s not a virus that has done this to us. It’s the government response to a virus that has done it.
It was a great day, that Saturday at Confederation Hill, the same day the Convoy arrived in Ottawa, to meet new people, reminisce with old friends, blow off steam and to finish the rally with some honking. The message was loud and clear, drop the mandates. All of them. The message was the right one.
We in NL have lost very few of those we love to covid. Thankfully. But that is of little consolation to those who have loved ones lost or injured to the covid vaccine.
It saddens me that children have bore the brunt the most during the implementation of the restrictions. We cannot forget the loss to business owners and the elderly as well.
It is unfortunate that people who are for the mandates cannot see the collateral damage is has and continues to inflict on the fabric of society at large. I will pray for ‘those people’.