Editorial: Posted by Right On

Freedom Convoy 2022: Hold the Line

January 30th, 2022

There aren’t really words that sufficiently describe what I witnessed and participated in this weekend. I’ve seen a lot of headlines, and listened to the words of others. Some called the protestors “heroes”, while others called them “racists”, “fascists” and “white supremacists”. The loudest of the voices may have been that of Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, who referred to the trucker’s convoy as a “fringe minority” with “unacceptable views”. Prior to COVID 19, politics in this part of the world had become so incredibly polarized that we had already mentally pigeon holed each other as uneducated, misled, prone to conspiracy or prone to behave as sheep. So, when the challenge of a novel virus hit, we were woefully unprepared to come together and jointly move forward. We had drifted away from accepting varying views, beliefs and priorities, and told ourselves that those changes were acceptable because we were morally right. All of us believed it then, just as we do now. I am certain that my perspective is correct, just like you are certain of yours.

On Friday night, I was sitting at home, thinking about the convoy of trucks due to roll into Ottawa the very next day. I read their stated goals. They wanted all COVID-related mandates removed, and vaccination passes lifted. They showed determination to stand for the charter rights and basic freedoms of all Canadians. They were vaccinated and unvaccinated uniting in non-compliance to demand individual choice. I watched the videos they had posted from their long journey across Canada, where they were greeted by thousands and thousands of supporters, bringing mountains of supplies for them to each planned stop, and lining overpasses and the sides of streets to shout their thanks and admiration. They weren’t a single skin colour. They weren’t of one religious belief. They weren’t all members of the same political party. They were diverse, and passionate. They loved their country enough to be willing to fight to restore it. It was that passion that made me get off the couch at 10:30pm and drive to Ottawa.

My twelve year old daughter and I arrived at 4:00am, ahead of the main convoy, and found our way to one of the very few unoccupied hotel rooms in the downtown core. I’d love to claim that my child is mindful of the civic duties and responsibilities of the citizenry to hold officials accountable. But, in truth, I think she was desperate to see the smiles that have been covered for a year and a half, and feel companionship absent of fear. We checked in with our respective hopes, and fell asleep for a few hours, awakening to the sound of many horns that began mid-morning, and didn’t stop for a moment until about 1:00am Sunday.

We bundled up and headed in the direction of Byward Market, and then to the Parliament Buildings. It wasn’t like other protests. The mood was different. From my perspective, approaching from about six blocks away on foot, I would estimate that well over a hundred thousand people attended. The crowds I’ve been in that were comparable were events with headcounts of that number. There wasn’t just one stage for speeches. Every other truck became a platform for people to tell their stories or voice their support. Every block was filled with smiling people wrapped in Canadian flags. I saw a hundred thousand smiles in one afternoon and felt the sincerity behind every single one. I watched happy truckers helping children to climb their trucks for a better view. I saw people dancing in the streets and shouting “freedom” from every corner. There were thousands of signs that directed obscenities at Justin Trudeau, who had just finished labelling these patriotic folks as “unCanadian”, so the anger and frustration was something I could understand. But even those carrying the signs denigrating our Prime Minister, did so happily and carefully. At one point, I even saw them shift a whole section of gridlocked traffic, to quickly make room for an ambulance. They were kind, and helpful, and mindful of those around them.

The people who packed the streets, were peaceful, and hopeful, and expressed so much love for their fellow Canadians, the emotion was overwhelming. And yet, at the exact moment I was witnessing that, I could see on news streams that many of us visited on our phones, images of swastikas and accusations of defacing public monuments. I listened to “news organizations” referring to those in attendance as “misled”, “extremists”, “racists” and “white supremacists”. I was reading comments online from people insisting that the crowd was “uneducated white conservatives”, seemingly unaware of what a racist assumption that was. What I read, and what I saw, were completely at odds with each other. The media, and the officials who put restrictive mandates in place, had a story to tell, and it was written long before this weekend.

I walked to parliament and back, and didn’t encounter a single Nazi flag or nasty person. I did see a few young guys intentionally trying to create noise and exhaust with their vehicles near Byward Market. That seemed silly and pointless to me, but not entirely uncharacteristic of young guys, if you’ll allow me that moderate stereotype. I saw the monument that they reported was “defaced”, and I laughed out loud at the image that warranted that righteous anger. Someone put a Canadian flag on the statue of Terry Fox, the same way the people were wearing theirs, and they placed a sign in his hands that said “Mandate freedom”. If ever an image of me is “defaced”, I can only hope that it portrays me as a proud Canadian who values freedom. It’s not lost on me that, had someone torn it down and claimed they did so because Terry Fox had “white privilege”, no one would have said a thing. Alas, the “fringe minority with unacceptable views”, dared to portray an athletic hero who had overcome adversity, as a freedom-loving athletic hero who had overcome adversity and loved his country. Shame on them.

Seeing the contrast of reporting and reality, led to a lot of thoughts as I laid in bed last night. I’ve listened to and read the information presented by Public Health. The cases and mortalities by age group, the developing gauge of vaccination expectations that began with “immunity”, and was last reported as being a mechanism to decrease symptoms when one is infected. I’ve listened to their recommendations that I have, admittedly, never agreed with. Both the purpose and the challenge of a free society, is the ability to set our own priorities within structured rights and freedoms that are meant to be inalienable. The people I seemed to fall in line with at the beginning were those insistent on setting their priorities based on the limited metrics we knew as “facts”, rather than on projections or assumptions. In other words, I thought we should be offering some of the safer possible treatments for elderly people who chose to try them, and we should be increasing hospital capacity. I didn’t embrace the “just in case” mandates because, like many others, I was envisioning the overall impact of those actions, and the devastation and tragedy they could cause in their effort to mitigate transmission. Many of those fears brought to light months later with increases in suicide, deaths from missed medical treatments, financial ruin for many families and businesses, that often leads to far greater illness spawned by poverty. I wasn’t alone in my concerns, though every social media narrative and mainstream headline, told me I was. Much like with this protest, the news was telling me not to believe what I could see with my own two eyes. I sat in bed last night wondering if those on the other side of the argument have listened to the opposition? Do they know that there are doctors who have said they’ve been threatened just for writing a vaccine exemption? Do they know that world renown professors from respected institutes like Harvard, Oxford, and Stanford, as well as virologists, epidemiologists, and even a Nobel laureate or two, have raised significant questions and concerns about the vaccines that have been mandated? Have they seen the released email exchanges between public health officials making plans to silence those voices? Do they know that there are countries that have discontinued use of the same shots we’re getting, due to blood clots, myocarditis, menstrual issues, and risk to children? Have they read that people have died from it? Do they know the real stats associated with risk, and how far the actual numbers have been from the projections? Don’t we all support science and scientific discovery of things? Asking questions and eliminating possibilities, and sharing a free exchange of information and ideas to collectively reach logical strategies, rather than screaming that my view is the only view?

Yesterday, I was surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people who have lost friends and family because those friends and family are intolerant of different perspectives and priorities. I looked around, and I knew from my own experience, how many of them have people in their lives who more openly accept the idea that those they previously saw intelligence and compassion in, have become heartless rubes, than accept a different perspective as legitimate. I wonder if they support medical exemptions to the vaccine? If so, do they know that doctors are being threatened for writing them? My source for that is the doctors themselves. Do they believe that doctors who are risking their careers and reputations to try to convey unheard information are malevolent, but Public Health and mainstream media are altruistic? I truly don’t understand, and I’m thrilled that I don’t. I never want to discredit the priorities of my fellow Canadians as being less than my own. I never want to place unreasonable demands on others as to what they should put into their bodies. I never want to believe that those I’ve known, loved and respected, are suddenly stupid and malevolent. I never want to see my people lose rights or freedoms because their health, religion or conscience leads to a different choice. I never want to comprehend that mentality.

January 29th, 2022. I was there. I bore witness to the most beautiful chaos I’ve ever seen. It was love and hope and passion and deeply held belief that fuelled the Freedom Convoy 2022. It was people talking TO each other, and not AT each other. Had the media and our fearful Prime Minister made an effort to listen and participate in dialogue rather than name calling and silencing, they might very well realize, they were the most “Canadian” group I’ve seen in more than two years.

I thank the truckers for their phenomenal efforts. I thank the protestors for restoring my faith in Canadians. I thank the hundreds of thousands of people who came together to celebrate the work of freedom, and the beauty of the diversity we create. This movement gave voice to millions, and against all suppression efforts, showed us that we’re not alone. A sea of people who care about my views as well as theirs, who validate my concerns and recognize my cognitive ability. Masses who respect both me and the vaccinated person standing next to me. Throngs who all have unique stories and reasoning, who create this incredible mosaic of thought and passion. With all due respect to government and media, you failed to silence the people that you’re meant to work for the betterment of. We’ve seen each other now, and we’re seeing you clearer than ever. Buckle up, Justin. We will not go gentle into that good night. Not when it comes to freedom.