Truckers Freedom Convoy 2022 – Support, Oppose, or Tolerate?

Truckers Freedom Convoy
Truckers Freedom Convoy (credit below)

“Hey Doc … so should I get the booster or what?”

He had just recovered from COVID — for him, a mild flu in a fully vaccinated man. Public Health advises boosters. Docs have been warned to avoid saying otherwise.

The average person is smarter on many things than most elites allow. Patients know vaccine mandates make less sense at the end of the pandemic than they may have at the beginning.

Good today, Bad Tomorrow

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau praised truckers at the beginning of the pandemic and encouraged all Canadians to do the same. Now he calls truckers a “small fringe minority” with “unacceptable views.”

Stop for a minute.

This sounds like a dream come true. Trudeau should cheer. Welcome the fringe. Get them to the capital, ASAP. Show the world the nonsense of their fringe views.

“Fringe” Views vs. traditional liberalism

JS Mill argued we should welcome views we oppose. Let people speak — they will prove the stupidity of their position without you having to say a word.

But Trudeau is not a traditional liberal. He is a modern man, intolerant of those with whom he disagrees. His ideas are true and righteous. Others are fringe, ignorant, or maleficent — “unacceptable”.

The illiberal elite slice society into good and bad, sheep and goats. Intolerance is just. We must not tolerate evil. Herbert Marcuse, philosopher, called it “repressive tolerance.”

Masks and Mandates

“Excuse me, Dr. Whatley. Should we wear N95 masks for this patient.”

Of course. Yes!

We need gown, gloves, goggles, and N95 masks. This patient may have been in contact with someone who just tested positive!

But so could any of the last ten patients.

We wore regular masks for them. Many of the those patients — all potential ‘contacts’ — wore cloth masks … or surgical masks soaked through with dirt, snot, and who knows what.

Reason and Fury

For almost two years, a crowd of doctors have pounded the COVID drums. Their fury swells as severity wanes. They alone are right. They are protectors of healthcare. Do not talk about cancelled surgeries — COVID counts are all that matter.

Reason fails in the face of illiberalism.

Indeed, liberalism depends on reason too much. It forgets about emotion.

“Once at the center of the study of politics, emotions have led a shadow existence for the last three decades [since 1970], with no place in the rationalistic, structural, and organizational models that dominate academic political analysis.”

(see Passionate Politics – Emotions and Social Movements)

Truckers Freedom Convoy

Sunlight improves almost everything. The best way to keep something festering is to cover it up.

Letting people talk has been an essential ingredient to the success of parliamentary democracy.

Absolutely, it has been messy and confusing. But it has delivered incomparable human flourishing. No other approach comes close.

Truckers Freedom Convoy
Did it set a world record?

Canadians are finally speaking up. Smiling. Waving flags. Joining together.

If the truckers freedom convoy is wrong and misguided, the error will show through immediately. There is no reason to worry. No need to be upset or irritated with them. Truth will prevail.

But if this movement has a point to make, we should listen. Even if we disagree, we should tolerate the difference in opinion. Silencing difference never turns out well.

I hope the truckers freedom convoy brings out the best in what it means to live in a free, parliamentary democracy. Society is only as good as those who get involved.

Photo credits: Freedom Convoy, Snopes: Did it set a world record?

48 thoughts on “Truckers Freedom Convoy 2022 – Support, Oppose, or Tolerate?”

  1. Excellent Shawn!
    “The truth is like a lion. You don’t have to defend it. Let it loose. It will defend itself.” St. Augustine of Hippo

    1. Fantastic quote, Paul! Thanks so much

      I sure hope this stays positive. Scanning through the scraps put out by the CBC and company made me profoundly sad to see how they are trying to spin this as a movement of evil people. Very sad indeed.

      We desperately need something to pull us together as a country. Trudeau has shown he cannot do it … he thrives on fomenting division.

      I hope you are well!

  2. A) I’m triple vaxed at high risk and have just retired, my clinic going virtual.

    B) I have/ had truckers in my medical practice…mainly South Asians, Sikhs…I’m very aware of their trials and tribulations, very aware of their importance to the economy and their attitude towards vaccinations as they drive trapped in their truck cabins driving north, south, east and west, forced to relieve themselves in bottles.

    C) My sympathies are with the truckers.

    D) “ The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism” ( Dr & Sir Willam Osler of Bond Head , Ontario, a nice blue plaque on his roadside home).

    Ottawa has been rank with ignorance and dogmatism from the beginning, I recall pulling out my hair in January + 2020 as passengers were not being vetted by the Federal government on arrival at Pearson whilst they were doing so abroad….it took 12+months before the sloth like Federal government languidly went into their inept action.

    E) As a consequence of their initial inertness , the powers that be in Ottawa are now overreacting “ big time” to compensate.

    Primum non nocere should have been the government’s guiding principle, it wasn’t and isn’t.

    F) “The precondition of a civilized society is the barring of physical force from social relationships…that humans should deal with one another through reason, discussion, persuasion and voluntary un coerced agreement”…that no citizen should initiate physical force against another.

    The function of government is to protect the rights of individual citizens under an objective code of rules, to protect them from physical violence (not pronouns)…hopefully the authorities will be protecting the protesters.

    G) A mandate is the power given by voters to their elected leaders…the Canadian Parliament is not sitting and is non functioning at present with COVID used as a cover…the mandates emanating from Ottawa are nothing more than diktats emanating from the PM’s office…that there is a grass rooted reaction to them is understandable, one hopes that no agent provocateurs introduce physical violence into the equation.

    1. So many fantastic points, Andris. Thank you so much for posting.

      I could understand trampling on the Charter and Constitution for the first 90 days. But we are almost 2 years into this. The overreach and abuse of proper governance sets a precedent for years to come. This is wrong.

      No matter what people think about the content of a protest, PEACEFUL protest is a necessary part of our system of government. No burning cars. No bricks thrown at windows. But we must help people get their message out, or our approach to society starts to fail really fast.

      Thanks again for presenting such a great list of comments! Sorry for not responding to each in turn … I know the readers love them

      Cheers

    2. I’m with you on this one Andris. There is more at stake here than vaccines. Much more.

      As you point out: “The precondition of a civilized society is the barring of physical force from social relationships…that humans should deal with one another through reason, discussion, persuasion and voluntary un coerced agreement”…that no citizen should initiate physical force against another.

      It is one thing to have a social contract which prevents us from doing certain things, such as carrying a concealed weapon. It is a whole other level once we start forcing people to be immunized. This is tyranny. This is the main point of the convoy: to stand up to government over reach.

      People have been struggling to acquire civil rights for many hundreds of years. Much blood has been spent to acquire them. They can easily be taken away, as we are witnessing now.

      I for one have no desire to be given a social credit score. And yes, I am triple immunized.

      1. Powerful comments, Alicia! And well said. Thank you.

        The number of vaccinated people (myself included) who are against mandates far outnumbers the number of people who are not. Coercion and force never work as well as conversation, relationship, … ANYTHING else. But even if force got the job done faster, it changes the nature of our whole society. Is that the kind of place in which we want to live?

        Thanks so much for taking time to read and share a comment!

    3. Excellent points and well expressed. I was waiting for your response to Shawn’s usual superb article. Neither of you disappoint. Enjoy your retirement. Keep posting and stay in touch. Best.

  3. A very robust article! It is good to shed light on things.
    I note that Mr. Trudeau praises the 60,000 truckers Canada has, but not the 115 truckers who started off in Vancouver. That is a small percentage of truckers. One of my complaints about this event is that they are riffing off the “Highway of Heroes” and presenting themselves as heroes comparable to our dead soldiers even using a 2019 photo of a soldier’s funeral trip to advertise the convoy..

    1. Hey Susan,

      Great to hear from you. Love your gentle pushback too.

      I agree — so far, I haven’t seen 60,000 individual transport trucks. But it seems there must be at least that many vehicles? Still not the same … so your point is good. Will be interesting to see the final tally.

      I hadn’t thought of the ‘Highway of Heroes’. Very interesting. I saw it as a crowd lining the roads in the same way they do/did for Terry Fox, the Queen, Pope, and any other famous person/event. But maybe I missed the advertising about the dead soldiers … if so, I agree — bad taste indeed.

      Canada needs something to pull us together. We are SO done with division.

      Thanks so much for taking time to read and share a comment!

      Cheers

      1. Perhaps we should have a parallel road from east to west.
        Could it be that Justin has , inadvertently unified Canadians from coast to coast to coast…we see trucks from BC and the west …are there trucks from the East as well?

        Truck drivers in Newfoundland had their problems with temperamental ferries/ storms / icing getting stuck for days sometimes with produce rotting …those owning only one truck being in a particular pickle…they live on the edge of bankruptcy.

        So far so good in Ottawa….the western column being just outside the city.

        1. Ha! Good point. Nothing like a common enemy to bring unity.

          I think Matt Gurney used a similar argument but from the opposite end: Trudeau will use the convoy to unify Canada against the convoy itself … which solidifies the division … and on and on … round and round. This is not leadership

    2. Point taken Susan. Might be a tad harsh though IMHO. I have always supported the military. Their sacrifices for the rest of us needs no further debate. But during this pandemic many things have been brought to the attention of the public. The role of truckers and their contribution to keep the food and other products being delivered is something I dare say the majority of us have taken for granted along with other professions. It may have been a little lacking in the tastefulness category using the 2019 photo to promote the convoy, but that may be a shade on the nitpicking side and I’d willingly overlook it and focus on the main reason for the protest which is very valid – overbearing irrational government policies which are not founded on science.

      1. Thanks for this, Robert. Sounds like you saw the photo … I appreciate you noting the lack of taste too.

  4. aside…

    The somewhat or well vaccinated are well represented in ON hospitals at this moment (nay way over represented IF you believe in the 2020 definition of vaccine). https://covid-19.ontario.ca/data

    Just putting that out there…for the cognitive dissonant crew

    rickk
    twice jabbed, once omicroned, completely pissed that covid is merely political pandemic now

    1. Good point Rickk … but of course those are just ABSOLUTE numbers … we need to focus on the rate of admission as a percentage of the general population don’t know you! 😀

      I think you captured the general mood of most Canadians. They are totally tired of this pandemic. I wish politicians would start admitting we cannot vaccinate ourselves any further out of it. We already did that. Time to move forward with hope!

      Thanks for posting. Cheers

  5. Hi Shawn
    Perhaps the most enlightening comment to your perennial question came from the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan …. regrettably before the era of political correctness ….
    “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
    Great timely piece …. and I vote for tolerance ….
    Mike

    1. Great quote, Mike. Perfect.

      Thanks so much for taking time to post a comment! I worried tolerance was a dead end in Canada. Still amazed that the mainstream media is either ignoring the whole event or trying to say something negative.

      Thanks again — great to hear from you!

  6. The real question is how we got to this point in time. The heart of the problem perhaps lies with human nature:
    The human species is strongly influenced by the 7 deadly sins. Fundamentally greed/self-interest comes to the fore at all levels for the majority of the people. Then add in other elements of the other 7. Combine into that mix we have Festinger’s Theory of Cognitive Dissonance and the Pareto Principle and a ruling class of intelligent people who understand how the game of politics is played and are willing to use the playbook from Alinsky’s (12) Rules for Radicals. In the end while the predominant reasons – the public being fundamentally excessively gullible, lazy and complacent sheep – explaining why we are where we are, the truth is that it is a combination of variables over several decades (resulting in “landscape amnesia”) that is leading us onto the path of becoming “Canaven’suela” (our southern neighbours as well). The points of critical mass and no return may have been reached already. The push back led by the common folk may be too late. It has never been outsiders that destroy a country, it is the traitors within. History is replete with examples. We just never seem to learn from the past. It is easier to destroy than to create. Lest we forget (a 24/7/365 mantra, not just Nov 11). In the meantime, China, Russia and those that hate the West are laughing at our self-induced demise.

    1. Many solid points, Robert. Thank you for sharing them.

      I wanted to highlight your point about how countries fall. We seem to think that the West is not under attack because we haven’t declared war on anyone. Fact is, we are always at war. Many other regimes would LOVE to see us fall. They will use anything to undermine the stability of our approach to politics and governing. Most of us no longer read history … or we find the dream of pretending we do not have enemies who want to destroy us more pleasant than reality.

      Thanks so much for squeezing the 7 deadly sins, cognitive dissonance, Pareto, and Alinsky (and much more) all into one comment!

      Brilliant … sure appreciate you taking the time.

      Cheers

  7. I agree that the “truths” that are handed to us should rightfully be questioned, Shawn, but let’s be clear about this protest

    1. It does not represent truckers. It is funded by non-truckers and depending on which stats you read Canada’s Truck drivers are 85-90% vaccinated.

    2. It is not about vaccination. If it were there would be no swastikas on Canadian flags and no confederate flags. And Terry Fox’s statue would have been left out of it.

    The people protesting represent the worst of Canada. White supremacists and racists. They are hateful. The fact that there are fears for the safety of local elected representatives, the fact that vaccine clinics had to be cancelled out of safety concerns despite the recent law protecting us from harassment, disqualifies this as a peaceful demonstration. Trucking organizations have disavowed any relationship with this rabble.

    I know that you believe strongly in individual freedom. I respect that.

    But in a society of more than one, freedoms come with responsibilities. What these degenerates want is freedom to do whatever THEY want, with no regard to anyone else, and they expect the rest of us to take responsibility for the consequences.

    Don’t align yourself with them. You are not at all alike.

    Hershl

    1. We as physicians are scientists and look at data for evidence to back up hypotheses. You are of course entitled to your opinion and your opinion could be actual factual but can you actually back up and provide evidence of your rather strong statement – “The people protesting represent the worst of Canada. White supremacists and racists. They are hateful.”? Do you know or have met every single one of the truckers and the 61100 donors of the Freedom Convoy (quote from CBC news article: as of Tuesday afternoon, funds were raised from 61,100 donors, according to the GoFundMe page of the “Freedom Convoy.”)? You also unfortunately choose to use rather strong words like “degenerates” to describe people you have never met. That is not fair play and as Canadians who are proud of our principles of fairness, that is unfortunate BUT you are entitled to your opinion and we all respect that. And I can sense that your concern and pro-vaccination stance comes from a good place and that you are likely to be a really decent person even though I have never met you. I support vaccinations but am dubious about the science supporting the value of the booster especially given recent data about natural immunity and the characteristics of Omicron and Omicron BA.2. Clearly risk stratification is important in determining who should get vaccinated especially those that continue to have not received the primary series. We physicians are not Gods and we teach, educate and provide persuasive, cogent discussion points for our patients to guide them. They have a right to choose. It is their bodies after all and their choice. And that is why vaccine mandates are creating such divineness because those in charge refuse to debate those who have a different viewpoint.Beware the slippery slope, what you are advocating is mere the prologue to the next group the hive mind wants to pick on…smokers, drinkers, obesity etc.. We have experienced it once already in Germany and once is more than enough. If you are ever in Scarborough, given me a shout , we should get together and chat over a cup of tea/coffee/hot chocolate. I am sure I could learn a lot from you.

    2. Ad hominems+++

      The dermatological pigment of Truckers can be found across the Fitzpatrick scale from I-6.

      Canadian truckers come in all races , most are genetic cocktails.

      The monies supporting this rally did not originate from Soros, but from ordinary Canadians , some from the ranks of the so called “ despicables”….bible in one hand, a hockey stick in the other.

      As mentioned Sikhs are prominent in trucking, very much so in Brampton and BC, Jodhveer Singh Dhaliwal the brother in law of the head of the NDP who is joined at the hip with Justin generously contributed to the fund…after he came out of the woodshed he asked for his money to be returned.

      1. Thank you Hal, Robert, and Andris … brilliant, respectful replies.

        Robert and Andris have already offered a number of excellent comments. I’ll try to not repeat their points.

        Hal,

        I love your push back! (as always)

        To that end …

        This freedom convoy is a working-class movement. It morphed from truckers and vaccine mandates into something much bigger – freedom and government overreach, as far as I can tell.

        Every movement which allows anyone to join attracts a lunatic fringe. Andrew Lawton, journalist, spent the day in Ottawa and addressed the swastika issue. He tweeted that he had seen two – despicable and two too many. He also addressed the Terry Fox statue – poor taste indeed! But I’m glad to see you care about statues and history. 😉

        Your following comment really stung: “The people protesting represent the worst of Canada. White supremacists and racists. They are hateful.”

        Four of our family friends travelled to Ottawa to support the rally (one non-white, non-European). These people are salt of the earth – literally the very BEST of Canada. They would do anything for you … literally give you the shirt off their back, without judgement or expectation of return. I hope I can become half the people they are.

        You made a great point about freedom and responsibility. I support peaceful protests, not violence or vandalism. As for vaccine mandates, I agree that they may sometimes be necessary depending on the situation – a prudential approach seems wise, as I said in an earlier post.

        Finally, I agree with your advice: “Don’t align yourself with them.” The convoy is a large, diverse group. Each of the interviews I saw had each person saying something a bit different. “Freedom” was a common theme, but not the only one. As such, it would be hard to align with any single overarching message.

        We can support the right to peaceful protest and acknowledge the enormous sacrifice made by regular, working Canadians, who travelled across our huge country during -30C weather, without pretending we could ever know or support everything the crowd thinks.

        Hal, I’ve always admired your passion for the little people. I hope you haven’t become another elite who looks down on those beneath you.

        Warm regards … and thanks again!

        1. Shawn,

          A lot of wisdom in what you say. But when members of a protest have swastikas and confederate flags flying, that is not a peaceful protest, that is threatening to many Canadians, and should not be supported by a major political party.

          Anyone who thinks this is simply about vaccines, is sorely mistaken. Anyone who thinks that this protest has anything to do with democracy or decency should examine their privilege.

          Maybe not a popular opinion in this forum, but I stand by it.

          1. Hal,

            99.9% of the flags were Canada, Quebec, traditional, indigenous or otherwise patriotic. People were singing O Canada and dancing. I agree we must denounce any individual racists — there were TWO reported swastikas, which is heinous.

            You denounce an unvetted, grassroots gathering for having a few lunatics, while you also serve as an active member of a left-wing movement with well documented anti-semitism in Canada and abroad. I find that odd.

            This was a working-class protest against mandates which have ruined people’s lives. These people bring food to your table. You speak from an elite position of privilege to denounce a massive crowd of people beneath you on the social scale as all “degenerates” and the “worst of Canada.”

            You do not have to defend Jagmeet Singh’s racist accusations as leader of the NDP.

            I will leave it there. Thanks again.

            Best regards,

            Shawn

    3. I’m glad other people responded. Your calling the truckers “degenerates” made my stomach turn and I wasn’t going to waste my time responding to you in detail.

      1. Indeed. Those “degenerates” do extremely hard work, spending lengthy times away from their families in order to keep food on our tables and essential items available to us.

        Without those truckers our economy would simply grind to a halt. Perhaps we could show some respect for them. By my reading there were exactly 2 trucks with swastikas on them, out of many thousands.

        1. We can do just fine without those truckers. The 99% of truckers who did not take part in this neofascist demonstration are up to the task of keeping our economy going.

          And while not all had their own swastikas, consider this:

          In French grammar, if 50 women and one man are having a conversation we say “Ils parlent”.

          Similarly, if you there is one Nazi speaking with 100 people there are 101 Nazis in the room.

          If we legitimize hate we are part of it.

          1. I was not aware that National Socialists were involved.
            No signs of the black clad members of that , now obscure, Italian Marxist Fascist movement either.

            As for some disorientated southern individual carrying a modified flag of the Democrat Confederacy ( it had an image of a truck in the middle) that the Republicans defeated in a civil war to the south 157 years ago, he obviously got lost on the US/ Canada Underground Railroad .
            Unfortunately there are signs that the Southern Democrat monstrosity is raising its head again with signs or resegregation reappearing.

            Enough of the anti working class snobbery…the latte appears thanks to the truckers as does the tofu , the almond and soya milk, the gluten free products , the avocados, the green juices and agave syrup, the Kale .

            These truckers heroically moved products from A to B to C to D throughout the pandemic while their detractors cowered in their homes….they were cheered on as were the medical staff when they braved the COVID storm…now that it looks that it might be subsiding, the memory of their heroics fades.

        2. Respect … good call. Working-class people are the backbone of this country, not the elites.

          I cannot believe that the police noted zero reports of violence. Zero! That is unbelievable. My wife heard from two other families that took time to travel and attend — they said it was the happiest, most peaceful gathering they’ve ever seen.

          Canadians are desperate to find some freedom again. They want to come together. They are tired of division and hate. Unfortunately, some people benefit from inflaming hate and division.

      2. I didn’t call truckers degenerates, I called the protesters who wave hateful flags, pee on our war memorials and deface other memorials degenerates.

        I do not believe that these people represent truckers or anyone else.

  8. Support, oppose . . . or tolerate. I think it’s all about the third option, the road less and less travelled.

    Our tendency toward black and white, either/or thinking is a disability. It limits choices, ruins relationships, and starts wars. I am not with the truckers or against them. It’s almost always the case that they are right in the context of their own values. How can we judge unless we listen? More importantly, how can we judge ourselves?

    Everyone hates a moderate, but that’s where the real warriors are. Shawn, we’re so lucky to have you fighting from the middle – it’s a brutal place to be.

    Tolerate dissent. Tolerate extreme views. Tolerate idiocy. This goes as much for the PM as the truckers. If we do, we have a chance to duke it out and walk away with bruises and grudging respect for the other side. If we don’t, eventually it’ll be guns and knives.

    1. Matt — THIS is core. I had planned “An Ode to Tolerance”, but the convoy got in the way 😉

      We need to spend some time really digging into tolerance: what is it? What does it presuppose? How is it different from acceptance or normalization?

      You said it well, and I agree entirely, without tolerance, “eventually it’ll be guns and knives.”

      Sure appreciate you taking time to read and post a comment!

      Cheers

      1. We should tolerate the tolerant and be intolerant of the intolerant.
        Tolerating the intolerant is the recipe for disaster,

  9. As usual, amazing writing with excellent points that ooze logic!
    My humble opinion is that we should at bare minimum tolerate our truckers, but I , as usual support them.
    We are done. The pandemic is now endemic and omicron has given us the gift virus we have been waiting for.
    The right to choose is fundamental to the premise of freedom, or at least the sense that we live in a freedom loving society. I completely support their right to choose to be vaccinated, or not.
    I was opposed to making a mandate for reappointment at our hospital. Administration was all for it regardless of the consequences. And they have indeed come home to roost. We had to deny reappointment to two radiologists who don’t even step into the building since they provide off-site reading for after hours. Now we are short night and weekend radiology coverage which can be worse than any Covid patient in our little rural ER.
    It is never wise to mandate anything. Best to educate, explain and provide free will. It is always the best route. Anything less is tyranny regardless of the “best for society” arguments.
    Peace out!
    Oz

    1. The unintended consequences of mandates will come home to roost.

      Governments and their bureaucracies , often with good intentions, act thoughtlessly ( although they thought that they thought, policy being a substitute) with absolute confidence that result in unintended consequences which compounded like snowballs.

      Over the last two years it was not what they didn’t know that mattered , but what they thought they knew , that their experts thought they knew, but none of them did.

      When the dust settles, everything and I mean everything, will be different.

      Certainly in the field of health care and primary care in particular , it will become unrecognizable ….much like Humpty Dumpty who fell ( pushed) off the wall, “ all the kings horses and all the kings men, will not be able to put it together again.”.

      1. Thank you, Ozzy … and Andris for your response.

        I like how you said it, “We should at bare minimum tolerate our truckers.” Exactly. No matter what they think, we should hear them out; support their efforts to be heard. Rex Murphy asked whether PM Trudeau had climbed into a few trucks just to listen. Why not?

        Instead, we decide a whole swath of society is benighted and belligerent. Just use force. Our patience is spent. Never mind that the science has shifted as the virus has mutated … never mind that other countries take an opposite stance on many of our current health policies … even if these were not issues, do we want to live in a society where we solve problems using force on 10% of the population?

        I find it disturbing that so many Canadians apparently seem ok with using force on their neighbours. It seems more common amongst the elites, but I could be wrong about this.

        Thanks so much (to both of you) for taking time to post!

        Be well

  10. The part I don’t get is how the peer reviewed Neil Young and his colleague the peer reviewed Joni Mitchell are ‘heroes’ for leaving Spotify because of the audacity to let the Joe Rogan and Dr Robert Malone podcast stand. These old ‘rockers’ merely made a business decision based on their wisdom and clinical acumen wrt to vaccinology and acted. At the same time Dr Vivek Murthy demands as much censorship also. Why would not Dr Murthy ask for an audience with Joe to clear up all the ‘inaccuracies’ pronounced by Dr Malone? Would this not be the ultimate slap-down? or is there more to this covid vaccine glory story?

    (winking, with tongue in cheek)

  11. Once again, Trudeau has demonstrated that he is narrow minded, intolerant man. He is driven by and blinded by his shallow leftist and progressive ideology. Anything that is counter to his ideology is viewed as unacceptable. Demonizing people and their ideas so that it easier to dismiss them is standard operating procedure.

    In my mind, the fundamental issue is not whether the truckers or right or wrong. Also, it is not whether I agree with the trucks or not. Rather, the issue about people embracing and exercising the rights guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the dream of Trudeau’s father): belief, speech, association, and movement. People should be commended and celebrated for exercising their constitutional rights. Freedom of belief and freedom of expression are the bedrock of democracy and pluralism, the greatest products of classical Liberalism, which is not the progressive crap of Wonder Boy Trudeau. This protest is what being Canadian is all about.

    1. Well said, Andrew. Wise to bring it back to the Constitution. Our whole approach to government cannot survive without peaceful protest. Trudeau is not a leader; he is a divider. He hates Canada and wants to tear it down. Very sad.

      Thanks for taking time to share!

  12. Here is your peaceful protest… and lots of other stories.

    https://twitter.com/paulchamplaw/status/1487870572579201025?s=21

    If you want to stand up for freedom that’s great. Threatening to harm a teenager who is asking you to follow the rules is wrong whether you agree with the rules or not.

    How many accounts of violence will it take before you acknowledge that this rabble in Ottawa is not a peaceful protest for freedom?

    Do we have to wait until they actually kill people?

    1. Hmm, videos from non-MSM about the Freedom Convoy
      Quite different from the coverage by Canadian Govt funded media
      I always listen to everyone respectfully. I do not believe anything without doing my own research.
      Then I draw my own conclusions and even then I could be wrong because I was not there to witness the event.
      I am sure there are other videos.
      Question is which media source is likely to be being objective? MSM/Legacy media; Twitter; Facebook; Youtube etc.? Do any of them have any bias or conflict of interest?
      Watch for yourself and decide whether you believe Hershl’s perspective – remember, he is entitled to his opinion. I love his enthusiasm and passion. His heart is in the right place. But same movie – two or more different opinions. Always two sides to the same story.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KdgHdsaumU
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jhFxDgjQzs

  13. Thanks so much for all the great comments, back and forth!
    Brilliant.

    Here’s a gem from Twitter:

    “Canadian journalists: the convoy doesn’t represent all truckers

    Also Canadian journalists: the handful of idiots here represent the entire convoy”

    I hope you all have a great week.

    Cheers

    1. Very astute Shawn.

      Here’s a comment from Brittlestar that speaks to this as well:

      “You are the company you keep”.

      Off to the NDP convention!

Comments are closed.