Some random observations on the protest/occupation of Ottawa over the past three weeks:
BUREAUCRACY BAFFLES
In a wonderful testament to the glacial pace of bureaucracies, the emergency was over by the time the Emergencies Act was passed in parliament. The debate will rage for some time whether it was actually necessary, but that’s moot now. The Emergency Act has been rescinded making Occupy Ottawa (my choice of name) the shortest emergency on record (other than that the time Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came out to address the media without his winter coat on).
DIVERSITY PROTEST
Like many across the country, I was glued to CBC all weekend (which was obviously airing biased Mainstream Media crap, by showing un-edited, live feeds from the occupation which were undoubtedly deep-faked to make the burly men in town looking for fun appear to be protesters). One thing I noticed about the occupation forces and I’m sure others did as well, they were predominantly white folks. Yes, there were some visible minorities in the crowd, but, by and large, it was a white folks thing. Now, before the barkers start barking, it doesn’t mean they’re racist. It just means the protest didn’t attract a diverse crowd.
POLITICIANS WHO REALLY AREN’T HELPING
• Chilliwack-Hope MP Mark Strahl claims that ‘single mom Briane,’ apparently a constituent of his, had her bank account frozen after donating $50 to the so-called Freedom Convoy a la the Emergency Measures Act. When less reactionary folks rightly pressed Strahl to prove that this ‘Briane’ actually exists, he refused but didn’t back down.
That prompted the RCMP to issue a statement saying it only provided banks with of protest organizers and those who left their vehicles behind in Ottawa, not ‘single moms who donated $50.’
It also prompted a banner headline in a British tabloid, so we pretty much know now it wasn’t true but a black mark on the country internationally just the same.
Thanks Mark, not helping.
• Ontario MPP Rick Hillier, who was booted out of the Conservative Party long before the pandemic even started, defended his call for people to jam 9-1-1 lines during the occupation in Ottawa by saying people should always be able to contact government agencies and air their concerns.
Really? Yup. And this guy is still an MPP? Yup.
He has also called Liberal cabinet minister Omar Alghabra, who is Muslim, a terrorist. That one, hopefully, may get him banned from the Ontario legislature.
I get it that people are upset with politicians, in general, and that is a big part of why we’re seeing such discontent from a small portion of people in this country. However, the sooner we stop electing goofballs like these, the quicker the country will be in a better place. And why do the loonies always seem to be Conservatives?
I would be remiss, however, in not pointing out that both Liberal and Conservative politicians have tried to, and continue to, play politics rather than show leadership. Shame on all of them.
1-2-3-4 WHO ARE WE FIGHTING FOR?
While the social media mavens and the media (what used to pass for the chattering classes) were all agog about whether Trudeau and the Liberals were going to send the troops in to crash the party on Parliament Hill, apparently the protestors have no qualms about using the military.
Occupiers/protestors flooded the Department of National Defence phone lines demanding the army protect them from the oncoming police action.
“Some of the callers claimed the police dispersing the so-called ‘Freedom Convoy’ over the weekend were not real officers, but part of a covert United Nations invasion force,” writes David Pugliese in the Ottawa Citizen. “Military officials privately say the incident shows how fast conspiracy theories can spread and how gullible some members of the public can be.”
Once again, when did things get so far off the rails for so many people?
HOLD THE LINE
Had to chuckle that the rallying cry for the protestors was “hold the line.” It’s a good one and harkens back to warfare when giving up ground wasn’t an option. What made me chuckle was that when the police line started moving in, the ‘line,’ other than at times involving some intense pushing and shoving, quite readily gave up ground to the advancing police. No one said you couldn’t hold the line and move it at the same time.
RANDOM SIGHTS
• There was a person spotted wearing, yes, a tinfoil hat in the occupation. And, even better, there was a woman there with a pigeon on her head. It’s true.
• Worse, however, were the sights of people there with their children. Noticed a woman with a toddler less than 20 feet from the advancing police line. I don’t care how committed you are to a cause it can never, never be more important than the safety of your child. In addition, the call for people to bring their children to the occupation, basically to use as shields, is nothing less than despicable and repugnant.
RALLY FOR FREEDOM
Maybe rather than whine about how hard done by we are in this country, we should support the people of Ukraine who really are fighting for their freedom.