willie has politely pointed out to me that I didn't fact check some of my information - shame on me!! However - the way these Canadians acted (are acting) still makes me feel ashamed - and more than a little embarrassed.
Well this happened over the weekend...........
apparently all the hype about truckers being the heroes of this pandemic went to the heads of truckers. They decided that they were going to have a truck convoy travel from BC to Ottawa (for those that don't know our geography - that's west coast to almost the east coast) a FREEDOM CONVOY....... they wanted to protest the necessity of quarantining for 14 days IF/WHEN they cross the border to the States, they don't care that the United States has the exact same 'mandate' !!
At first I honestly didn't pay much attention to this 'convoy of freedom'.... just another group bitching about vaccine mandates......... (please note that I believe 80% of all truckers are fully immunized)
BUT two days into the convoy - they changed their protest from vaccines to EVERYTHING - get rid of the Prime Minister - get rid of lock downs - get rid of masks - get rid of seat belts - get rid of ............. well you name it they wanted it gone!
Then we heard that the two organisers who started this nonsense were white supremacists and/or radicals. They started a go fund me for the truckers and in the space of 3 days or so they raised 6,000,000$ !!!!!!!! GoFundMe froze the account until there was a clear plan for distribution of the funds (to date they have released 1,000,000$)
On Thursday evening our police (provincial and national) were telling folks to stay off the roads on the weekend. WHAT???????? We were planning to drive up to the Nation's Capital to visit with eldest daughter and SIL to celebrate their January birthdays!!! So we postponed our trip till Sunday when the damn trucks would be off the highways.... and settled into the Capital.
On Saturday we heard horror tales of goings on - from protesters dancing on the tomb of the unknown soldier - to vandalizing the Terry Fox Statue - to threatening and intimidating volunteers trying to feed the homeless - to threatening and intimidating mask wearing workers in restaurants around town.
On our drive up on Sunday we passed some small convoys flying flags........ you'd expect - seeing as these are Canadian citizens fighting for Canadian rights (supposedly!) - that you'd see Canadian Flags right??? yeah well we did - but it was the other flags mixed in that worried me and ANGERED me.......... take a look..........
(I'm sorry I didn't take pictures of the trucks and flags we saw on Sunday - cause they were pretty graphic and heart breaking)
I am ashamed! This is not the Canada that I know and love - this is looking an awful lot like the United States one year ago on Jan 6th............
As a Canadian - a PROUD Canadian - I am hanging my head in shame............
(Hiding my head) I am so appalled by what I heard/saw. This is so not Canada.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a clue what the heck the "Freedom convoy" is about but I think it is just to cause an uproar.
for them to claim essential worker status (which they are), then they fall in the same category as first responders....who all have stringent mandates on them. If you don't want to do that, or feel that it is infringing on your right to chose, then chose a different career.
And the idiot down south needs to shut his mouth, he isn't wanted here.
Hugs
boo
read something this weekend written by a trucker - kinda made me stop and think -
DeleteBasically he said 'what makes us essential or more essential than the folks who create the products we carry - or the office folks who schedule the deliveries - or the guys who load our trucks........... " he said a lot more but it kinda makes ya think no?
Yes and no. What makes truckers essential works (and by extension other workers in the chain of supply) is the amount of "exposure" they have. That is just the nature of the job, always has been. But essential workers have more stringent guidelines (ie, amount of sleep required, actual driving time, circle checks etc). To me, this is no different.
DeleteIn actual fact, I think the government failed on this point. Distribution centres and delivery personnel should have been among the first to be vaccinated.
But as well, I wonder how much of this is just "redneck" rhetoric. It seems weird to protest NOW...we are two years into this, it's a little late. I actually feel this is more about other things than about vaccine mandates.
I'm not ashamed to be Canadian because of this. These idiots don't represent the majority of us. They don't even represent the truckers ( the people who demanded food from the Shepards of Good Hope were not truckers - as far as I know they haven't left their trucks for the most part).
ReplyDeleteApparently Go Fund Me ( or rumour has it)is going to donate the balance of the monies collected to Veterans affairs. Let's hope that is true. They are searching for the woman who danced on the tomb and she will be charged ( with what I have no clue). Also apparently, though again who knows, it was a trucker who removed the upside down Canadian flag from Terry Fox's hand.
I don't understand why the mask mandate is an issue on Parliament Hill. That is a provincial mandate. And it's strikes me as odd to protest at a building that is empty. Lol.
I know plenty of people who live in the area. They have all said this, it is the most disrespectful protest they have ever witnessed. Disrespectful,but still peaceful. Only in Canada would we consider hanging a flag upside down on a statue vandalism. Lol. And that is a good thing. So while it sickens me to see people acting like racists,ignorant, self serving jerks, I am 'happy' to see no violence has erupted and it's been a peaceful protest that way, which thankfully seems to still be a Canadian thing.
The entire city is a buzz with this and one question which has also been asked, who is paying for this? Ottawa??? The Federal Government? A lot of city resources have gone into this weekend. A lot of lives, and freedoms of those who live in Ottawa have been interrupted, far more than wearing a mask.
As for the truckers, they can still work within our boarders. And I do have a hard time siding with their loss of livelihood when they can manage to take time to drive across country with gas the price it is, and hang out in Ottawa for several days. Just sayin .
willie
Oh , a little confused by your second picture. It appears to not only have grass in it but leaves on the trees. Where is this in Ontario because I want to go. Lol
Also can you link me to the news article about the ambulance incident? I haven't hear anything about this, nor can I find evidence in my news searches. I'd like to read about it if I could.
ReplyDeleteThx
I didn't check the patient dies story - shame on me - like you I couldn't find a reference to it...
DeleteI like how you politely called me on my fact checking
Lol! I found it online in the Ottawa paper
ReplyDelete"The operations commander also debunked an online rumour that someone in Ottawa had died over the weekend because of delayed ambulance response times due to the gridlock downtown and associated road closures.
“We investigated it and it did not happen. We did not have a delay that generated a death. That’s not true,” she said."
Protesters ( not near downtown did throw rocks at ambulances I mean wtf?)
OK willie - if you read my blog I have taken full blame for not fact checking ........
Deleteregardless it is still disgraceful........
As an amateur student of history, the comparisons between now and the 1930s are frightening. And we all know how that ended. The game has changed. It is not right versus left any more. It is moderates, of all political and social colours, against extremism and populism.
ReplyDeletePrefectdt
I know exactly what you mean Prefectdt - it is just one of the things that scare me......
DeleteI'm so sorry you are having to deal with all this. Trust me, as an American I know how hard it is to be so very ashamed of what some people - from the top on down are doing. I hope things improve for you quickly. (And you know I'm talking about us about five years ago, not this past year.)
ReplyDeleteI'm ashamed - not only by the actions of these truckers - but by the number of us Canadians (myself included) who watched the problems south of the border and patted ourselves on the back and said 'that would never happen here'
DeleteI would point out that the police have NOT reported any "incidents" BECAUSE they are refusing to report/ticket any of the MANY infractions!!
ReplyDeleteand they are calling it - refusing to escalate.. yeah I know selkie
DeleteMy mind boggles at the protesters Morningstar, and as you say, they now seem to be protesting anything and everything.
ReplyDeleteHere we have one main, well known religious 'leader' protagonist organising nation wide protests. He has been charged ane bailed and charged again for breaching bail conditions on numerous occasions. He was held in remand in prison briefly due to continually breaching bail but managed to get that overturned. So frustrating!
Hugs
Roz
I guess everyone has their "nut cases" Roz - sad but true
Delete