We have been following the “Freedom Convoy” of Canadian truckers that rolled out of metro Vancouver earlier this week on a cross-country convoy in protest of Canada’s vaccine mandate for truck drivers.
The convoy is now being joined by American truckers.
The convoy assembled in British Columbia on Sunday, and will arrive in Ottawa by Saturday where they are expected to be joined by other protesters driving from the east and the south of the country. Truckers from the US have also joined the massive convoy.By Friday morning, the drivers were in Kingston, Ontario, which is about 110 miles from the capital city. Several thousand people are expected to gather in the capital, and some of the group´s leaders are calling for a peaceful event, but statements from some associated with the group have included threats of violence.The truckers are, in part, protesting a new rule that took effect January 15 requiring truckers entering Canada be fully immunized against the coronavirus. The United States has imposed the same requirement on truckers entering that country January 22.The first of hundreds vehicles started to trickle into Ottawa, where they are expected to set up in the streets around Parliament Hill for the weekend – and possibly longer.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who recently moved his company headquarters from California’s deep blue Silicon Valley to Texas, offered support to Canadian truckers protesting the federal government’s vaccine mandate on Thursday in a series of tweets.
“Canadian truckers rule,” Musk wrote to his nearly 72 million followers, adding “CB radios are free from govt/media control.”‘Later he added another tweet that said, “If you scare people enough, they will demand removal of freedom. This is the path to tyranny.”…Musk told Time last month in an interview after he was selected a “Person of the Year” that he and his eligible children are all vaccinated because the science is “unequivocal” but said he is opposed to mandates.The unvaccinated are “taking a risk, but people do risky things all the time,” he told Time. “I believe we’ve got to watch out for the erosion of freedom in America.”
On the other hand, Michael Adder (the political cartoonist for the Washington Post) had what (I imagine) he thought was a clever take on the subject.
The scale of the convoy is such that it is clearly scaring progressives. David tMoscrop, a contributor to the Washington Post deemed it “toxic” and demanded Canadian authorities “confront” it.
The “Freedom Convoy” is a regrettable movement that offers a reminder that open societies will produce protest movements — as they should. However, when those movements are toxic, they must be denounced and resisted. In their place, we should adopt a politics of liberation that takes up more space and offers solutions to structural problems by remaking our institutions to ensure that they are fully inclusive, both morally and, just as importantly, materially.
There are signs that there may be plans to demonize the Freedom Truckers when they arrive in Ottawa.
A convoy of truckers set to descend on Ottawa to protest a vaccine mandate for cross-border drivers is prompting Canadian police to prepare for violence and politicians to warn against escalating rhetoric linked to the demonstration.Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly said Wednesday officers had been in been in contact with protest leaders whom he said have been co-operative and shared their plans. But Deputy Chief Steve Bell voiced concern about “parallel groups” that intelligence suggests will also turn up to the protest.
I hope all the truckers are on the lookout for the winter-wear equivalent of this look.
Fortunately, it seems Canadian truckers have got this.
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