5 ms·

> I am not writing this piece to advocate for the protest and its participants. I am writing this piece to ask Canadians like me whether we want our future prot

> I am not writing this piece to advocate for the protest and its participants. I am writing this piece to ask Canadians like me whether we want our future protests to be judged and covered by standards applied to the truckers today. I am asking us to think about what happens to the horizon of possibility for mass organizing when we throw in with the idea that actual, authentic grassroots protests are a thing of the past and the only legitimate public demonstration is one choreographed from above, its participants carefully disciplined into reading from an identical script or into silence. The main objection I have to this is that yes, I think I do want any protest whose organizers' demands are essentially "we'll take over for elected MPs and collectively this new government issue edicts to provinces" reported on in this way.[1] > We should also think about the Proud Boys and Sons of Odin who have gone to the rally to radicalize its participants. The on-the-ground experience of regular folks participating will be of being called Nazis, traitors, Klansmen, bigots, etc. Not only will this place greater distance between the participants and urban Canadian society; it will make them look less unfavourably on others who are called Nazis and Klansmen. How bad could those guys really be, they will ask themselves? Were they also smeared as part of a bum rap by shills for the pharmaceutical industry? This is a weak argument for a few reasons. 1. The "regular folks" here are decidedly in the tiny minority. "Regular folks" by the percentages in Canada got vaccinated and aren't harassing people who live near government buildings / borders. Ottawa and its immediate areas across the river in Quebec house about 1.5 million people collectively, and they were able to drum up about 20k at the peak, who all disappeared on Sunday. 2. While I think it's certainly possible some people out there somewhere have thought to themselves "well I guess I am racist, even though I think I'm not, and I guess it can't be all that bad", I've yet to see anything close to that actually happening. What I have seen happen is people who weren't vocal about *beliefs they already held* are now emboldened to share it, be it because they perceive the "others" to be responsible for their poor economic status or just because it's ingrained from upbringing. 3. The notes about the Proud Boys and the Sons of Odin joining the protest are interesting, because it's the same "not all protestors" thing that happens at ANY large protest. Is the suggestion that it's only the Sons of Odin and Proud Boys members laying on air horns for hours on end in the middle of the night? 4. This sets the bar as "unless it's an all out riot you can never judge a protest by the actions of its members." I don't agree at all. There've been countless left- and right-side protests in Ottawa, and none that I know of have been like this. Consider: There has been a large March for Life protest pretty much every year since I left the city, and they do not turn violent or damage property: https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/thousands-attend-march-for-life-downtown-1.3923289 https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/thousands-attend-march-for-life-do... The reason it's getting the coverage it is is because it is deserved based on the actions of people associated with this particular cause. The concept that the coverage there is only showing the worst behaviours is hilarious to me because of course it is. That's what the news media do. It isn't a left/right divide at all, it's a "what generates attention" divide. [1]: https://canada-unity.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Combined-MOU-Dec03.pdf https://canada-unity.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Combined...

oceanplexian 5y ago
> The "regular folks" here are decidedly in the tiny minority. "Regular folks" by the percentages in Canada got vaccinated I won't speak to the other arguments you made but conflating "People who are vaccinated" with "People who agree with COVID restrictions" is frustrating and misleading. For some reason the media keeps failing to make this distinction, e.g. "The protestors are a fringe minority, and that is because 90% of the population is vaccinated". You can look at the statistics of how many people are boosted (41% of Canadians) to see that not everyone is onboard with current public health recommendations, even if they were OK with the idea of getting vaccinated initially. If you start to deconstruct the numbers and look at polling there are a lot of indicators that the majority is not in favor of restrictions.
- BeefWellington 5y ago
  Firstly, the full quote is actually: > The "regular folks" here are decidedly in the tiny minority. "Regular folks" by the percentages in Canada got vaccinated and aren't harassing people who live near government buildings / borders. That second part is significant and matters. Secondly, in response to this: > I won't speak to the other arguments you made but conflating "People who are vaccinated" with "People who agree with COVID restrictions" is frustrating and misleading. As I noted above, I didn't do that. Let's discuss your example anyways. Canadians broadly support further restricting people who are not vaccinated.[1] Next, Canadians broadly support ending COVID restrictions and trying to return to normal.[2] In the same study ([2]) nearly half (49%) of those surveyed blame the unvaccinated for prolonging the pandemic. It might be ugly but the general attitude these polls suggest is one of "if you're not working with us, you're working against us." > For some reason the media keeps failing to make this distinction, e.g. "The protestors are a fringe minority, and that is because 90% of the population is vaccinated". You can look at the statistics of how many people are boosted (41% of Canadians) to see that not everyone is onboard with current public health recommendations, even if they were OK with the idea of getting vaccinated initially. If you start to deconstruct the numbers and look at polling there are a lot of indicators that the majority is not in favor of restrictions. I addressed the latter part above. However, that 41% number is disingenuous for a few reasons. 1. The booster campaigns only began for the general population in December. In a number of provinces there is a minimum wait time for getting a booster shot after your second shot. 2. Each province handles health care on its own, so responses are different and rules are different all across the country. You can see numbers at a few places but there's a tracker at CBC that's still being updated.[3] The globe also has an article about the uptake slowing and suggests it's there's a variety of different reasons than just individual attitudes (though that is undeniably a factor for each vaccination).[4] On that page they chart out doses administered. Because supply was much higher the spike is much larger for the booster than dose 1 and the trend appears in most provinces to be following the second shot. Consider: 41% of Canadians got the booster within two months of the start of booster campaigns. This suggests it's actually pretty popular. [1]: https://globalnews.ca/news/8532791/covid-unvaccinated-restrictions-tax-poll/ https://globalnews.ca/news/8532791/covid-unvaccinated-restri... [2]: https://angusreid.org/omicron-incidence-restrictions/ https://angusreid.org/omicron-incidence-restrictions/ [3]: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/track-how-many-people-have-been-given-the-covid-19-vaccine-across-canada-1.5870573 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/track-how-many-people-have-be... [4]: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-uptake-of-covid-19-vaccine-boosters-slows-in-canada-despite-omicrons/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-uptake-of-cov...

oceanplexian 5y ago

> The "regular folks" here are decidedly in the tiny minority. "Regular folks" by the percentages in Canada got vaccinated I won't speak to the other arguments you made but conflating "People who are vaccinated" with "People who agree with COVID restrictions" is frustrating and misleading. For some reason the media keeps failing to make this distinction, e.g. "The protestors are a fringe minority, and that is because 90% of the population is vaccinated". You can look at the statistics of how many people are boosted (41% of Canadians) to see that not everyone is onboard with current public health recommendations, even if they were OK with the idea of getting vaccinated initially. If you start to deconstruct the numbers and look at polling there are a lot of indicators that the majority is not in favor of restrictions.

BeefWellington 5y ago
Firstly, the full quote is actually: > The "regular folks" here are decidedly in the tiny minority. "Regular folks" by the percentages in Canada got vaccinated and aren't harassing people who live near government buildings / borders. That second part is significant and matters. Secondly, in response to this: > I won't speak to the other arguments you made but conflating "People who are vaccinated" with "People who agree with COVID restrictions" is frustrating and misleading. As I noted above, I didn't do that. Let's discuss your example anyways. Canadians broadly support further restricting people who are not vaccinated.[1] Next, Canadians broadly support ending COVID restrictions and trying to return to normal.[2] In the same study ([2]) nearly half (49%) of those surveyed blame the unvaccinated for prolonging the pandemic. It might be ugly but the general attitude these polls suggest is one of "if you're not working with us, you're working against us." > For some reason the media keeps failing to make this distinction, e.g. "The protestors are a fringe minority, and that is because 90% of the population is vaccinated". You can look at the statistics of how many people are boosted (41% of Canadians) to see that not everyone is onboard with current public health recommendations, even if they were OK with the idea of getting vaccinated initially. If you start to deconstruct the numbers and look at polling there are a lot of indicators that the majority is not in favor of restrictions. I addressed the latter part above. However, that 41% number is disingenuous for a few reasons. 1. The booster campaigns only began for the general population in December. In a number of provinces there is a minimum wait time for getting a booster shot after your second shot. 2. Each province handles health care on its own, so responses are different and rules are different all across the country. You can see numbers at a few places but there's a tracker at CBC that's still being updated.[3] The globe also has an article about the uptake slowing and suggests it's there's a variety of different reasons than just individual attitudes (though that is undeniably a factor for each vaccination).[4] On that page they chart out doses administered. Because supply was much higher the spike is much larger for the booster than dose 1 and the trend appears in most provinces to be following the second shot. Consider: 41% of Canadians got the booster within two months of the start of booster campaigns. This suggests it's actually pretty popular. [1]: https://globalnews.ca/news/8532791/covid-unvaccinated-restrictions-tax-poll/ https://globalnews.ca/news/8532791/covid-unvaccinated-restri... [2]: https://angusreid.org/omicron-incidence-restrictions/ https://angusreid.org/omicron-incidence-restrictions/ [3]: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/track-how-many-people-have-been-given-the-covid-19-vaccine-across-canada-1.5870573 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/track-how-many-people-have-be... [4]: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-uptake-of-covid-19-vaccine-boosters-slows-in-canada-despite-omicrons/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-uptake-of-cov...