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I think it's necessary to draw the distinction between this occupation, and other protests, because other protests do not greatly impact the ongoing lives of ra

I think it's necessary to draw the distinction between this occupation, and other protests, because other protests do not greatly impact the ongoing lives of random unrelated citizens in the city who just happen to live in the area for weeks on end. So sure, we can call both protests, but the important thing is that this was also a foreign-funded occupation. So there is no value in comparing this with the protests for both left- and right- wing causes that Ottawa sees on a weekly basis. Protests that get a permit, last an afternoon, and then go home and lets people live their lives without being harassed.

totony 5y ago
>because other protests do not greatly impact the ongoing lives of random unrelated citizens in the city who just happen to live in the area for weeks on end. From my experience this is not true. Protests mostly involve discomfort to normal people.Be it BLM, occupy wall street, students manifestations, railroads blocking, etc Maybe the scales of some are different, but calling this a "foreign-founded occupation" is disingenuous.
- tekstar 5y ago
  > Maybe the scales of some are different, but calling this a "foreign-founded occupation" is disingenuous. Weird since it was definitely foreign-funded and definitely an occupation, but okay
- ryandrake 5y ago
  I think the trucker protest was unique (and different from OWS, BLM) due to it deliberately targeting ordinary, unrelated citizens instead of the government. It would have been more like other protests if they blockaded and blew their horns at Trudeau's front lawn or Parliament or Big Business or something, but instead the protesters specifically went after the wellbeing of ordinary Canadians. All protests "involve discomfort" to normal people, but this one uniquely targeted them. EDIT: This is not letting individual BLM protestors (who did deliberately target private businesses) off the hook, but the movement itself did not specifically call for belligerence against unrelated citizens.
- seemack 5y ago
  I just want to address the comment about most protests involving discomfort to normal people. I live and work in the downtown core of Ottawa. I'm sure you will not be surprised to hear that the city is a focal point for protests and has had many of them, large and small, over the years. I completely agree that protests often include some measure of discomfort for random, unrelated citizens. However, I can tell you that there has never been a protest even remotely close to the number of torments this protest inflicted upon the residents of the city. I personally know numerous people who were harassed verbally and physically while walking in the streets simply for wearing a mask. A downtown mall was forced to close for multiple weeks due to protesters refusing to follow masking rules. Think of the retail staff who lost out on multiple weeks of pay. There was an attempt to set fire to a residential building with the main lobby door being taped shut. Fireworks were being set off on city streets downtown. Extremely loud horns were being sounded throughout all hours of the day and night, including train and boat horns that could be heard throughout the downtown core. People were prevented from buying groceries within a reasonable distance due to the grocery store having to close; the workers having been harassed while working by protesters. Numerous small retail shops in the downtown were forced to close their doors due to protester harassment and reduced traffic as people largely felt unsafe in the downtown core. There was an instance of protesters harassing a homeless shelter into providing them food. This was not discomfort. This was a complete prevention of the ability to feel safe in their homes and neighbourhood for a large swath of Ottawa residents who had nothing to do with the mandates. Many people were materially affected by this and had no way of escaping beyond leaving the city.
  - raxxorrax 5y ago
    They protested against vaccination mandates and the store closure was due to government policy. To be honest, this sound very peaceful for a protest all in all. Feeling unsafe is often invoked lately to restrict the rights of others. I don't believe this is sufficient in a larger context.
    - seemack 5y ago
      Please show me your source for saying that the mall was closed due to government policy.

totony 5y ago

>because other protests do not greatly impact the ongoing lives of random unrelated citizens in the city who just happen to live in the area for weeks on end. From my experience this is not true. Protests mostly involve discomfort to normal people.Be it BLM, occupy wall street, students manifestations, railroads blocking, etc Maybe the scales of some are different, but calling this a "foreign-founded occupation" is disingenuous.

tekstar 5y ago
> Maybe the scales of some are different, but calling this a "foreign-founded occupation" is disingenuous. Weird since it was definitely foreign-funded and definitely an occupation, but okay
ryandrake 5y ago
I think the trucker protest was unique (and different from OWS, BLM) due to it deliberately targeting ordinary, unrelated citizens instead of the government. It would have been more like other protests if they blockaded and blew their horns at Trudeau's front lawn or Parliament or Big Business or something, but instead the protesters specifically went after the wellbeing of ordinary Canadians. All protests "involve discomfort" to normal people, but this one uniquely targeted them. EDIT: This is not letting individual BLM protestors (who did deliberately target private businesses) off the hook, but the movement itself did not specifically call for belligerence against unrelated citizens.
seemack 5y ago
I just want to address the comment about most protests involving discomfort to normal people. I live and work in the downtown core of Ottawa. I'm sure you will not be surprised to hear that the city is a focal point for protests and has had many of them, large and small, over the years. I completely agree that protests often include some measure of discomfort for random, unrelated citizens. However, I can tell you that there has never been a protest even remotely close to the number of torments this protest inflicted upon the residents of the city. I personally know numerous people who were harassed verbally and physically while walking in the streets simply for wearing a mask. A downtown mall was forced to close for multiple weeks due to protesters refusing to follow masking rules. Think of the retail staff who lost out on multiple weeks of pay. There was an attempt to set fire to a residential building with the main lobby door being taped shut. Fireworks were being set off on city streets downtown. Extremely loud horns were being sounded throughout all hours of the day and night, including train and boat horns that could be heard throughout the downtown core. People were prevented from buying groceries within a reasonable distance due to the grocery store having to close; the workers having been harassed while working by protesters. Numerous small retail shops in the downtown were forced to close their doors due to protester harassment and reduced traffic as people largely felt unsafe in the downtown core. There was an instance of protesters harassing a homeless shelter into providing them food. This was not discomfort. This was a complete prevention of the ability to feel safe in their homes and neighbourhood for a large swath of Ottawa residents who had nothing to do with the mandates. Many people were materially affected by this and had no way of escaping beyond leaving the city.
- raxxorrax 5y ago
  They protested against vaccination mandates and the store closure was due to government policy. To be honest, this sound very peaceful for a protest all in all. Feeling unsafe is often invoked lately to restrict the rights of others. I don't believe this is sufficient in a larger context.
  - seemack 5y ago
    Please show me your source for saying that the mall was closed due to government policy.