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Government debanked the lockdown protestors in Canada. Freezing their bank accounts. So people started giving them cash so they have something for food. But ima

Government debanked the lockdown protestors in Canada. Freezing their bank accounts. So people started giving them cash so they have something for food. But imagine if you couldn't buy bread because government decided you shouldn't oppose their lockdown policy. Without cash, you are a slave to the state, and can't have food unless they say you can.

mistrial9 4y ago
most people who have never experienced real hunger do not understand this
kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 4y ago
This, and I cannot agree enough. Generally speaking, governments don't always have your best interests in mind.
- sofixa 4y ago
  > Generally speaking, governments don't always have your best interests in mind Generally speaking, this a massive stretch for a democratic country such as Switzerland. What is the government there but a representation of it's citizens?
  - AdrianB1 4y ago
    > What is the government ... Extreme naivety or trolling?
  - iforgotpassword 4y ago
    A government's highest priority is keeping itself in power at all cost.
  - xienze 4y ago
    > What is the government there but a representation of it's citizens? Situations sometimes come up that the people don’t exactly get a chance to vote on. For instance, no one in the US in 2018 ran on a “if there’s a dangerous respiratory virus circulating in the future I vow to lock the country down to the best of my ability and mandate vaccines that have been fast-tracked” platform, and such a candidate likely wouldn’t win. But here we are.
    - sofixa 4y ago
      That's a rather poor example. Nobody campaigns on "If an earthquake/hurricane strikes, I vow to respect and implement the advice of the relevant agencies whose entire job is it to deal with this kind of stuff", because it's kind of a given.
nubinetwork 4y ago
Don't get me wrong, but the government asked the fringers to leave nicely, then demanded they leave... other than amassing an army and arresting them all, I don't see what else they could have done to make them listen.
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  > amassing an army and arresting them all This is acceptable. Everyone should have an inalienable right to proof of identity and access to an electronic funds account, regardless of their crimes. If the government wants to seize funds, they can go to court and prove the crime.
  - nubinetwork 4y ago
    If I'm not mistaken, freezing their bank accounts did need some sort of court approval... You can't just walk into a bank and say "Hi, I want you to make sure this list of people can't continue business as usual". Edit: I don't think an army would have been the best solution either... Since the protest, many of those same people are now part of the defund police protests. Imagine the mess that would have happened if the police had showed up in military gear and arrested thousands of people...
    - lotsofpulp 4y ago
      Freezing bank accounts is not acceptable, since that is currently the mechanism for electronic money transfer. It is like taking away someone’s right to own or use cash. If a crime has been committed, and there is a fine with the crime, and there is a conviction of the crime, then the government taking money from the electronic account as payment for the fine is OK. But the right to engage in transactions should never be able to be taken away.
      - nubinetwork 4y ago
        Tell that to the government then, it's not like they held a referendum to ask us what our opinion was. I'm just saying this method was less violent than the alternative.
throwaway9870 4y ago
Not only a slave to the state, but a slave to private companies. Most electronic payments, including cards and apps are via companies (as opposed to govt). Who wants companies to have more control over their life?

mistrial9 4y ago

most people who have never experienced real hunger do not understand this

kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 4y ago

This, and I cannot agree enough. Generally speaking, governments don't always have your best interests in mind.

sofixa 4y ago
> Generally speaking, governments don't always have your best interests in mind Generally speaking, this a massive stretch for a democratic country such as Switzerland. What is the government there but a representation of it's citizens?
- AdrianB1 4y ago
  > What is the government ... Extreme naivety or trolling?
- iforgotpassword 4y ago
  A government's highest priority is keeping itself in power at all cost.
- xienze 4y ago
  > What is the government there but a representation of it's citizens? Situations sometimes come up that the people don’t exactly get a chance to vote on. For instance, no one in the US in 2018 ran on a “if there’s a dangerous respiratory virus circulating in the future I vow to lock the country down to the best of my ability and mandate vaccines that have been fast-tracked” platform, and such a candidate likely wouldn’t win. But here we are.
  - sofixa 4y ago
    That's a rather poor example. Nobody campaigns on "If an earthquake/hurricane strikes, I vow to respect and implement the advice of the relevant agencies whose entire job is it to deal with this kind of stuff", because it's kind of a given.

nubinetwork 4y ago

Don't get me wrong, but the government asked the fringers to leave nicely, then demanded they leave... other than amassing an army and arresting them all, I don't see what else they could have done to make them listen.

lotsofpulp 4y ago
> amassing an army and arresting them all This is acceptable. Everyone should have an inalienable right to proof of identity and access to an electronic funds account, regardless of their crimes. If the government wants to seize funds, they can go to court and prove the crime.
- nubinetwork 4y ago
  If I'm not mistaken, freezing their bank accounts did need some sort of court approval... You can't just walk into a bank and say "Hi, I want you to make sure this list of people can't continue business as usual". Edit: I don't think an army would have been the best solution either... Since the protest, many of those same people are now part of the defund police protests. Imagine the mess that would have happened if the police had showed up in military gear and arrested thousands of people...
  - lotsofpulp 4y ago
    Freezing bank accounts is not acceptable, since that is currently the mechanism for electronic money transfer. It is like taking away someone’s right to own or use cash. If a crime has been committed, and there is a fine with the crime, and there is a conviction of the crime, then the government taking money from the electronic account as payment for the fine is OK. But the right to engage in transactions should never be able to be taken away.
    - nubinetwork 4y ago
      Tell that to the government then, it's not like they held a referendum to ask us what our opinion was. I'm just saying this method was less violent than the alternative.

throwaway9870 4y ago

Not only a slave to the state, but a slave to private companies. Most electronic payments, including cards and apps are via companies (as opposed to govt). Who wants companies to have more control over their life?