LORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE
Anti-vaccine truckers sum up the selfish motivations of the movement, making Ottawan life miserable in name of protecting ‘freedom’ to put others at risk
CANADA has always appeared somewhat of a halfway house between Britain and America.
The two North American countries share many parallels in strictly superficial terms, such as TV shows, cars, shops, food and drink. But scratch below the surface, and Canada’s similarity to the British emerges.
One of the most glaring examples is how both our nations place more value on the rights of everyone in society, whereby Americans, for me, focus on the individual. You only have to look at the issue of firearm ownership to see what they put first – the lives of say, innocent children or the rights of a goon with a gun prepared to storm a school.
But today, Canada is doing its best to show the world it too has its fair amount of selfish shame. For over a week, a convoy of truckers has laid siege to the country’s capital Ottawa as part of a so-called “Freedom Convoy” to protest against vaccine mandates.
After days of unrest, the movement has become a circus of extremism. The country’s anti-vaxxers, anarchists, conspiracy theorists, and even the Nazi party have attached themselves to the trailers of the truckers with mob rule taking hold.
The scenes have been shocking. Like the UK, Canada used to come together at 7pm once a week during the pandemic to show their gratitude for those health care heroes who battled to keep them safe and their loved ones alive.
Now, like us, the country has slowly succumbed to a toxic fringe that has turned the solidarity they shared into outward bitterness and hate. Inspired by their Canadian cousins, Britain’s brotherhood of anti-vaxxers, anarchists and conspiracy theorists formed their own UK Freedom Convoy at Westminster this week.
There were shocking scenes as a mob confronted Labour leader Keir Starmer.
“Traitor,” they yelled at him as he was bundled into the back of a police car to escape the baying band that had formed. His crime? Backing Covid vaccinations.
It was the latest disgrace from these protestors whose slogans have become a constant ringing in our ears.
All we hear about is their rights, their freedoms, their choices – even if it means choosing for others too. The more I see of their antics, the less I think they have anything to do with “restoring freedom”.
Unlike the heroic medical professionals and scientists who have been the true deliverers of our liberty, who are slowly but surely getting us out of this hellish pandemic.
After days of unrest, the movement has become a circus of extremism