Well, well, well….
I'm pretty alarmed and EXTREMELY CONFUSED by the trickle of misplaced anger headed towards Ottawa, and wanted to share my perspective on this topic in case any of my friends supporting the so-called freedom convoy maybe aren't familiar with the realities of vulnerable Canadians for whom vaccine mandates have been put in place to protect.
For example, say you're an able-bodied 33 year old white male or female who is pretty confident that you'll survive covid and have "done your own research" and decided you don't need a vaccine because you're strong and healthy. So, without a vaccine mandate, you won't get vaccinated. But then what happens if you transmit covid to a friend or family member who works as a PSW and provides attendant services to a young adult with a severe physical disability? Best case scenario? That PSW notices their symptoms right away, tests positive, stays home and isolates. In this scenario, the client is now short staffed and has to sacrifice some if not all of their daily care routine. I'd suggest following some disability advocates on social media to hear stories about people going 10+ days without a shower because of staffing shortages (due to covid cases soaring) before you talk about your "freedoms". And this is a best case scenario. Worst case scenario? The PSW is asymptomatic, and unwittingly passes covid along to their immunocompromised client who gets severely ill because of their comorbidities and dies. Was their loss of dignity or death worth your "freedom"?
There are so many more examples of this where you sub in a different marginalized community (instead of a person with a disability) and end up with the same outcome.
So let's be very clear: public health mandates are put in place to protect society's most vulnerable. Letting covid run rampant and continue to mutate into potentially more dangerous variants is DIRECTLY infringing the freedoms of people who were not born with the privilege of being able-bodied and (predominantly) white.
And these types of mandates are not new!!! We ban certain types of snacks from schools to protect people who were born with allergies. We put speed limits on highways to protect people from dangerous drivers. Vaccine mandates specifically have been put in place to protect people who DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE when it comes to their risk levels with covid. People like my brother and many of our friends with disabilities, my elderly grandparents, anyone whose immune system has been compromised due to cancer treatments or a multitude of other chronic illnesses… the list goes on. What these mandates are not put in place for is to protect white able bodied men and women who for a variety of unfair systemic reasons are probably not going to die if they get covid. If you fall into this category of privilege and you are protesting these mandates then shame on you.
Make no mistake, I wholeheartedly believe our governments (at alllllll levels) deserve this level of criticism. There are sooooo many excellent reasons we should be rallying in Ottawa. But it is TERRIFYING to see organizers with (literal) white nationalist roots like the Maverick Party leaders try to capitalize on misinformation and manipulate people into thinking their "freedom" has been infringed upon (they'll use any cause to get attention and promote themselves.) The amount of energy this shitshow has sucked up is insane. Imagine if $4M was used to build a water treatment plant in a First Nations community living under a boil water advisory? Or to increase addiction and mental health support services? Or to support refugee claimants who have fled *legitimate* dictatorships and come to Canada seeking a better life? Or if all these people were getting riled up over actually stopping climate change? Or increasing taxes on the super wealthy?? Or to fight for better living conditions and support systems for people with disabilities? Or to protest police violence against Black communities? I would be there with fucking bells (and a mask) on.
So if you can support this "movement" despite its racist roots AND after hearing what the effects of covid are on people less privileged than you and you STILL think your personal "freedom" has value above all else, I am horrified. Shame on you and your selfishness.
"The point is that though it may be up to you what risks you run for yourself, it is not purely up to you what risks you impose on others." -
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/a...UwVl1iOgeNOVyflrSzacsB4Al4uwLt4XoAcpdJRFQ-qps
