A man in a bathrobe and a much too revealing Canadian flag thong waving a “Treason Trudeau” sign in front of Parliament does not an insurrection make. As the convoy of anti-vaccine-mandate truckers and others headed to Ottawa for planned weekend protests, progressive politicians and media warned of a Jan. 6-style riot on the hill. While events could perhaps still turn sideways, as demonstrations are supposedly planned for days, what Canadians got this weekend was closer to a summer carnival.
And yet, a handful of Nazi and Confederate flags appears to have been enough to quickly label the as many as 10,000 protesters irredeemable racists.
Regular people are exhausted from nearly two years of health restrictions that have limited our rights, often arbitrarily
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A typical
social media post came from Liberal MP Anthony Housefather on Friday as the rally was beginning. “I am not sure if I am more worried that this will be similar to Charlottesville or the January 6 insurrection,” he wrote, referring to the tiki-torch laden white supremacist rally in 2017, as well as last year’s pro-Donald Trump riot. “Either way, it is something I hoped never to see on this side of the border.”
It is true that in addition to those who were displaying despicable imagery, there were truly
disgraceful yahoos dancing on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier while shouting “freedom.” The head of an Ottawa soup kitchen
said a homeless person was assaulted by protesters, and that a group connected with the convoy later harassed staff into giving them food.
But by Sunday morning, other protesters were cleaning and guarding the National War Memorial, showing that judging a movement by its worst elements is disingenuous.
Anyway, more at the above link.