clownvoy

[clownvoy]

Three key ‘Freedom Convoy’ leaders reveal the hopes, tension and infighting

The Toronto Star talked to three of the Clown Convoy's lesser-known leaders to find out how the trucker movement started, and how it later fell apart.

Here are some highlights from this story.

* Wallaceburg, Ont. truck driver Brigitte Belton:

"She remained out of the spotlight while disparate groups with different agendas hitched their trucks, RVs and tractors to the convoy coalition."

"Even though she calls the attempts to keep so many disparate groups on the same page 'one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever experienced in my life,' Belton said she’s proud of what she views as the convoy’s best parts."

“'The best thing that came out from Ottawa was I was no longer alone,” she said. “I’ve been told I’m a horrible person for not taking a vaccine that I didn’t believe in. I saw that I wasn’t alone in that.”'

* James Bauder, founder of Canada Unity and Operation Bearhug: "Canada Unity, became the key organizational tool for those wanting to join the convoy, laying out route maps and displaying the phone numbers for convoy contacts from across the country."

Bauder wrote the infamous Canada Unity Memorandum of Understanding that demanded the Senate and Governor General intervene to end federal COVID-19 mandates - or trigger a referendum to launch a new election. That convinced many observers that the freedom truckers wanted to overthrow the government.

The Star says Bauder regrets some of the alliances he made, especially with people like white supremacist Patrick King and Western Canada separatist Tamara Lich.

Bauder didn’t like that “Freedom Convoy 2022” seemed to be forming as a separate entity from his baby, Operation Bearhug. Freedom Convoy seemed to be loosely affiliated with separatist parties, while Bauder saw his effort as a “unity” movement.

“It just disgusted me deeply inside to see egos, greed and politics jump in and co-opt our movement,” Bauder said.

“Lessons learned. Be careful who you partner with.”

* Retired Canadian Forces captain Tom Marazzo:

Marazzo says his role was to speak on behalf of the convoy organizers, and work with police and public officials to keep the protest running smoothly. He's affiliated with the Police on Guard group, retired and current police and military members who oppose vaccine mandates and other COVID restrictions.

The day police cleared the protests, on Feb. 18, Marazzo says he was was watching and "sarcastically cheering" the officers . But he cleared out before he could be arrested. "He had hoped the police were on the side of the convoy and wouldn’t make them go home in this way."

What's next? Marazzo is running as a candidate in the current Ontario election, as part of former MP Derek Sloan’s populist party "Ontario Party." Sloan e3xpects his party to appeal to "principled freedom fighters and pro-family advocates."

One other "scoop" from this story:

At some point during the occupation, COVID-19 went around the protesters. Said one volunteer: “When I was in Ottawa, there’s a lot of us who believe that we got sprayed on the first weekend we were there because there was some type of aerosol in the air.”

If things weren't so serious, they would be hilarious.

[clownvoy]

What freedoms were Convoy members really fighting for?

For Rebel HQ, anti-poverty activist @SandeeLovas examines the valid concerns of Canadian truckers - which turn out to have nothing to do with the Convoy's demands.

If you're struggling to explain why the Clownvoy was so misguided, let Sandee talk you through it.

"Whose freedoms were being taken away, exactly?"

https://www.facebook.com/TheYoungTurks/videos/708261843683432/

(Note: Rebel HQ is a U.S. progressive channel not associated with Canada's right-wing Rebel News.)

[clownvoy]

Ukraine and Anti-vaxxers: The Missing Link

New research indicates the surprising link between the Convoy truckers and other anti-vaxxers, and pro-Russia support for the invasion of Ukraine.

An article in today's Toronto Star by Grant Lafleche says unvaccinated Canadians are 12 times more likely than those who received three doses to believe the Russia's invasion is justified.

The EKOS poll found 26% of those who identify as unvaccinated agree that Russia's invasion is justified, while another 35% of the unvaccinated expressed no opinion.

Among the triple-vaccinated, just 2% support the attack, and only 4% offered no opinion on the invasion.

What's the link between the tracker convoys and support for Russia? It's not really ideological. They get their news and information from the same questionable right-wing sources.

The same patterns appear no matter how you ask the question. 82% of vaccinated Canadians agreed with imposing tougher sanctions on Russia, versus only 18% of the unvaccinated.

Similarly, 85% of vaccinated people agree Canada should take in Ukrainian refugees, versus just 30% of unvaccinated.

And again: 88% of vaccinated Canadians think Russia is committing War crimes, versus only 32% of the unvaccinated.

According to EKOS, the survey results point "to the highly corrosive influences of disinformation."

EKOS president Frank Graves calls disinformation "a new and bluntly insidious force that's contributing to polarization, disinformation, and poor decision making. And it doesn't seem to be going away. Things are getting worse."

The Star story says some of the loudest anti-vaccine voices behind the Convoy movement are also pushing disinformation about the Ukraine war over social media, with charges such as President Zelensky is a "lunatic" and Ukraine is producing biochemical weapons.

This aligns with my own experience talking with convoy protesters. They ridicule the mainstream media and love to cite only information sources that already match their own worldview - whether that be wonky scientific treatises, YouTube videos or trucker livestreams on TikTok. To this day they continue to deny reality, claiming that the Ottawa occupation was just a "peaceful protest," and conveniently ignoring the truckers' calls to overthrow the government.

We're up against more than anti-science, jab-dodging protesters. This is a sinister, international campaign to divide Canadians and destabilize society.

“I saw it almost immediately, within days of the [Ukraine] invasion, people supporting it and some quite stridently,” said Timothy Caulfield of the University of Alberta, who studies conspiracy theories. “It was pro-Russia, pro-Putin, it was the same kind of dogmatic language you heard from the anti-vaxxers about the alleged harms associated with vaccines. And it was almost immediate and it was from the same crowd.”

Support for disinformation is on a sliding scale, says EKOS's Graves. The fewer Covid vaccinations that survey respondents had, the more they accepted disinformation, and sympathized with Russia.

Graves added that unvaccinated Canadians are also more likely to distrust government, science and professional health experts.

“So the pattern was really clear that disinformation was not just a curious feature. It was, I think, a causal ingredient of vaccine resistance.”

The full story here: https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2022/03/19/how-vaccination-status-might-predict-views-on-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine.html

In a related story, the Star's Susan Delacourt quotes Frank Graves saying, “Probably the most striking finding is just the rapidity with which this disinformation machine can pivot" (i.e., from dissing vaccines to slagging Ukraine).

Delacourt quotes Liberal politician Kate Graham, who has heard all these whacky theories while knocking on doors in London, Ont. These conversations invariably involve vague sources, shadowy actors and strange conspiracies that even skilled debaters can't debunk. "How do we possibly bridge that gap?" Graham asks. "Fear isn't solved by fact-checking."

The solution, sadly, is complex, costly and long-term. We need better education around critical thinking, and a crackdown on irresponsible social media platforms.

But we also have to examine whether free speech includes the right to call out or suppress what the majority consider untrue and harmful information. It's a slippery slope, but clearly, the truth needs help.

Mark Twain's observation that "A lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots” has never been more valid - or more dangerous.

[clownvoy]

A Protest About Nothing

As a user on the "Stop the Ottawa Occupation" Facebook group accurately noted:

"It was never about the mandates!"

Hat-tip to New York Daily News cartoonist @BikkBramnhall.

[clownvoy]

Truckers thwarted by... driving around?

On Sunday, March 6, the "People's Convoy" was all set to do two laps around the Beltway circling Washington. (They didn't go downtown, knowing that police had secured the centre of the city, as Toronto cops did last month).

Sadly, even Sunday traffic was more than enough to befuddle these knights of the open road. As Daily Beast reporter Zachary Petrizzo reported on Twitter, the convoy was quickly scattered, and after one 64-mile circuit along busy four-lane highways, many of the protesters took off.

As Petrizzo noted, the crowds on the overpasses were... underwhelming.

Apparently the truckers will be back tomorrow.

Wait'll they meet Monday traffic.

[clownvoy]

SEND IN MORE CLOWNS

I hear two takes on the American convoy.

One: it was a complete bust. No one showed up in for the rally in Washington, DC, the other day.

Two: It's a big deal.

Here's a Twitter thread you can follow to make up your own mind.

On Saturday (March 5), American historian #TerryBoutonHist hung around the “Peoples Convoy” trucker encampment at the Hagerstown Speedway, in Maryland - 80 miles north of Capitol Hill.

Bouton's take: "Anyone dismissing this as a failed event by the crazy fringe is missing the big picture... There were thousands of people there."

"Although started by anti-vaxxers, it was re-framed as “protecting our liberties” in ways that allowed for diverse beliefs. Christian Nationalism mixed with QAnon spiritualism."

"This was a movement-recruiting event. It was designed to draw people in with a family-friendly, carnival atmosphere. Free food & drinks. Booths, activities, a prayer tent. Revving engines, honking horns, bright lights. "Sign My Truck" with sharpies. T-shirt and flag vendors."

"It was pitched as being "open to all people, regardless of party, race, religion...” Plenty of Proud Boys, etc., but few overt expressions of white nationalism. (Note: Lots of Trump gear, but no one was talking about him. Not one person mentioned Russia or Ukraine all day)."

"This was White America. Despite the “everyone is welcome” framing, it was 99% White people."

"The convoy had its own entertainers: several DJs & a country music singer with a new CD about to drop. After dark, there were high-quality fireworks & a ceremony with truck headlights and giant flags. There was funnel cake. It was like a county fair without the rides & livestock."

Frighteningly:

"There were people meeting & networking. Everyone seemed to be a Podcaster. Social media contact info was posted on dashboard signs. People stood in circles, bragging about past rallies & protests. “J-6ers” wore their participation in the Capitol Insurrection as a badge of honor."

"Part of the recruiting was electoral. Republicans were portrayed as freedom's hope, Democrats its enemy. A guy riding an electric scooter with a bullhorn declared “All Democrats are pedophiles, no exceptions.” Much talk about the importance of voting at all levels of government."

"It's non-violent...for now. Bad press and paranoia about FBI infiltration seemed to drive calls for non-violence. Organizers called off the drive to DC because: “It's a trap!” The main organizer: “We know there are people here for the wrong reasons and we know who you are!""

"Still, there were violent undercurrents. Lots of talk of resorting to other (unspecified) means if non-violent protest didn’t work. Random shouts of “Fetch the Rope” and "hang him" greeted the reading of the names of US Senators who voted to uphold pandemic restrictions."

"The most worrisome moment was when a crowd surrounded a Black reporter for DC's ABC affiliate. They asked why a Black reporter was sent. They demanded he say, "Truckers are heroes!" on air. When he refused, a man repeatedly shouted "LEAVE!" in his face. He left, visibly shaken."

Terry Bouton's insightful, ominous conclusion:

"The People's Convoy wasn't a failure. It was a movement-building event that drew thousands to Hagerstown & to overpasses & convoy stops across the US. These are exactly the kinds of hands-on, personal experiences that build connections, solidify commitments, & recruit new members."

Note: The truckers went on to drive laps around the D.C. area on Sunday.

Thanks so much to Terry Bouton, author of Taming Democracy, for his insights and photos. Follow him on Twitter!

[clownvoy]

Free-dum!

I've often asked anti-vaxxers on social media why they define freedom so narrowly. Why don't they ever denounce China's abuse of ethnic minorities, for instance, or Republicans' vote-suppression tactics in the U.S.?

They never answer, of course. They either go quiet or change the subject, asking irrelevant questions such as "How many jabs will you take?" There is no logic to their protest, so they can't defend it rationally.

But that doesn't stop them from whining about oppression in Canada. As so artfully captured by @TheoMoudakis's cartoon for Wednesday's Toronto Star.

[clownvoy]

40 trucks worth of garbage

Cleanup on Aisle 1

A week after the #freedomconvoy2022 protest ended in Ottawa, city officials have cleaned up downtown and counted the cost.

Ottawa says its civic workers have cleaned up 40 cement mixer trucks' worth of garbage.

From the National Post: "A total of 115 vehicles were towed from the protest area, according to Ottawa Police Services. Owners had seven days to retrieve them, for a cost of $1,191 for a heavy vehicle, or $516 for a light one."

Ottawa’s city manager says the protests cost the city more than $30 million, mainly for increased police and support staff presence.

But there were other costs as well, including the financial and quality of life losses suffered by local residents and businesses. According to the Post, "Lawyer Paul Champ, who is leading a legal team overseeing a class-action lawsuit against protest participants, pegs the total amount of wages and revenue lost because of the occupation at a minimum of $306 million."

Just as the protesters set out across the country for Ottawa, the people of Ottawa are now coming for the protesters.

Champ's lawsuit represents three parties: city residents, Happy Goat Coffee Co. and Union Local 613, and employees who lost wages when their workplaces were shut down.

The lawsuit targets every person involved with the convoy protests, noted the Post. "Champ has collected the licence plates of over 400 attendees and hopes to get information on those who donated to the convoy after February 4th."

Yesterday (Feb. 28), an Ontario Superior Court judge extended a rare injunction related to that lawsuit that has frozen millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies and other financial donations to the so-called Freedom Convoy. The injunction prevents the convoy leaders, many of whom are already facing charges, from "selling, removing, dissipating, alienating, transferring, assigning" up to $20 million in assets raised around the world.

The lawsuit represents an angry public's bid to get compensation for its losses and for indignities suffered. It will be a remarkable case to follow.

Hopefully this precedent will discourage future protesters from turning demonstrations into illegal occupations. Canada protects free speech, but not thuggish and illegal behaviour.

Freedom doesn't just mean you get to do what you want. You must also assume the consequences for your actions.

--

Note: As CityNews reported on Feb. 24, Champ says he's open to talking to truckers who feel remorse for what they’ve done, and who retain independent counsel and reach out.

“Not that they can get out of it -- but I just advise them, find us before we find you.”

[clownvoy]

Send in the Clowns

Maybe the truckers are catching on?

On Saturday, Feb. 26, anti-vaxxers held a march through downtown Toronto. There were few, if any, truckers in the crowd.

Speaker and educator Elizabeth Moore, a former white supremacist who now studies racist extremism, walked alongside the protest to document who was there and why.

Moore found the march to be dominated by all kinds of questionable characters, including slogan-shouting racists, anti-Islam pamphleteers, anti-globalists, bible-belting abortion-hating evangelists, PPC libertarians, crypto-kooks, and miscellaneous aggrieved parties. She doesn't mention seeing any experts on public health.

You might think the opportunists have taken over, corrupting a genuine grassroots movement. Except that the "trucker" convoy protests were launched by non-truckers with long histories of right-wing extremism, racism and western separatism. It was never about trucking.

Click here to read Elizabeth Moore's insightful Twitter photo-essay on the march. You won't regret it.

I am disappointed but not surprised to see that the "honest trucker" mythology has survived well past its expiry date.

At this past weekend's CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) conference in Orlando, Donald Trump complained that Canadian truckers have been treated "worse than drug dealers and rapists," and that they are being "hunted down like enemies."

The Globe and Mail noted that Trump's comments "prompted a passionate standing ovation from the crowd."

But the real crazy of the weekend was Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert. “I pray for Ukraine, and I wish them the best,” she said in a Sunday interview with Fox. “But we also have neighbors to the north who need freedom and need to be liberated, and we need that right here at home, as well.”

It should be noted that one of the two Fox interviewers smiled and nodded in response.

https://twitter.com/DavidEdwards/status/1498015623603003393

Too many people are throwing the word "freedom" around too lightly. They clearly equate "freedom" only with contexts that fit their own biases.

As the Washington Post notes, "Anthony Housefather, a Liberal member of Parliament representing Mount Royal in Montreal, condemned Boebert for equating protests in Canada with the crisis in Ukraine.

“[It] is sad to hear you compare free & democratic Canada to the invasion of Ukraine,” he tweeted Sunday. “If you would like to learn about Canada please reach out.���

Biased ignorance threatens everyone.

[clownvoy]

War and Peace

So interesting to see how the Russian invasion of Ukraine has affected our impressions of the so-called #FreedomConvoy.

Both conflicts have their roots in fear, disinformation, and shadowy political plotting. But one is about a country fighting for its life against tanks and bombs, while the other one is an underinformed coalition of people complaining about inconvenient public health rules and groundless government conspiracies.

It was only a matter of time till people came up with messages like these.

These posters are obviously pretty simplistic. But it's a fascinating dialogue, and we'll keep following it.

[clownvoy]

A time to breathe, heal, and build trust

One week after the end of the Ottawa occupation, the #Clownvoy movement remains active. While the founders are mainly dealing with their legal issues (some have been denied bail), this remains a very grassroots movement, and its tendrils continue to reach across the country and south of the border.

Events in Ukraine have taken the focus off these people, giving them time to catch their breath and plan next steps. They are putting a lot of their hopes in the U.S. convoy, which is working its way to Washington DC.

Increasingly, however, Canadians are seeing the truth. This was never a movement of truckers, but a political stunt staged by right-wing extremists to change the political conversation in this country.

The graphic below represents a first attempt to chart the shady forces behind the so-called Freedom Convoy. The influences range from the banal, fossil-fuel conservatism of Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and the creepy People's Party to such discredited organizations as Yellow Vests Canada and the blatantly racist Sons of Odin.

Besides the value of tracing these roots, I hope this chart reminds us that most of the people involved in this movement are hapless puppets, nursing private grievances while lacking any awareness of the larger forces at work.

("The ‘Freedom Convoy’ is nothing but a vehicle for the far right")

("You were duped," says the editor of Today's Trucking magazine.)

I am still engaging with convoy supporters through social media. They remain confused but loyal foot soldiers, vehemently sticking to their angry talking points. They are immune to suggestions that the Trudeau government is not trying to crush our civil rights, or that their three-week occupation of Ottawa was anything but happy and fun. They reject the conclusions of experts or journalists in favor of a fantasy reality that exists only in their heads.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has given both sides an opportunity to rest and reset. But I hope it will not prevent our politicians and other leaders from reaching out to anti-mandate protesters to explore ways to rebuild trust and overcome the disinformation that fueled this rebellion.

If Canadians can't agree on basic facts, consensus will be even more difficult to reach in future. And a divided Canada only plays into the machinations of the hard right, as well as manipulative foreign powers (i.e., Russia) which love to see our country torn in two.

Yep. It's all connected.

[clownvoy]

Big Brother is Always Watching You

The other day in a pro-trucker Facebook group, a true believer talked about how protesters should aim to cause maximum disruption. I actually cautioned him or her to tone down their rhetoric: "You know the police are reading this, right?"

So here's a video from last week of an anti-mandate sympathizer in Peterborough, Ont., getting a passive-aggressive home visit from an OPP officer - because of messages she had posted online. The police officer gave out a pamphlet that she said was "some information about peaceful protests."

"Are you guys now monitoring people's Facebook pages - or Facebook groups?" the homeowner asked.

“Because it’s a protest happening province-wide, yes we have been monitoring the protests," said the officer. “It’s a pro-active measure to make sure you understand your rights about peaceful protest."

“It’s nice to know we're being watched,” says the homeowner, archly.

I love everything about this. The OPP's friendly/threatening "proactive" outreach, and the homeowner's dawning realization that social. media. is. public!

Watch the video here:

https://twitter.com/ItsDeanBlundell/status/1492215591733809164?s=20&t=1rpQmfKOYCcrcQD-VXNfNw

The Toronto Sun identifies the homeowner as Nadine Ellis-Maffei. She was back on Facebook, right away, fuming that: "To say I’m furious is an understatement. This is not ok. Ever!!!"

So it's fine for protesters to take over cities, but police can't track social media or do home visits? What a world.

That handout:

[clownvoy]

The protesters are calling in the army

The anti-mandate mob in Ottawa and elsewhere keep peddling the false narrative that they are "peaceful protesters."

This is despite their notorious intimidation of Ottawa residents, their harassment of people wearing masks, their disobeying of lawful police instructions, and their active, physical resistance to officers trying to clear the streets. When you decide to resist police enforcing normal rules of behaviours, your movement has abandoned "peace."

The "trucker" convoy was always a front for right-wing extremists who want to bring down the federal government. At first that goal seemed laughable. But so was their vow to stay in Ottawa until they got what they wanted.

Who would have believed that the occupation of Canada's capital would last three weeks?

The Ottawa siege is over, but the insurrections will continue. Canadians must brace for incidents across the country, in cities and at rural border crossings. The "truckers" protest grabbed world attention and scared the pants off politicians at all levels -- two good reasons for them to try again.

And again.

A recent Angus Reid poll indicates that 27% of Canadians support the protesters. Unbelievable. If your movement committed brazen illegal acts and earned the support of a quarter of Canadians, you'd keep at it, too. (Consider that the ruling federal Liberals received the votes of just 32.6% of voters.)

What' s most concerning, however, is that the protesters are becoming more aggressive. If you saw those burly guys linking arms to resist the police, or the veterans in Canadian Forces gear "guarding" the War Memorial, you know that they no longer shun physical confrontation.

And then there's this video from the new Facebook group, PEACE LOVE UNITY FREEDOM (Freedom Convoy 2022). It compiles clips from multiple sources to roast the police and build support for Next Time. Beyond the ridiculous lies ("Ottawa called in UN troops to oust the protesters"), the video includes two urgent pleas for current Armed Forces members to join the revolt. (See pics below.)

https://www.facebook.com/100069849618499/videos/339098721563220

Why are the extremists specifically asking for military personnel to join their side? What can soldiers do that burly truckers can't?

The prospect is bone-chilling.

[clownvoy]

"Privilege is having freedom & having no clue that you have it."

Today, Toronto palliative care physician Naheed Dosani tweeted the best comment I've seen on the whacky worldview of the #freedomconvoy.

Thank you, doctor.

[clownvoy]

"Canada is a net exporter of white supremacy."

On the pages of this week-old blog, I've expressed my support for Justin Trudeau's invocation of the Emergencies Act, and worried over the foreign funding of the Ottawa protesters' GiveSendGo fund.

On Feb. 17, the Canadaland podcast explored both issues.

Host Jesse Brown and his guest, Nora Loreto, think the Emergencies Act is mendacious overreach by a prime minister desperate to rewrite the narrative following his failure to act earlier in the truckdemic. They say that Canada authorities have more than enough power to declare any protest illegal, and to adopt harsh measures to end them.

On the subject of foreign funding, Brown wonders why so many journalists emphasized the foreign-funding angle, rather than acknowledge that Canadians are fully capable of funding their own extremist uprising. Loreto agreed, noting that "Canada is a net exporter of white supremacy."

These arguments didn't change my mind on either point, but they broadened my understanding of these issues. I think it's important to embrace news and information you don't necessarily agree with. It adds to your worldview and builds your critical-thinking skills.

Indeed, it may be what separates us from the "truckers," who watched one YouTube video about the virus and are now resistant to any input that challenges their baseline biases.

Check out this podcast. You'll be glad you did.

https://www.canadaland.com/podcast/755-freedom-is-un-canadian/

* You should be more worried about the Emergencies Act. (You can fast-forward to the 2:30 mark);

* Why the #Convoy is so Canadian (26:00 mark).

[clownvoy]

The Peaceable Kingdom

Saturday morning, Feb 19, 8 a.m.

The police line hasn't moved overnight. There is just a skeleton crew of officers and protesters now along Rideau and Wellington streets. I continue to be surprised by the police not taking advantage of the early morning hours, when few protesters are on the barricades and they could easily take more ground.

The protesters I'm listening to are repeating propaganda about police brutality and professing their moral superiority. Hard to believe so many Canadians could be so gullible, and lack so much empathy as to believe that they are the wronged parties here.

One deluded streamer just said: "I believe what we saw yesterday was an overstep of power by Justin Trudeau and some corrupt police officers."

The occupiers in Ottawa keep referring to it as a "peaceful protest." Considering the numbers involved, and the growing hostility on both sides, the protest has been relatively peaceful. But the truckers are in denial about individual incidents of personal and collective harassment, abuse, vandalism and civil disobedience.

Civil disobedience may be peaceful if you occupy a park or a street for a day or two, but three weeks of it is simply unlawful behaviour. Any perpetrators still holding the line can expect to pay a price.

This is where we get to the fatal flaw of the Convoy protest and occupation. The "truckers" arrived in Ottawa with two impractical goals: to overturn all mandates, and replace the duly elected government. Then they were unwise enough to say that they would not leave until they achieved those goals. The leaders painted themselves into a corner. Then they painted a target on the back of every protester by leaving them no way out.

Now the founders of the movement have fled or been arrested. Most of the occupiers appear to have slipped away, but a small core of committed, courageous supporters seems willing to resist as long as they can.

The streamer I'm listening to is insisting that hosts of "patriots" are making their way through the roadblocks of Ottawa today to support the protests. If they come, let's hope they show the same restraint that both sides showed yesterday.

The Clownvoy leaders have left their supporters between a rock and a hard place. There is no way to win. I admire their commitment. But all their points have been made and there is nothing to be gained by further resistance. Those who insist on holding the line can whine on social media about police brutality, but most observers will recognize that only continued intransigence by the occupiers will unleash the use of force.

Hopefully the police will continue to show patience and compassion. Ending the occupation will not end this movement.

As a society, we must all find a way to invite these stubborn skeptics back into the mainstream, by rebuilding public trust in our government, our healthcare system, and our media.

It's the Canadian way.

[clownvoy]

Someone call for a cop?

My TikTok video depicts the police pushing back the truckers' line in Ottawa this morning.

A very slow, relatively civil, Canadian confrontation.

Some protesters heckled the police, while others just shouted "Freedom" and "We Love You."

https://www.tiktok.com/@rspence10/video/7066107743349918981