Anyone who has been to Fort McMurray knows that the official mode of travel is a Ford F-250 on a 72-inch-tall lift kit.
This is a pretty reasonable article: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22926134/canada-trucker-freedom-convoy-protest-ottawa It makes a pretty accurate statement, in my opinion. But it’s important to understand the broader context in Canada. News coverage of the convoy, especially from sympathetic anchors on Fox News, may lead Americans to believe that Canada is in the midst of a far-right popular uprising. In reality, the mainstream consensus in Canada about Covid-19, and the nation’s institutions in general, is holding. The so-called trucker movement is on the fringe, including among Canadian truckers — some 90 percent of whom are vaccinated. They are angry because they have lost.
everything you said about the “vocal minority” and the silent majority speaking out, applies down here too. They all think they have this massive support behind them and they’re on the side of what’s right, and in the end they get arrested and realize there’s like dozens of them, on 4chan.
Some of the interviews I've been watching are mind boggling... 100% echo chamber. People in their apartments yelling out the window at a protester to go the fuck away, and them yelling back, "don't worry dude, we're here for all of us". "FUCK OFF, you're don't represent me, you're a moron". The guy then stutters and says "I'm fighting Communism!" So many of them honestly think that they are fighting on behalf of the average Canadian against some oppression and some sort of Police Brutality. Watching what's going on in Ottawa, I know a LOT of my friends are pissed at a distinctive lack of police brutality. Most of us are on the side of the cops, and most of us are wishing they go faster/harder, and stop being so nice.
I’ve been watching the live streams last few days, because the daughter of a good friend lived in Ottawa before the truckers made her get a hotel outside the city due to the noise. The protesters remind me of like an even more stupid version of the Jan 6 rioters — telling the police we’re on the same side, saying it’s like communist China, that they’re following unlawful orders. All that shit. a bunch of “god forgive Trudeau” signs too. They genuinely believe that they’re in the right and this is some massive thing they’re fighting against the final boss of some horribly tyranny. meanwhike, cbs is showing those Heavy Rescue 401 style wreckers hauling off the trucks
What gets me is how disconnected they are from reality, and not just about their political views, but about the basics of how people might respond to their actions. They are aghast that counter protestors would block their trucks, or that police would arrest them for civil disobedience, or that Trudeau wouldn't meet to discuss their demand that the government of Canada be overthrown. It really is the most privileged group I've ever seen take to the streets.
I honestly believe that social media sites and the Internet are to blame for this. The force feedback of the group think that just keeps boiling the frog with like minded people. Podcasts, facebook groups, never mind mainstream media that has an agenda... it's all leading to these groups of people that think they live in the real world that is shared by the rest of us. Hell, even this place is not immune from that kind of thought-sculpting. I have no idea what the answer is, but I'm liking my Tin Can and Starlink Netflix in the boondocks more and more. T minus 2 years until full retirement. Let me know if any of you fucks want to take over this site from me then.
There may be a lot of valid points being made, yes. But there’s a part of me that is never going to think the answer is or should be “the minority needs to just shut the fuck up, and follow the agreed upon rules.” Regardless of the context, regardless of my opinion on…whatever it is we’re talking about at any given time. And that’s as honest a post you’ll get from me.
Yes... I just wish my Google Fu was better as I can't find the video any more. That, and the one where some old guy is out banging pots and pans in front of the faces of the protesters, and they're saying, "dude, mellow out, that's too loud." His response... "I know, right? Oh look, you're too stupid to get the fucking irony...", and keeps it up. They walk away like HE'S the crazy one.
I agree... to a point. At some point you have to say, "yeah, we get it, you made your point, we're not agreeing, so stop already." There is a way to protest legally. They did not do that. It was deemed illegal, and they were asked to disperse. They did not. Shit escalated.
Abusive Ottawa Balcony Guy “I’m not taking advice from you, dumb fucking bitch!” I want to work next to this guy, whatever he does.
All I could think of is we need a scene like this in Letterkenny... and they just need to let this guy riff on it. He was masterful.
Yes, but then there’s that other side of the coin. At some point you have to say “hey, I totally get what you’re here to protest, but can you stop trying to break my shop’s windows and take my stuff?” And then a few talking heads lament that you’re showing yet another example of the systemic racism that still exists today. And maybe a local government official says that why the fuck are you so worried about it, insurance will cover it. And even when the news was showing live coverage of your shop being broken into, the cops then ordered the crowd to disperse only so they could murder innocent peaceful protestors. I don’t know, maybe my point is that the world of social media is turning everything into a constant dopamine rush of validation. “You are right to think what you think, and not only that - the people who don’t think what you think are fucking idiots! Or WORSE!” At some point, that many people with that type of thinking, on a societal level, is just gonna lead to some bad shit. “If these people are all worse than fucking idiots, then why even deal with them at all?” The first truly authoritarian ruler of the US is gonna be the one who has the most firepower available when they finally say “guys, I am shook. I can’t even.” Or maybe we all just Balkanize and have border slap-fights, who knows
That is a man who knows how use profanity properly with his anger. Usually when you hear somebody lose their shit they unleash a slurry of tantrum mixed with improperly-placed “fucks” and “shits”. Their job is to be angry all day on Twitter, they can’t handle the frustration of folks who are genuinely having their livelihoods wrecked by outsiders.
You realize that point was like... a few hours in right? LAPD and NYPD were cracking skulls and making arrests from the start.