As inconvenient as they are and as damaging as they are to the downtown of Ottawa the truckers should not be forcefully removed.
When indigenous people blockaded railroads over the Trans Mountain pipeline the government did not try to bring them down by force despite the clamouring by Conservatives and their cheerleaders in the media to do just that. These truckers should receive the same consideration and I find it kind of ironic that the same people who were preaching restraint for the rail blockade protests are screaming that force be used for the truckers.
The one thing about both protests is the protesters have no political smarts. The railway blockades went on way too long. They did not achieve the objective they were looking to achieve, instead just created badwill towards the protesters and their objective. The same is true of the truckers. With each passing day they become less and less popular and they hurt their erstwhile cause (eliminating the vaccine mandates and COVID restrictions), indeed probably making both more popular. Further they are doing damage to their other unstated objective (getting rid of the Liberal government) because it allows PM Trudeau to look strong and the connection between the truckers and the CPC becomes more noticed with each story about them. My guess is until last night there were many a gritted teeth at CPC HQ because of the slow drip of political damage to the Conservatives caused by what the truckers did and are continuing to do.
Then word came out that Mr. O'Toole is facing a vote of confidence from his caucus so that might distract CPC HQ for a time.
Now this protest is just going to go on until the truckers get bored and they drift on back home. (Assuming they can find the fuel to get home). If the organizers would have had any kind of political smarts they would have had their big rally on Saturday, after the big lead up during the preceding week, declared victory and gone home in an organized fashion. They could have organized triumphant gatherings on the way home from supporters to give the impression of momentum for their cause. Thankfully, the organizers are not that smart.
Like the railway blockades the truckers protest in Ottawa will be ancient history before the end of the month and the only thing they will have achieved is an increase in support for vaccine mandates and other public health measures and the further erosion of the CPC as a viable alternative to the Liberals in the eyes of most Canadians, particularly those Canadians that live in the big cities and their suburbs. The very voters the Conservatives need if they ever hope to win power again.
1 comment:
"As inconvenient as they are and as damaging as they are to the downtown of Ottawa the truckers should not be forcefully removed." Right.
I fucking hate them and their dumb-ass rhetoric but we need to be better than them and not run on anger. They had their shot at freedom of expression and showed the world what they do with that right. They can't accuse policing forces of muzzling them, they were given a lot of time and opportunity, managed to piss off most of the country, now there is little argument that they need to be shut down.
Most important, the truckers are just the gun. We need to get the ones wielding it or they'll just get another gun, another idiot, angry group they can provoke to violence and chaos. Sure, take the gun away, but take the time to gather info and evidence on the ones who increasingly fund and organize these events.
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