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Ottawans have been advised to avoid the downtown core this weekend. And possibly next week too. It's all down to the "Freedom Convoy", a bunch of truckers from across the country (and quite possibly beyond), who disagree with vaccine mandates for cross-border truckers. Depending on which spokesperson you listen to, they may also disagree with any kind of vaccine mandate for anybody. They may disagree with any and all public health precautions and restrictions. They may even think that COVID-19 itself is one big hoax.

The fact is, despite all their talk of "unity", they are far from being a unified, much less unifying group of people.

Are they all a bunch of alt-right extremists, promoting hatred, terrorism, anarchy and worse? Or are they champions of bodily autonomy, human rights and the Just Society?

Any large-scale protest is bound to be disruptive. Some protesters will employ questionable, if not illegal tactics in an attempt to achieve their goals. Some of those authorized to suppress them will also employ questionable, if not illegal tactics in an effort to achieve their own goals and restore public order. Order is usually somewhat restored, though often with unacceptable social consequences and repercussions for those who are often the wrong targets. So how should we, as a society, proceed?

It's been said that to tell someone they're wrong, you should first tell them they're right. I believe they are mostly wrong. Hell, even most of the Truckers' Associations seem to think they're wrong, at least in the methods and madness they're using to convey their message. But at the same time, I understand where many of them are coming from. I think there are some valid points to be made on their side, at least here and there. And when even the experts disagree with each other on the best approach to take in managing the virus, it's hard to know whom to trust, especially in an ever-changing landscape.

Okay, so looking first at the narrowest version of what's being protested here, compulsory vaccination for cross-border truckers. It seems that around 85-90% of them are fully vaccinated anyway. They just don't agree with a blanket prohibition on the unvaccinated. Then there's the question of how much human contact a lone trucker has anyway, driving the rig across the border, submitting the relevant documents (likely electronically), unloading and cargo, driving back. Apparently in many cases, the staff at remote diners and other truck stops were not even letting them use the washroom. The delivery trucks-and-drivers on which we are so reliant are having to be entirely self-contained and self-sufficient. Is it any wonder some truckers are frustrated, mad as hell and not about to take it any more?

Then there are the politicians. Politicians, of course, are the primary targets of a protest on Parliament Hill, a provincial legislature or a city hall. Politicians do not necessarily need to be epidemiologists or public health specialists but they do need to listen to them, be able to understand what they're saying, and come up with practical policy options for implementing their advice. I'm not saying that's easy, especially in our federal system where responsibility for public health is quite diffuse. But even taking into account our system of governance, many of our politicians are falling short.

Politicians are often more concerned with "optics", of being SEEN to be doing something even if it's not the right thing and may even be counterproductive. Then there's the "too many cooks" business of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. The vaccine mandate for truckers was supposed to definitely come into effect January 15, then a few days before that, it was going to be waived and a few hours later it was "oops, we made a mistake, it really WILL happen January 15. We've had various systems of lockdown and re-opening - some colour-coded, some numbered, some involving social circles and bubbles and households - and many times been promised that this will ABSOLUTELY be the LAST lockdown we'll have to endure!!!

Trudeau's government-approved quarantine hotels (at the traveller's own expense, of course) were another low point. And it turned out that even these specially-selected hotels were often not able to properly care for the "guests" who were paying handsomely to lodge there! Once they were finally released with their negative COVID tests, they were still expected to quarantine at home for the rest of the (then) 2-week period, which everybody did (partly because of the threat of exorbitant fines but just as much, I suspect, out of concern for their own and their family's health). Yet even then, many were treated like naughty children, being constantly phoned, visited and generally nagged to remind them of their obligations.

Personally, I haven't traveled outside the area (and barely even across the local bridges to Gatineau) since March 2020. I've been a good obedient little citizen. I took the first COVID vaccine I was offered, as instructed, which was Astrazeneca. Then when they decided that mRNA vaccines were preferable, I obediently lined up for several hours to get a Moderna shot. And now I've had a booster too, this one a Pfizer.

So truckers, I feel your pain. I feel some pain too from supply chain issues and inflation, although I know I'm more fortunate than many. I know you're not all a bunch of extremists who seek a Canadian version of January 6, 2021. I know there are quite a few reputable organizations in your corner, such as the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

So I say protest peacefully, protest safely, protest legally, but stand up for yourselves, your rights, and everybody's rights.

And keep on truckin!

https://groovyhistory.com/keep-on-truckin-r-crumb-cartoon

Suppose they gave a protest march and nobody came?

Alternatively, suppose they gave a protest march and more than five people came?

Maybe they wouldn't get arrested. Getting arrested used to be something of a badge of honour fifty years ago, sort of like crashing the college computer. But would-be protesters would almost certainly get slapped with stiff fines and maybe eventually some post-pandemic prison time.

Thanks to high global literacy and Twitteracy rates, activism is still possible in a Covid 19 world. I might even say that it's our civic duty. And I've never been one to shirk my duties.

Since the lockdown began, I've been reading and writing and typing and e-mailing quite a bit. I sent an e-mail to the National Association of Federal Retirees (NAFR), outlining the despair of an ex-fonctionnaire trapped on one side of the nation's shortest over-defended border. I got a prompt and sympathetic reply, too. Beyond the sympathy, the replier suggested I approach my MP with my concerns, so I did. With a cc to Deb Schulte, Minister of Seniors, whom I had heard just minutes earlier, on a robocall phoned out to all NAFR members. I haven't had a reply yet, but I expect it may take a while.

I also decided to send a letter to Galen Weston, or at least to the e-mail provided on the regular e-mails being sent out to Optimum cardholders. I kept it fairly brief, mentioning two things I liked and two things I disliked about the new procedures in place for grocery shopping.

The third issue I got involved in was the matter of library services in general and the Internet Archive in particular. I know I'm not alone in my views on these matters. On the Ottawa front, I was particularly encouraged to hear one of our city councillors on Ottawa Morning, advocating for library delivery services.

At the same time, the aforementioned councillor advocated for something else: allowing people to keep up their community garden plots during this pandemic. It would certainly be a win-win situation for everyone, and one that will loom ever-larger in weeks and months to come. On a larger scale, farmers may be in dire straits indeed if city-run Farmers' Markets are required to stay closed until June 30 and perhaps beyond.

There are many more opportunities for activism, even during a pandemic. We all have our own pet priorities.

So shine a light on your favourite issue. Crowdfund your cause. We don't have to limit ourselves to boring be-ins, solitary sit-ins or sternly-worded stay-ins!