"Don't Call Them Protesters" - Michael Harris
Michael Harris writes that the mob that occupied Ottawa's Centretown were no more "protesters" than the mob that ransacked the Capitol on January 6th were "tourists" or "patriots." And he says the media allowed themselves to be duped, imbuing thugs with an undeserved legitimacy.
The right to protest is a vital part of democracy. Everybody believes that citizens have the right to speak up lawfully against public policies they don’t support. There are a lot of places where doing that will land you in jail or worse. Thankfully, Canada is not one of them.
But that is not what the occupiers in Ottawa were doing. You don’t have to look very far to confirm that. One of their stated goals was to topple the government. Another was to secure the resignation of Justin Trudeau, implying he was a Nazi.
Which is to say, that they did not come with a critique and a point of view, as legitimate protesters do. They came with ugly biases, lies and an ultimatum. Get rid of all the mandated restrictions related to the pandemic, and get rid of this federal government and this PM or else. Last time I looked, parliament and elected MPs make the laws, not mobs holding their fellow citizens hostage to their cause.
Who urinates on the grave of the unknown soldier to make their point?
Who expresses their love of freedom by depriving thousands of their fellow citizens of their right to get to work, or even a good night’s sleep, for weeks on end?
Who drags their kids into a situation made inherently dangerous by the actions of the parents?
Who makes their argument by displaying hate symbols and shouting down journalists trying to do their jobs?
Who has their say by jamming the local 911 system, a tactic that could easily have cost lives?
The sad part, for me, is that it's hard to argue with Harris' points.
Back to Berger....
ReplyDeleteFor better or worse, protest is public spectacle. It is message driven. Civil disobedience is partly about intentionally getting arrested. It is about using the state's legal actions as a stage to reach a broader audience and exhaust the state's resources. It is a classic David/Goliath play for public opinion.
Revolutionary protest is different. It is designed to provoke an unequal crushing response that finally incites the general populace to violent revolution.
I am pissed that the First Nations' attempts to do protest are met with the crushing violent response meant for revolutionary incidents. It intentionally confuses the issues and the public.
These white-supremist thugs seem to have a confused the two types of protest and schadenfreude makes me want to see them 'get what they deserve' .... however ...
By using kid-gloves over the weekend and at the borders, I must admit that the authorities won twice - on the ground and in the media.
The thugs, the CONs and the premiers look bad while the Federal Gov't looks good.
Even the ever-rightwing columnist, John Ibbitson, sees this as a generational setback for the trucker-coddling Conservatives.
DeleteH's right, don't call them protesters, call them what they really are, heroes fighting for civil liberties and human rights in the face of a tyrant.
ReplyDeleteOccupiers
ReplyDeleteBlockaders
Foreign Influencers
Insurrectionists
Agitators
Militants
Saboteurs
Loiters
Mischief makers
Potential arsonists
Child endangerers
Racists
Criminals
Political Opportunists
Anarchists
Narcissists
Bullies
People of good conscience with a genuine grievance.
The big warm blanket of "peaceful protesters" can cover a bunch.
Well, I believe you covered all the bases, Lungta.
DeleteOne of the biggest lies of the occupation, in my view, was that there were infiltrators (racists, etc.) who latched onto what was otherwise a peaceful and legitimate protest, There was nothing legitimate in the paralyzing insurrection that we witnessed in Ottawa for three weeks.
ReplyDeleteIn the early days of the Tea Party mob I sensed that people, ordinary people, were being groomed, manipulated by the dog whistle programming of FOX News, Linbaugh and their ilk.
DeleteI expect the mob that descended on Ottawa was also groomed to the point they did not grasp the futility of their occupation. How did they expect it to end? What did they imagine they would achieve? This came down to an 18-wheel tantrum that could only end one way with the Canadian public squarely against them.