when you are the one opposing peaceful people standing up for freedom to choose and basic human agency and bodily integrity, you are not the "tank man." you are the tank.
it is just endlessly astonishing to me the manner in which these busybody fascists seeking to impose totalitarian coercion upon their fellow humans are possessed of this iron bar certainty that they are not only right but righteous.
i suppose that’s how they landed where they are. you start sure, and the rest is adopted as a flag of convenience to provide precept for tactical morality.
they profess to be the side of science, yet place such little faith in it that they cannot be content in the security that their own vaccinations and precautions bring.
you too must accede to their demands or they cannot be satiated. you too must trade liberty for safety for, it seems, it is not your health but your freedom to choose that most terrifies these people.
but this is not really much of an argument, is it?
and this debate, going on in the streets of ottowa and spreading like fire as people remember the rightful order of government in service of the rights and freedom of the people, is about basic human liberty, a liberty you sought to take away.
these are not oppressors. these are peaceful people who would be citizens and not serfs; masses, no longer huddled, yearning to breathe free.
“well why did you have to do this? why disrupt life? why clog the city with trucks?”
well, what else do you leave us? we tried talking to you. we showed you data and precept and ethical argument.
we have been asking for freedom for 2 years. did you listen?
no. you vilified and doubled and tripled down. you lied and you took more. you ostracized and othered and segregated. you sought to predicate the basic rights to self determination, societal participation, and bodily integrity upon our submission to your increasingly invasive diktat.
and it was never going to end unless we ended it.
you sought to coerce and to cow and to accuse us of your own turpitude.
you called us villains while acting villainously.
you do not get to do that and then wonder why we lost faith in speaking to you.
it was you who broke faith with us, not we with you.
these are the fruits of the self-important harvest you planted.
oh, are we inconveniencing you?
well, you certainly did not mind doing the same to us. you closed our businesses, took away our lives, took our kids out of school, and limited our travel. you forced our adherence to pseudoscientific and outright superstitious practice and told us where we could and could not go.
you created a literal bio-apartheid culture and called it “inclusion.”
i do not recall being asked for permission or agreement.
not so pleasing when you are not the one doing the telling, is it?
and even now, you shrill and you attack and you seek to discredit and ascribe false allegiances to hate because you cannot imagine that anyone could not want to be ruled by you. this is all you seem to know.
but this is because you are the ones who are hateful. you are the tyrants. you simply do not know this about yourselves.
you live in denial.
you inhabit a hallucination.
but we are not you. we’re the other guys.
we’re the peaceful people made implacable by your interminable lies and suppression.
and we have come to reclaim what you stole from us.
this is the “string of tanks” you claim to be stemming.
is this really what you want to stand in front of?
do you have any idea what colicky babies that makes you look like? your opposition is not heroic, it’s a tantrum at lost power to force others to live as you would deign force them live.
protest is your right as much as it is ours, and if this is really what you feel, have at it. but you are standing against those standing for freedom.
are you really sure you are on the right side of this?
This idiotic "wokism" would be funny in a pathetic way if it didn't have such awful implications. I live in Toronto and I am a Gay White Man (NOT A LGBTcvobizq... whatever) and I know way too many guys (and women) like this. They are conceited airheads living in an echo chamber. I try to get my acquaintances to think just ONE original thought. Nada. I try to get them to see that Gay men (and what's left of the Gay movement) are coming to be considered cheerleaders for this fascistic and anti-freedom cabal that rule over us. Nada. I know I am in the minority - I'd estimate that only 15% of Gay men feel as I do. But I do know that when the SHTF, we'll all be lumped together. All I can do is try to get out of the way because I can see there is no way to get through to these people. And I NEVER wear rainbow colored anything!
You are the definition of pride in being who you are. I note my gay friends also have differing politics and seem to tolerate each other, something I wish others might do.
Many gay men and lesbians (especially 45 y.o. +) I know complain about Gay, Inc. What you just described is basically what they consider to be the result of the embrace of corporate gayness, aka Gay, Inc.
As a senior, I don't know much about the younger bunch. Once age arrives we pretty much are who we are. But my gay friends live decent quiet lives now, most are reasonable well-off not struggling. I suspect they wonder, as I do, why the anger. I must admin loosing some friends in the late 80's was very hard. Survivors of those days have strong memories.
Some people who do not look like you are still thinking people. All are human. More opinionated division is what you are promoting, and less would be helpful right now, it seems to me, if you are trying to bring right minded folks together. One believes in these injections and mandates, or one doesn't.
I don't think it was saying the woman isn't human... only that she fits a stereotype, and that the colour of her hair isn't found naturally in a human.
Jacket that keeps expanding in girth as it covers her ample midsection… check!
I only say this to illustrate these self- anointed moral superiors barely take care of their own health while admonishing everyone else for putting people at risk.
The process of othering people begins with small otherings....again, the only relevant metric to be accepted into the right side of history here is how one feels about the mandates and injections....the rest will make you disqualify otherwise good folks who believe as you do, who you cast off due to your prejudices. I wont. How we look is irrelevant in this cause.
A woman unironically holding a sign portraying herself as standing up to oppression while supporting violations of human rights by state power is not one of the good folks. She may come around eventually and I would accept her, but as it stands she’s one of the lost.
yes. she has it all. You can see the woke illness coming at you, even with the mask. I think she's wearing butterfly wings too (ruining butterfly wings for me)
How delightful. Instead of refuting her message, the top comment needs to critique her non-traditional appearance and throw shade at transgender people.
Gee, I wonder where these people get the idea that the opposition is full of intolerant bigots?
I want out of this dichotomy. Woke, anti-woke, it’s all a ready made distraction from the totalitarianism at our doorstep. Let people live as they want, as long as they aren’t hurting others or infringing on others’ rights. The “leftist” agendas may seemingly have the upper hand right now, but does the “right” stand for freedom? Or simply freedom to believe in what they believe in?
Wake the hell up. Wokeness is pushed by our oligarchy in order to divide the people as much as possible. It needs to be mocked relentlessly and then extirpated.
I give not a rat's rump if someone wants to dress up as a member of the opposite sex, but I care deeply if you force me to pretend that s/he indeed a member of the opposite sex. Transgenderism is dangerous; it is an assault on reality. Fundamental science (male/female) is discarded in order to accede to confused individuals' feelings.
For what it’s worth, I agree with this point too. The hypocrisy needs to be pointed out. Similarly, I do like throwing the “my body, my choice” back in the left’s face.
So reality is simply “fundamental science”? The whole of a human being’s identity is their biology? Nothing more than the crude flesh we inhabit? And feelings have no part of life? All seems pretty dark to me.
I agree entirely with the “forcing you to pretend” business. The laws enacted in places to criminalize the use of “incorrect” pronouns are ridiculous and antithetical to a free society. I also agree that “wokeness” is being used to drive a wedge. But my overall point is that the ones pushing it do not care about it philosophically. It’s just a way to divide and conquer along with creating a lifelong pharmaceutical/medical dependency in the case of transgender people. I would prefer my focus to be on the elite power that creates these distractions, not its victims. Nor do I wish to have the hubris to invalidate another person’s life experience, especially one that I don’t completely understand. Where “wokeness” fails is in its hypocrisy, that they don’t afford others the freedom they want for themselves. However, when I read comments that judge people simply based on their appearance and dismiss a life experience because it’s at odds with how someone is expected to act based on their interpretation of the importance of their physical form… well, I’m not seeing much a difference from the complaints leveled at the “woke.”
"The whole of a human being’s identity is their biology? Nothing more than the crude flesh we inhabit? And feelings have no part of life? All seems pretty dark to me."
Well... yes, essentially. We are what we are, and that is a truth that transcends feelings, wishes, or any other such thing. When we watch a nature show, we hear the voiceover tell us that the lion with the visible testes and the mane is the male, and the ones without either feature are the females. It wasn't necessary to ask them if they identify as such. We know what "male" means, and it's not a matter of feelings any more than being a lion is about feelings, or about how being a human is about feelings.
If I thought I was Napoleon Bonaparte, and really felt that was who I was at the very core of my being, that would not make it so. I would still be the actual 'me,' whatever that is. My feeling that I am Napoleon would simply be false, without any subjectivity involved. The people around me might feel great sympathy for one whose feelings are so misaligned with reality, but it wouldn't be doing me a favor to indulge the delusion. It is simply false.
It doesn't change the equation if the delusion is changed from a specific one, like I am Napoleon or Christ or Genghis Khan, to a generic one, like if I thought I was black, or if I thought I was a cat, or if I thought I was an alien from space, or yes, if I thought I was a woman despite my male appearance and XY chromosomal configuration. It simply is objectively false to say that there is any notion of a true gender identity that differs from the biological reality. Yes, the equipment you were born with defines you as being male or female, and only one of those (other than the unusual developmental anomaly of being intersex).
That's not to say I don't take the pain of someone with gender dysphoria seriously, or that I would wish any harm upon such a person. It's just that it's not any more valid to say you actually are the thing you want to be than if you wanted to be a cat or a member of another race (Sorry Elizabeth Warren; I would like be part Native American too... that would be really cool).
That’s a thoughtful response that I disagree with in some parts, but I respect the opinion. To be specific, I think there is a difference between biological sex and gender expression, but I do agree that there are parties that want to pretend that isn’t the case and that could be anywhere from bordering on to outright delusional and therefore potentially harmful for one’s mental health. But each case is different and a lot of this is semantics. Words reflect concepts and both are human inventions… we agree upon terms so we can communicate, and maybe that’s the biggest casualty in this “culture war.” More broadly speaking though, I don’t think that having different definitions of what a “man” or “woman” is necessarily harmful, and I think what is at the root of these identity issues is a more specific version of examining what it is to be alive and be human. And that can be a great thing, in my experience…
Put another way, and you hightlighted some examples, there are lots of things a person or groups of people can believe in that have no empirical rational basis. And then there is the question of what is actually empirical and if rationality itself is aligned with “truth.” This all gets very muddy the more one tries to nail it down, and I can’t speak for anyone else. The key for me comes down to: are your beliefs infringing on others’ freedom? When some try to enforce their validation on others, that’s crossing the line in my opinion. Prior to that, I don’t care. Nor do I wish to try and judge what constitutes “self-harm.” I believe in sovereignty and if people use their free will to indulge in fantasy that hurts themselves, that’s on them.
Again though, I respect your post though I think the “you are what you are” part is far too materialist for me to co-sign. I believe that we are consciousness first and physical second, not the other way around, so that renders much of your argument moot to me. (You might say that makes me crazy too… ah well…). But I have no quarrel with you, what made me respond to the first post is the tendency to drag the “woke” gay/trans “commoners” who have little to directly do with the rise of totalitarianism. Our (read: non-elites) anger would be best directed at the ones attempting to oppress us, not at the obnoxious chickwith the rainbow hair at Starbucks who goes by “zey.” It alienates potential allies and gives TPTB another tool to divide and conquer. It’s a tale old as time and I don’t feel like ending up in a religious war after this “pandemic” charade runs its course. To my eye, that’s what keeps “the left” up at night and when they speak of intolerant bigots, I don’t really have to squint too hard to see where they’re coming from. Being scared/hateful of people who live life differently than yourself is an unfortunate tendency and one that has historically always turned out nasty.
I don’t agree that the “rainbow” is a symbol of oppression. I see using the plight of a historically marginalized group to then further marginalize a larger group of people.
I’m on the side of freedom. Freedom for everyone to live their life as they see fit and allowing others the same. I complain about the left frequently, for what it’s worth, they do seem to be the dominant ideology at the moment. But it’s always just for the moment, true power changes it’s colors like a chameleon. 15 years ago, it was pretty apparent that the right was more directly responsible for furthering the totalitarian state (under the guise of terrorism).
When we lose track of the humanity of those that we disagree with, we end down the path of authoritarianism, no matter our whether our starting point is left/right/up/down/etc. The more I see people critique “wokeness” and the LGBTetc (yes, the acronym is obviously ridiculous) for their lifestyle as opposed to their infringement on others’ sovereignty, I can understand the “SJW” fears of a world where the “social deviants” are actually persecuted (and the ones doing it feel just). Such a world may seem far away at the moment, but this pendulum can switch in a heartbeat. I know a lot of people draw comparisons of the current situation to the rise of Nazism, but consider for a moment that movement was a response to the one before it.
For me, freedom is simple. As long as you aren’t hurting or coercing others, you are free to be however you’d like. I simply worry that many who are in that camp now would not hesitate to discriminate against others if the shoe was on the other foot. I also do realize that there are many who are opposed to wokeism that do truly value individual choice. I just felt it necessary to call attention to an issue that I see repeatedly in these circles, which is the tendency to dunk on gay/trans folks not for their hypocrisy regarding personal autonomy, but for their very existence. It’s a slippery slope that plays into the hands of the elites, in my opinion.
John Henry, you are a riot, devastating you. I wish I could follow you... Twitter was a *brief * lot of fun following characters like you. Btw, it broke my heart seeing how much truckers loved their kids on one clip
Just another wokist, hating non-wokists. Because you have to believe in something. She’s on a mission. She feels alive. Her raison d’etre. Change or shame everyone who doesn’t think like she does.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. "
Genderqueer and pansexual here, also unvaxxed (but just got over omicron that worse migraines tbh neck yeah natural immunity!) and with you 100% on this. If you give up bodily autonomy and the right to medical choice/informed consent to anyone, whether government or corporation, you are positioned to lose everything. You become a literal serf. Your body is no longer your own. No one should take these shots except through their own completely free uncoerced choice.
Watched Viva Frei broadcast live for four hours yesterday on Rumble from the heart of the Ottowa. Beautiful, peaceful group of people enjoying their first taste of autonomy in two years, the feeling is profound. The most interesting part is Viva attempted to talk to some of the “counter protesters” who were about 40 people, all masked and very dour. Most refused to talk. One guy offered that non vaccinated people were 18 times more likely to land in the hospital, that was the best he could muster. The only other lady who would talk seemed genuine and offered the same hospital statistic, but did not know Pfizer and Moderna enjoy immunity from liability. Honestly felt bad for the woman, she has no idea what she doesn’t know. The rest felt paid to be there and instructed to keep their mouth shut. The edifice is crumbling.
Wow. How can anyone NOT be aware the covid jab companies have liability protection?! I loved, "she has no idea what she doesn't know." Describes most of my husband's jabbed family of origin.
I suspect they are being paid and know little to nothing about the issue and care even less. You've got to be pretty motivated to stand outnumbered in frigid weather. Motivated by passionate knowledge or money. Doesn't seem to be knowledge.
Dour! So spot on. What is it with totalitarians. So humorless, so lifeless, so pathetic. Get some joy in your life people. Take that damn diaper off and breath the air God gave you! You depress me just by looking at you.
I saw some of that stream as well. It was amazing how many of the "counter protestors" were informed they were not allowed to speak and complied. And they still think they are on the right side. Mass formation psychosis is real.
I keep telling people that you can't just impose draconian measures on society in general without overwhelming consensus and obtained through a democratic process that protects the rights of the minority. Even a significant percentage of people that complied are still angry and resentful.
It is just unrealistic to banish hardworking and honest people from public life without some backlash. What did the overlords think was going to happen? Don't blame those fighting for their freedom - blame those politicians and public policy dictators for arbitrarily imposing such grotesque and polarizing measures without regard for consent of the governed.
The analogy that is frequently used: what do you do about someone who insists on lighting a match during an air raid? There are occasions where public health requires a unified response and restrictions on personal liberty. This was NOT one of them, and it will make it difficult to argue for such restrictions when a REAL killer comes along. Sometimes I think that was the plan. The sort of people who can lie, and kill, so easily are probably capable of anything.
100% agree. There is NEVER an occasion where public health needs restrictions on the liberty guaranteed by our Constitution. NEVER. Even a real Pandemic does not trump the Consititution. And EVERY STATES Governors EMERGENCY POWERs Need Stripping RIGHT NOW AND FOREVER.
The same 18th century forefathers who penned the Constitution would submit to, and initiate, regional quarantines during epidemics. I believe Alexander Hamilton and his wife had to endure something of a strip search during a yellow fever scare.
BUT I AGREE that we need to place much stricter controls on the sweeping, police-state authority of public health officials. If we're not careful, we are going to be ruled by nervous technocrats afraid of EVERY virus that comes along.
A red light is a restriction on personal liberty. An Ebola quarantine is a restriction on personal liberty. Just because this crisis was administered by people who were either monumentally incompetent, or evil, doesn't mean we go full anarchist.
I can go through a red light anytime I want. Might there be consequences (some serious)? Yes. Nevertheless, my choice. And, never in history have we forced healthy people to quarantine or shutter businesses. That's not productive and is corrosive to individual liberty. Full anarchy by people who understand the NAP would be ideal, actually.
Quarantining the healthy was always a bad idea -- just like removing traffic lights. The solution to "really bad government" is NOT "no government at all." We are the thinking side, remember.
Government is a necessary evil, and for too long, I think, people have concentrated on the "necessary" bit of that more than the "evil" bit. Yes, all governments are inherently evil, and must be distrusted as such. It's why our founders in America went out of their way to tie it down and restrict it so that it is unable to do anything beyond the "necessary" bits, but that is always a very tenuous thing.
The founders went out of their way to design checks and balances, but the way around all of this has become obvious... simply lie to the people with the media... keep lying until the lie prompts the people to vote and act as the liars want, and voila, a government of and by the people, ostensibly doing what the people want, serves the needs of the liars (the oligarchs) and not the people who have been fooled by the lies.
No government at all, aka anarchy, is a temporary state at best, as some person is invariably going to notice that and gather whatever forces are needed to take over, making him the de facto government. There has to be enough government to prevent that from happening, and to occupy what would otherwise be a void, where unrest from not having an official way to deal with torts or criminal actions would lead to unrest that would eventually result in the imposition of some kind of government, and it may not at that stage be one that is particularly concerned with liberty. That's why it is imperative to create a government that is all about liberty before there is an emergency state where people will take whatever they can get, which is what the founders did when they wrote the Constitution of the United States just over a decade after the Declaration of Independence was signed. The founders realized that it would require vigilance on the part of all citizens to protect the Constitution, and we haven't done that.
YES. 100% ...we need to now take our Federal top heavy institutions apart and get rid of them forever. Let's face it, we have had more truth from individuals and better data analysis from individuals than from all these institutions. The Dept of ED is paying schools to keep kids in masks. The NIH/CDC/FDA are totally captured and cannot even convene a group of clinicians/practicing doctors for the best approach. The Medicare office is PAYING HOSPITALS to KILL PATIENTS. Our ATTORNEY:S general are letting illegals and criminals out in our STREETS with no bail and no consequences.
Try and Name one institution that is working as the founder's envisioned...
The founders never imagined most of our existing federal government. We have strayed far from their vision. I agree that it’s time to disband most agencies and sell their real estate.
Yup. But to American Citizens only. No Chinese or foregin buyers. No to Bill Gates. I want our pork production and farmland back in the hands of America
Even though you’re not in Ottawa, you’ve nailed it. I live near Ottawa. Believe me, people here take huge risks by even expressing a little sympathy for the protestors.
My own siblings - elsewhere in Canada - remind me that the organizers want to stage a “coup”. To lighten the mood, I reply that, if that’s the case, it’s the first coup I’ve seen that included bouncy castles. They just get angry.
It really is insane. I could give more examples from the last week, but it’s too depressing.
I can only hope the pandemic is over soon so these people can start healing. They’re really not in a good way, mentally.
I hope the current government in Canada does fall and you get to hold new elections. Maybe vote for some truckers rather that the same old scumbags that seem to get elected year after year.
I’m from the North. Politicians are all despised here, with blackface being by far the most despised. Ottawa is as bad as your D.C. it’s going to happen that all roads and bridges will be blocked, as well as the international borders . Little food will be delivered . No garbage picked up . It might get interesting.
There were two roads to take, fear or freedom. Unfortunately many chose fear and I think somehow they took comfort in that. It’s going to take a very long time for those people to come back from that road if ever.
Some I know, don’t want it to be over. They’ve settled into their media sanctioned righteousness, without doubt. And some people never question their decisions and will never admit they misjudged this situation and the politicians agenda, even though they could explain they didn’t have all the information, at the time. It’s sad because the media is reinforcing their decisions daily, although it’s clear to the awake that the politics of the jab are apparent.
They can't heal. They are hypochondriacs. They are prescription drug-addled. This is their dream - to let their fear of disease and death rule the world. The pandemic is already gone, and no healing on their part. Soon their power will be gone and the hypochondriacs can go back to their houses and doctor's offices where they belong. But there will be no healing on their part. Hypochondriacs do not want healing.
They will NEVER heal and things will NEVER go back to normal. Start living by these words or you're going to be sorely disappointed. This protest is like this plandemic - it was always going to separate the free mountain goats from the enslaved sheep. The best outcome is that each group goes its own way and Canada separates (along east-west lines from what I can see) . I don't have to tell you about the worst case ...
Any friends that would be lost over this were not really friends in the first place. Once you face that hard truth (which I have done), life is easier and you breathe more freely. There are new friends to be had, people who refuse to "cancel" a friend over ideology. There is no reasoning with an idealogue, by definition, so better to have reasonable people in your life who will have honest, heartfelt conversations that will end with amiability whether or not they end in consensus.
![Baby with Spaghetti on Head: An American Classic" Photo by George S. Trabant LIFE September 26, 1960 | Black and white, Photo, Vintage children](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9df40490-da1a-41ac-bd93-169e596f4d71_412x514.jpeg "Baby with Spaghetti on Head: An American Classic" Photo by George S. Trabant LIFE September 26, 1960 | Black and white, Photo, Vintage children")
That self-righteous woman holding up the sign is out of central casting:
1) Contempt for blue-collar workers...check!
2) Masked outdoors...check!
3) Rainbow colored shade rims...check!
4) Tufts of hair colored a shade not ever found on a human head...check!
The only way it gets more woke is if it is really an individual with XY chromosomes pretending to be a woman...
The aggressive psychopath eyes...check.
The vacant, unthinking, cool kid, self righteous, arrogant, half smile eyes of the "I owned you" lib.
This idiotic "wokism" would be funny in a pathetic way if it didn't have such awful implications. I live in Toronto and I am a Gay White Man (NOT A LGBTcvobizq... whatever) and I know way too many guys (and women) like this. They are conceited airheads living in an echo chamber. I try to get my acquaintances to think just ONE original thought. Nada. I try to get them to see that Gay men (and what's left of the Gay movement) are coming to be considered cheerleaders for this fascistic and anti-freedom cabal that rule over us. Nada. I know I am in the minority - I'd estimate that only 15% of Gay men feel as I do. But I do know that when the SHTF, we'll all be lumped together. All I can do is try to get out of the way because I can see there is no way to get through to these people. And I NEVER wear rainbow colored anything!
Good for you. Keep fighting this madness.
You are the definition of pride in being who you are. I note my gay friends also have differing politics and seem to tolerate each other, something I wish others might do.
I truly feel your pain.
Many gay men and lesbians (especially 45 y.o. +) I know complain about Gay, Inc. What you just described is basically what they consider to be the result of the embrace of corporate gayness, aka Gay, Inc.
As a senior, I don't know much about the younger bunch. Once age arrives we pretty much are who we are. But my gay friends live decent quiet lives now, most are reasonable well-off not struggling. I suspect they wonder, as I do, why the anger. I must admin loosing some friends in the late 80's was very hard. Survivors of those days have strong memories.
One can’t help but wonder if she was paid to be there, ticking all the boxes.
Or if she was posing in a nongendered bathroom.
Lol!
Some people who do not look like you are still thinking people. All are human. More opinionated division is what you are promoting, and less would be helpful right now, it seems to me, if you are trying to bring right minded folks together. One believes in these injections and mandates, or one doesn't.
I don't think it was saying the woman isn't human... only that she fits a stereotype, and that the colour of her hair isn't found naturally in a human.
Some people who wear the uniform and colors and symbols and assorted trappings of their cause have zero interest in the opposing parties’ perspective.
I submit that she seems one such.
She’s a soldier.
You cant really reason with people who have been driven insane with fear and ideology.
Jacket that keeps expanding in girth as it covers her ample midsection… check!
I only say this to illustrate these self- anointed moral superiors barely take care of their own health while admonishing everyone else for putting people at risk.
The process of othering people begins with small otherings....again, the only relevant metric to be accepted into the right side of history here is how one feels about the mandates and injections....the rest will make you disqualify otherwise good folks who believe as you do, who you cast off due to your prejudices. I wont. How we look is irrelevant in this cause.
A woman unironically holding a sign portraying herself as standing up to oppression while supporting violations of human rights by state power is not one of the good folks. She may come around eventually and I would accept her, but as it stands she’s one of the lost.
I agree...but I wonder what her sign said before it was Photoshopped (because it clearly was)?
https://twitter.com/TheHillTimes/status/1490336174057132033
Very good. So, she's an idiot...she just manifests her idiocy visually rather than textually.
yes. she has it all. You can see the woke illness coming at you, even with the mask. I think she's wearing butterfly wings too (ruining butterfly wings for me)
Smart move on part. Better to look like an dunce than to open her mouth or pen some woke slogan thereby proving it.
so, the same thing
not cool! I had not even noticed ...
How delightful. Instead of refuting her message, the top comment needs to critique her non-traditional appearance and throw shade at transgender people.
Gee, I wonder where these people get the idea that the opposition is full of intolerant bigots?
I want out of this dichotomy. Woke, anti-woke, it’s all a ready made distraction from the totalitarianism at our doorstep. Let people live as they want, as long as they aren’t hurting others or infringing on others’ rights. The “leftist” agendas may seemingly have the upper hand right now, but does the “right” stand for freedom? Or simply freedom to believe in what they believe in?
Wake the hell up. Wokeness is pushed by our oligarchy in order to divide the people as much as possible. It needs to be mocked relentlessly and then extirpated.
I give not a rat's rump if someone wants to dress up as a member of the opposite sex, but I care deeply if you force me to pretend that s/he indeed a member of the opposite sex. Transgenderism is dangerous; it is an assault on reality. Fundamental science (male/female) is discarded in order to accede to confused individuals' feelings.
If a man can say he identifies as she , why can’t the unvaxxed identify as triple vaxxed ?
For what it’s worth, I agree with this point too. The hypocrisy needs to be pointed out. Similarly, I do like throwing the “my body, my choice” back in the left’s face.
Peace to you, Teri G. Have a good day.
Exactly right! I love this modern "science."
I still wouldn't. They can screw themselves
Forced speech helps no one.
When Trans bullshit comes up, I say I'm transing to a Silverback
I like this app, I can love my own comments. This disturbs people. I think it's hilarious
So reality is simply “fundamental science”? The whole of a human being’s identity is their biology? Nothing more than the crude flesh we inhabit? And feelings have no part of life? All seems pretty dark to me.
I agree entirely with the “forcing you to pretend” business. The laws enacted in places to criminalize the use of “incorrect” pronouns are ridiculous and antithetical to a free society. I also agree that “wokeness” is being used to drive a wedge. But my overall point is that the ones pushing it do not care about it philosophically. It’s just a way to divide and conquer along with creating a lifelong pharmaceutical/medical dependency in the case of transgender people. I would prefer my focus to be on the elite power that creates these distractions, not its victims. Nor do I wish to have the hubris to invalidate another person’s life experience, especially one that I don’t completely understand. Where “wokeness” fails is in its hypocrisy, that they don’t afford others the freedom they want for themselves. However, when I read comments that judge people simply based on their appearance and dismiss a life experience because it’s at odds with how someone is expected to act based on their interpretation of the importance of their physical form… well, I’m not seeing much a difference from the complaints leveled at the “woke.”
"The whole of a human being’s identity is their biology? Nothing more than the crude flesh we inhabit? And feelings have no part of life? All seems pretty dark to me."
Well... yes, essentially. We are what we are, and that is a truth that transcends feelings, wishes, or any other such thing. When we watch a nature show, we hear the voiceover tell us that the lion with the visible testes and the mane is the male, and the ones without either feature are the females. It wasn't necessary to ask them if they identify as such. We know what "male" means, and it's not a matter of feelings any more than being a lion is about feelings, or about how being a human is about feelings.
If I thought I was Napoleon Bonaparte, and really felt that was who I was at the very core of my being, that would not make it so. I would still be the actual 'me,' whatever that is. My feeling that I am Napoleon would simply be false, without any subjectivity involved. The people around me might feel great sympathy for one whose feelings are so misaligned with reality, but it wouldn't be doing me a favor to indulge the delusion. It is simply false.
It doesn't change the equation if the delusion is changed from a specific one, like I am Napoleon or Christ or Genghis Khan, to a generic one, like if I thought I was black, or if I thought I was a cat, or if I thought I was an alien from space, or yes, if I thought I was a woman despite my male appearance and XY chromosomal configuration. It simply is objectively false to say that there is any notion of a true gender identity that differs from the biological reality. Yes, the equipment you were born with defines you as being male or female, and only one of those (other than the unusual developmental anomaly of being intersex).
That's not to say I don't take the pain of someone with gender dysphoria seriously, or that I would wish any harm upon such a person. It's just that it's not any more valid to say you actually are the thing you want to be than if you wanted to be a cat or a member of another race (Sorry Elizabeth Warren; I would like be part Native American too... that would be really cool).
That’s a thoughtful response that I disagree with in some parts, but I respect the opinion. To be specific, I think there is a difference between biological sex and gender expression, but I do agree that there are parties that want to pretend that isn’t the case and that could be anywhere from bordering on to outright delusional and therefore potentially harmful for one’s mental health. But each case is different and a lot of this is semantics. Words reflect concepts and both are human inventions… we agree upon terms so we can communicate, and maybe that’s the biggest casualty in this “culture war.” More broadly speaking though, I don’t think that having different definitions of what a “man” or “woman” is necessarily harmful, and I think what is at the root of these identity issues is a more specific version of examining what it is to be alive and be human. And that can be a great thing, in my experience…
Put another way, and you hightlighted some examples, there are lots of things a person or groups of people can believe in that have no empirical rational basis. And then there is the question of what is actually empirical and if rationality itself is aligned with “truth.” This all gets very muddy the more one tries to nail it down, and I can’t speak for anyone else. The key for me comes down to: are your beliefs infringing on others’ freedom? When some try to enforce their validation on others, that’s crossing the line in my opinion. Prior to that, I don’t care. Nor do I wish to try and judge what constitutes “self-harm.” I believe in sovereignty and if people use their free will to indulge in fantasy that hurts themselves, that’s on them.
Again though, I respect your post though I think the “you are what you are” part is far too materialist for me to co-sign. I believe that we are consciousness first and physical second, not the other way around, so that renders much of your argument moot to me. (You might say that makes me crazy too… ah well…). But I have no quarrel with you, what made me respond to the first post is the tendency to drag the “woke” gay/trans “commoners” who have little to directly do with the rise of totalitarianism. Our (read: non-elites) anger would be best directed at the ones attempting to oppress us, not at the obnoxious chickwith the rainbow hair at Starbucks who goes by “zey.” It alienates potential allies and gives TPTB another tool to divide and conquer. It’s a tale old as time and I don’t feel like ending up in a religious war after this “pandemic” charade runs its course. To my eye, that’s what keeps “the left” up at night and when they speak of intolerant bigots, I don’t really have to squint too hard to see where they’re coming from. Being scared/hateful of people who live life differently than yourself is an unfortunate tendency and one that has historically always turned out nasty.
1st 2 were right on target. 3rd... well rainbow is now an utter symbol of oppression and tyranny... do you not agree?
He WAS addressing her message of the 1st 3 points.
Who's side are YOU on?
Have you complained about commie/nazi left recently ?
Btw, I'm not on the right m
I don’t agree that the “rainbow” is a symbol of oppression. I see using the plight of a historically marginalized group to then further marginalize a larger group of people.
I’m on the side of freedom. Freedom for everyone to live their life as they see fit and allowing others the same. I complain about the left frequently, for what it’s worth, they do seem to be the dominant ideology at the moment. But it’s always just for the moment, true power changes it’s colors like a chameleon. 15 years ago, it was pretty apparent that the right was more directly responsible for furthering the totalitarian state (under the guise of terrorism).
When we lose track of the humanity of those that we disagree with, we end down the path of authoritarianism, no matter our whether our starting point is left/right/up/down/etc. The more I see people critique “wokeness” and the LGBTetc (yes, the acronym is obviously ridiculous) for their lifestyle as opposed to their infringement on others’ sovereignty, I can understand the “SJW” fears of a world where the “social deviants” are actually persecuted (and the ones doing it feel just). Such a world may seem far away at the moment, but this pendulum can switch in a heartbeat. I know a lot of people draw comparisons of the current situation to the rise of Nazism, but consider for a moment that movement was a response to the one before it.
For me, freedom is simple. As long as you aren’t hurting or coercing others, you are free to be however you’d like. I simply worry that many who are in that camp now would not hesitate to discriminate against others if the shoe was on the other foot. I also do realize that there are many who are opposed to wokeism that do truly value individual choice. I just felt it necessary to call attention to an issue that I see repeatedly in these circles, which is the tendency to dunk on gay/trans folks not for their hypocrisy regarding personal autonomy, but for their very existence. It’s a slippery slope that plays into the hands of the elites, in my opinion.
Don’t forget the part about being pregnant. Men can be pregnant ya know!
John Henry, you are a riot, devastating you. I wish I could follow you... Twitter was a *brief * lot of fun following characters like you. Btw, it broke my heart seeing how much truckers loved their kids on one clip
Thank you, John. Substack has been great; it is encouraging to see that so many have rejected the narrative. Stay strong!
I hate to poop on anyone's parade, but that sign is clearly photoshopped. You and I know it's an accurate paraphrasing, though.
5) Soulless eyes
You forgot that he/she has butterfly wings coming off her coat....! Everyone's gotta be proud of something I guess...
Just another wokist, hating non-wokists. Because you have to believe in something. She’s on a mission. She feels alive. Her raison d’etre. Change or shame everyone who doesn’t think like she does.
Intolerance in the flesh. Superiority complex.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. "
“The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants” - Albert Camus
"The protection of the masses has in all times been the pretense of tyranny" -- Henry George (1886)
C.S. Lewis hit the nail on the head.
Always.
I’m transgender and I’m unvaccinated. I support the right of everyone to choose for themselves. All of the mandates and vaccine passports have to end.
Genderqueer and pansexual here, also unvaxxed (but just got over omicron that worse migraines tbh neck yeah natural immunity!) and with you 100% on this. If you give up bodily autonomy and the right to medical choice/informed consent to anyone, whether government or corporation, you are positioned to lose everything. You become a literal serf. Your body is no longer your own. No one should take these shots except through their own completely free uncoerced choice.
❤️ my body my choice
Cool! Glad there's a trans person in here who thinks as we do. The more different types of folks, the better.
As a Canadian, your relentless pillorying of the leftist loonies' outrage, including that emanating from the sock-puppet p.m., is greatly appreciated.
God bless you. I love your bravery. Texas salutes you and your buddies
Watched Viva Frei broadcast live for four hours yesterday on Rumble from the heart of the Ottowa. Beautiful, peaceful group of people enjoying their first taste of autonomy in two years, the feeling is profound. The most interesting part is Viva attempted to talk to some of the “counter protesters” who were about 40 people, all masked and very dour. Most refused to talk. One guy offered that non vaccinated people were 18 times more likely to land in the hospital, that was the best he could muster. The only other lady who would talk seemed genuine and offered the same hospital statistic, but did not know Pfizer and Moderna enjoy immunity from liability. Honestly felt bad for the woman, she has no idea what she doesn’t know. The rest felt paid to be there and instructed to keep their mouth shut. The edifice is crumbling.
Wow. How can anyone NOT be aware the covid jab companies have liability protection?! I loved, "she has no idea what she doesn't know." Describes most of my husband's jabbed family of origin.
I suspect they are being paid and know little to nothing about the issue and care even less. You've got to be pretty motivated to stand outnumbered in frigid weather. Motivated by passionate knowledge or money. Doesn't seem to be knowledge.
"Doesn't seem to be knowledge"
Good line.
plants (both meanings)
Dour! So spot on. What is it with totalitarians. So humorless, so lifeless, so pathetic. Get some joy in your life people. Take that damn diaper off and breath the air God gave you! You depress me just by looking at you.
I saw some of that stream as well. It was amazing how many of the "counter protestors" were informed they were not allowed to speak and complied. And they still think they are on the right side. Mass formation psychosis is real.
I saw that protest. Not very enthusiastic
I keep telling people that you can't just impose draconian measures on society in general without overwhelming consensus and obtained through a democratic process that protects the rights of the minority. Even a significant percentage of people that complied are still angry and resentful.
It is just unrealistic to banish hardworking and honest people from public life without some backlash. What did the overlords think was going to happen? Don't blame those fighting for their freedom - blame those politicians and public policy dictators for arbitrarily imposing such grotesque and polarizing measures without regard for consent of the governed.
The analogy that is frequently used: what do you do about someone who insists on lighting a match during an air raid? There are occasions where public health requires a unified response and restrictions on personal liberty. This was NOT one of them, and it will make it difficult to argue for such restrictions when a REAL killer comes along. Sometimes I think that was the plan. The sort of people who can lie, and kill, so easily are probably capable of anything.
"There are occasions where public health requires a unified response and restrictions on personal liberty"
Never.
100% agree. There is NEVER an occasion where public health needs restrictions on the liberty guaranteed by our Constitution. NEVER. Even a real Pandemic does not trump the Consititution. And EVERY STATES Governors EMERGENCY POWERs Need Stripping RIGHT NOW AND FOREVER.
The same 18th century forefathers who penned the Constitution would submit to, and initiate, regional quarantines during epidemics. I believe Alexander Hamilton and his wife had to endure something of a strip search during a yellow fever scare.
BUT I AGREE that we need to place much stricter controls on the sweeping, police-state authority of public health officials. If we're not careful, we are going to be ruled by nervous technocrats afraid of EVERY virus that comes along.
Never a quarantine of the healthy. That is obvious nonsense now and even was then when our medical understanding was less.
Or PAID to be scared of EVERYTHING not approved of by our overlords.
A red light is a restriction on personal liberty. An Ebola quarantine is a restriction on personal liberty. Just because this crisis was administered by people who were either monumentally incompetent, or evil, doesn't mean we go full anarchist.
I can go through a red light anytime I want. Might there be consequences (some serious)? Yes. Nevertheless, my choice. And, never in history have we forced healthy people to quarantine or shutter businesses. That's not productive and is corrosive to individual liberty. Full anarchy by people who understand the NAP would be ideal, actually.
Quarantining the healthy was always a bad idea -- just like removing traffic lights. The solution to "really bad government" is NOT "no government at all." We are the thinking side, remember.
Government is a necessary evil, and for too long, I think, people have concentrated on the "necessary" bit of that more than the "evil" bit. Yes, all governments are inherently evil, and must be distrusted as such. It's why our founders in America went out of their way to tie it down and restrict it so that it is unable to do anything beyond the "necessary" bits, but that is always a very tenuous thing.
The founders went out of their way to design checks and balances, but the way around all of this has become obvious... simply lie to the people with the media... keep lying until the lie prompts the people to vote and act as the liars want, and voila, a government of and by the people, ostensibly doing what the people want, serves the needs of the liars (the oligarchs) and not the people who have been fooled by the lies.
No government at all, aka anarchy, is a temporary state at best, as some person is invariably going to notice that and gather whatever forces are needed to take over, making him the de facto government. There has to be enough government to prevent that from happening, and to occupy what would otherwise be a void, where unrest from not having an official way to deal with torts or criminal actions would lead to unrest that would eventually result in the imposition of some kind of government, and it may not at that stage be one that is particularly concerned with liberty. That's why it is imperative to create a government that is all about liberty before there is an emergency state where people will take whatever they can get, which is what the founders did when they wrote the Constitution of the United States just over a decade after the Declaration of Independence was signed. The founders realized that it would require vigilance on the part of all citizens to protect the Constitution, and we haven't done that.
In 1918-19 San Francisco did it but the people eventually rioted
👍 Never!!! 👍
The answer isn't more gov't, and the probability of better gov't is a paradox. In my opinion the answer is less government.
YES. 100% ...we need to now take our Federal top heavy institutions apart and get rid of them forever. Let's face it, we have had more truth from individuals and better data analysis from individuals than from all these institutions. The Dept of ED is paying schools to keep kids in masks. The NIH/CDC/FDA are totally captured and cannot even convene a group of clinicians/practicing doctors for the best approach. The Medicare office is PAYING HOSPITALS to KILL PATIENTS. Our ATTORNEY:S general are letting illegals and criminals out in our STREETS with no bail and no consequences.
Try and Name one institution that is working as the founder's envisioned...
The founders never imagined most of our existing federal government. We have strayed far from their vision. I agree that it’s time to disband most agencies and sell their real estate.
Yup. But to American Citizens only. No Chinese or foregin buyers. No to Bill Gates. I want our pork production and farmland back in the hands of America
People don't get it when I say that nearly everything the federal government does is unconstitutional.
If they wipe us out, I hope I get to see from the afterlife what happens to the collaborators . THEY WILL RICHLY, UTTERLY DESERVE IT. COWARDS
The collaborators ought to at least thank us for trying to keep their country alive. Cowards, idiots
Even though you’re not in Ottawa, you’ve nailed it. I live near Ottawa. Believe me, people here take huge risks by even expressing a little sympathy for the protestors.
My own siblings - elsewhere in Canada - remind me that the organizers want to stage a “coup”. To lighten the mood, I reply that, if that’s the case, it’s the first coup I’ve seen that included bouncy castles. They just get angry.
It really is insane. I could give more examples from the last week, but it’s too depressing.
I can only hope the pandemic is over soon so these people can start healing. They’re really not in a good way, mentally.
I hope the current government in Canada does fall and you get to hold new elections. Maybe vote for some truckers rather that the same old scumbags that seem to get elected year after year.
I’m from the North. Politicians are all despised here, with blackface being by far the most despised. Ottawa is as bad as your D.C. it’s going to happen that all roads and bridges will be blocked, as well as the international borders . Little food will be delivered . No garbage picked up . It might get interesting.
There were two roads to take, fear or freedom. Unfortunately many chose fear and I think somehow they took comfort in that. It’s going to take a very long time for those people to come back from that road if ever.
Some I know, don’t want it to be over. They’ve settled into their media sanctioned righteousness, without doubt. And some people never question their decisions and will never admit they misjudged this situation and the politicians agenda, even though they could explain they didn’t have all the information, at the time. It’s sad because the media is reinforcing their decisions daily, although it’s clear to the awake that the politics of the jab are apparent.
Liberals hating against bouncy castles just proves that they’re dour, fun-hating, Karen’s that must impose their wishes on all the rest of us.
An ironic statistic, more children have died in Australia from bouncy castle accidents than Covid
the “always winter, never christmas” crowd
They can't heal. They are hypochondriacs. They are prescription drug-addled. This is their dream - to let their fear of disease and death rule the world. The pandemic is already gone, and no healing on their part. Soon their power will be gone and the hypochondriacs can go back to their houses and doctor's offices where they belong. But there will be no healing on their part. Hypochondriacs do not want healing.
Those poor souls. Never expected to see them in charge tho!
The pandemic was over LAST YEAR.
You could even argue that there never really was one.
the virus will never leave. It never was going to. and they will keep doing this stupidity
Yes, it will just take different forms.
and new "improved" viruses
But.. but...carbon footprint passes!!
From what I can tell, the Estupid virus got here long before COVID ever did!
They will NEVER heal and things will NEVER go back to normal. Start living by these words or you're going to be sorely disappointed. This protest is like this plandemic - it was always going to separate the free mountain goats from the enslaved sheep. The best outcome is that each group goes its own way and Canada separates (along east-west lines from what I can see) . I don't have to tell you about the worst case ...
May I ask in all seriousness, what huge risks to people take there by even expressing a little sympathy for the protestors?
Losing friends, being cancelled, etc. So, nothing life-threatening, but needlessly bad.
Any friends that would be lost over this were not really friends in the first place. Once you face that hard truth (which I have done), life is easier and you breathe more freely. There are new friends to be had, people who refuse to "cancel" a friend over ideology. There is no reasoning with an idealogue, by definition, so better to have reasonable people in your life who will have honest, heartfelt conversations that will end with amiability whether or not they end in consensus.
that you cant even leave the country without a jab is astonishing, put people in a corner don't be surprised when they fight back
It’s the most fun winter party here in Ottawa!!!
Cheers guys!! Thank you for showing the rest of the world how it’s done. We ❤️You.
I want to see! Anything of your experience on Instagram?
Only gettr
@mikey38sc
Love it!! Thanks!
thanks. I'll try that