Happy Canada Day! once again, where we celebrate our founders, our country, our democratic and physical freedoms, cheap education & healthcare and, of course, our fabulous wine & beer! But what’s the difference in being Canadian versus being anyone else? Is it a feeling, thought or action? What identifies us as Canadians other than the fact that we’re located right here, (mostly) above our very interesting neighbors, the Americans?
For almost all of my life I have been proud that Canada has been recognized as a place full of “nice” people; kind, polite and generally friendly, we share our great beers and wines with folks we meet. We have a great multicultural vibe where new Canadians are sharing their wonderful creations with us and everyone enjoys and respects all that we can experience here. I used to think we were distinctly different from other nations, specifically different from Americans who have such a powerful sense of patriotism that includes the loudly emphasized right to carry guns and defend themselves to any threat. I don’t disagree with their protectiveness; I’ve just seen so many extreme examples over so many years that I, like most Canadians, view the patriotic experiences across that border as being very much more amplified than anything we have going on in this relatively quiet little country, keeping us “nice” and unique. Until recently.
Canada took centre stage this winter, when a group of truckers and their supporters took our nation’s capital basically under siege. It was so surreal to see this very “un-nice” demonstration unfold as the protesters defecated on the streets, spat at police, and honked horns so loudly that downtown residents couldn’t sleep and were afraid to leave their homes as violence surrounded them. Even if they wanted to get out they couldn’t as all the roads and bridges were blocked; you could get in or out except on foot but NOBODY wanted to try that. They partied like idiots, even setting up bouncy houses and hot tubs as they made an absolute mess and held that city completely hostage for weeks.
What were they protesting? Ironically, while holding downtown Ottawa for ransom they screamed “Freedom!!!”. So, I guess their freedom is more important than anyone who lives in downtown Ottawa. They screamed “Fuck Trudeau” like our Prime Minister was somehow responsible for whatever they were so angry at and they did it all while waving their Canada Flags that had the maple leaf removed and placed with the middle finger image and then refused to negotiate. Negotiate what? Negotiate vaccine mandates and masking policies? Seems ridiculous given that nobody was forced to get a vaccine and if you don’t wear a mask in a crowded, public venue during a pandemic, I’m sorry but maybe you should just stay home and wait it out. Negotiate the Prime Minister out of his job? Well, that’s not on the table, nobody’s going to bend to you as long as you disrespect our flag & poop on our front lawn while partying and honking all night. And just as another little point to ponder: I wonder how many of those protesters collected $2000/month during the pandemic, that PM Trudeau set up to offset their losses when everyone’s jobs shut down. Other than a pretty shameful grasp at their 15 minutes of fame I’m still not sure what that group was really all about but I do know that the whole world was talking about it and all eyes were on us… not in a good way and our memories of that ugly demonstration are certainly NOT very “nice”.
Finally, after a very heated standoff that went way longer than it should have, their protest was dismantled and many arrests were made. The streets of Ottawa were cleared (and cleaned – not by the protesters of course, it’s their freedom to make a huge mess but it’s not their problem to clean it up) and those who weren’t arrested went home.
But it didn’t end there. Every Saturday, in almost every city, the supporters of the protest rallied their vehicles and drove convoys all over the damn place in this country. They were nothing but annoying; waving their giant and defamed Canada Flags and honking. Here, their convoys blocked miles of traffic and their blaring horns disturbed tens of thousands of residents as they roared the corridor from Vernon all the way down to Penticton and sometimes as far as Oliver and Osoyoos. I, and many others had to plan to be nowhere on the highways on Saturday afternoons to avoid their bullshit.
For me, and many others as I have discovered, the worst of the whole awful demonstration of “freedom”-fighting was that they turned our flag into something shady. Now, when we see the flag on a car or house, we don’t know if it’s because they are showing Canadian pride or if they are supporting a bunch of idiots who think they can make change by breaking laws and disrespecting their neighbors. I was very glad to see the organizers all tossed into jail and even happier to see one of them tossed back in jail earlier this week for breaking her parole. They were so “not nice” that I think I’m going to have a very bad taste in my mouth about them for a very long time.
Despite their residual ugliness, left like the slime from a slug, Canada Day and our beloved Canada Flag lives on to see another birthday celebration. In support of my great country, I bought a GIANT Canada Flag last year and secured it to my balcony again yesterday. I briefly thought about not doing that because I didn’t want anyone to think I’m one of THEM but then I did it anyway. Because I live on the side of a hill overlooking the lake, anyone below me or on the lake can see it. And I display it not to be misconstrued as any sort of protest nonsense but very simply because I love this country and all that I’ve been able to achieve here. I hope that others will do the same and not shy away from waving our flag because a small group of extremist assholes decided to use it for nefarious purposes and, as a result, tarnished its image. Let’s kick that notion to the curb and bring back all the good in our lovely flag, I say!
So back to the original line; Happy Canada Day! Go wave your red & white maple leafs, eat some hot dogs and enjoy some of our fine beers and wine…. And for goodness’ sake, BE NICE!
See you again soon and thanks for dropping by!