1/15. The #TorontoConvoy is now reduced to handful of ppl thanks to authorities moving out the trucks and crowds a few hours ago.
I spent the better part of the afternoon here.
Some observations. 👇🧵
2/15. Lets start with the ugliedt one.
I chatted with Greg here from New Brunswick, who carried around what was by far the most antisemitic signage of the day.
He said he's just sharing the truth (that Jews are behind COVID etc).
3/15. Greg doesnt represent everyone at the #TorontoConvoy, but as we spoke, a semi circle of nodding audience members formed behind me.
And every time I passed him later, he'd be talking enthusiastically with another person there. I didn't see anyone contradict him.
4/15. No one dwelled much on how easily their anti-vaxx message dovetails (at the very least) with the worst elements of the far-right. Anti-hate observers have noted how the convoy movement was organized by those elements as a show of force, in the first place.
5/15. Then there's the behaviour with journalists & media. Lots of ppl there were livestreamimg themselves, and you could hear them gripe about the MSM.
This flared into outright hateful harassment of some reporters and crew. Like this guy, who had to be restrained.
6/15. I asked him why he hates the media and he said theyre "all bought and paid for."
I then asked the CP24 crew across the street collecting footage how often they were getting heckled and it was like once every few mins.
Including by this guy.
7/15. Another thing I noticed was how many ppl there were clearly speaking Russian.
I asked one guy, Russian. Another guy, Ukrainian. And so on. Especially earlier in the day, when families were out. This guy with the big 🖕#Trudeau hat is Macedonian.
8/15. He said lots of ppl from the old Eastern bloc showed up because they understand the dangers communism, which is obviously what the Trudeau Liberals are dragging everyone towards.
9/15. On that note, theres a lot of talk about how diverse these gatherings are. I made a note to observe this and tbh those claims are wildly exaggerated, at least in the #TorontoConvoy today. Mayyybe 15% poc.
10/15. Another thing is how ppl there were boasting about how huge the showing was today in downtown #Toronto.
But really, other than the north side of QP, the whole thing was just on Bloor from Bedford to Yonge.
11/15. The climax for lack of a better term was around 5pm when everyone started dancing and yelling freedom on Bloor and Avenue. That was about the most compelling showing.
12/15. Ultimately, the message from everyone was some variation of 🖕 Trudeau or the media. And mandates. Maybe Ford. Very little else was articulated.
13/15. The anger then makes it pretty easy to yell at corrupt journalists who are paid for by, say, the Jews.
It's obv that no one there cares about shaping the message so asto exclude these easy leaps.
The most you get is, "Im not racist, I just want my life back."
14/15. It makes the "bad apples" argument even harder to accept.
The more extemist voices exist pretty comfortably among the larger masses.
Like Greg with the sign. No one stopped him. Some flocked to him.
15/15. Finally there's this guy who says he has a great sense of humour because he bought Liar.com so it goes straight to Trudeau's Wikipedia.
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