Thread: Artur Pawlowski and His Idea of "Freedom"
On Friday @StephanieCarvin, @AmarAmarasingam, and myself had an article published focused on a subset of the anti-lockdown/anti-vaxx effort who are motivated by far-right rhetoric. 1/
policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/janu…
On Friday @StephanieCarvin, @AmarAmarasingam, and myself had an article published focused on a subset of the anti-lockdown/anti-vaxx effort who are motivated by far-right rhetoric. 1/
policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/janu…
While a great deal of the response was very supportive, we got some pushback by people who either didn't bother to read the article or who purposely mischaracterized it. 2/
Of some interest to me, Artur Pawlowski managed to find it and posted a link. The response of his supporters probably inadvertently from his standpoint confirmed what we wrote about regarding this subset. 3/ 
4/
Those newly familiar with Artur Pawlowski have likely become acquainted with him as a result of his anti-lockdown stance, (note, we've never truly been in a lockdown), anti-vaxx conspiracies, and histrionic comparison of health measures with communism/Nazism. 5/
Recently he has been promoting the trucker convoy that proports to be an effort to make Canada "free" from Covid mandates. (#TruckersForFreedom)
Pawlowski speaks a lot of freedom, but how much does he in fact support the freedom of Canadians whose values differ from his own? 10/
Pawlowski speaks a lot of freedom, but how much does he in fact support the freedom of Canadians whose values differ from his own? 10/
In fact Artur Pawlowski has a long history of extremism that predates his current "freedom fighter" image which calls into question his actual support for the freedoms that other Canadians enjoy that don't conform to his ideology. 11/
antihate.ca/timeline_hate_…
antihate.ca/timeline_hate_…
It might be of some interest that Pawlowski referring to individuals -- by-law officers, AHS, Calgary Police Service, etc -- as Communists and Nazis is nothing new. For example here he is in June 2017 making the came claim in reference to alleged anti-Christian persecution. 12/
And here he is in October 2017 after a mayoral forum. In this case he makes this claim because the media were not interested in speaking to the fringe mayoral candidate of his choice. 13/
We'll revisit these events again later, but I want to focus on when I first really started paying attention to Artur and his brother.
In June of 2017, Artur was a key speaker at a rally organized by hate group the Worldwide Coalition Against Islam. 14/
In June of 2017, Artur was a key speaker at a rally organized by hate group the Worldwide Coalition Against Islam. 14/
The first speaker was Joey Deluca who founded the hate group earlier that year. In this excerpt, while Deluca uses vile and dehumanizing language referring to refugees, immigrants, and Muslims, you can see Artur in the background preparing to speak himself (trigger warning). 15/
Even after this, while members of the III% militia stand in front and another member of WCAI holds a sign referring to "third world riff raff", Pawlowski still not only addresses the crowd, but further incites them further. 16/
As damning as this is, I find this video even more so in some ways.
Artur and Dawid, who routinely call by-law officers Nazis for enforcing rules against them, demands that the police enforce those same by-laws against their ideological opponents to silence them. 17/
Artur and Dawid, who routinely call by-law officers Nazis for enforcing rules against them, demands that the police enforce those same by-laws against their ideological opponents to silence them. 17/
They later demand the police arrest the counter-protesters claiming they were assaulted (they were not) in order to again silence them. 18/
Already we see that Artur has a very fluid understanding of what freedom means; that he and his supporters should have the unfettered right to act however they wish but that those who oppose them need to have the full force of the law brought down on them. 19/
But there is of course more.
Most people who were familiar with Artur and his brother before the pandemic were aware of their virulent anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-Muslim views.
From this July 16, 2017 clip, does it sound like he would afford them many freedoms? 20/
Most people who were familiar with Artur and his brother before the pandemic were aware of their virulent anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-Muslim views.
From this July 16, 2017 clip, does it sound like he would afford them many freedoms? 20/
Or how about his anger that the former mayor of Calgary @nenshi, a practicing Muslim, would swear his oath on a Quran? Or that he supports Pride events, in this October 11, 2017 clip? 21/
22/
Getting back to the mayoral form from October 16, 2017, we see that Larry Heather is the fringe candidate Pawlowski is outraged the media wouldn't speak to. 23/
Here we see another erroneous comparison to totalitarian regimes with an added chilling allusion to violence against the media being the result.
He and his brother would go back to this time and again over the years. 24/
He and his brother would go back to this time and again over the years. 24/
When the election occurred on October 23, 2017 and those he didn't support won, he attacked not only the "Muslim and homosexuals" but also Calgarians for not voting as he wished suggesting his support for democracy is very situational. 25/
This next part may require some context as there are three other individuals in the video.
Kevin Johnston. 26/
vice.com/en/article/5dg…
Kevin Johnston. 26/
vice.com/en/article/5dg…
Known for their performative stunts, the Pawlowski brothers, Johnston, Solomon, and Boswick protest at an ice cream shop in a mall because freedom I guess (clip from August 13, 2018)? 29/
Of course it was just another means of engaging in Islamophobic (and anti-LGBTQ+ as they berate children), but Dawid also indicates how little they actually care about freedom of expression when they don't support those views themselves. 30/
Dawid further shows how much contempt he has for freedom of expression in this clip from September 27, 2018 when he suggests a Canadian flag in pride colours should be illegal. 31/
It shouldn't be a surprise that Dawid doesn't like a lot of colour perhaps... (clip from October 20, 2019). 32/
...though it appears that there is at least one colour he likes more than the others. 33/
When you watch clips such as this from November 27, 2019, is there any question that the Pawlowski support for "freedom" is very specific? 35/
So, to conclude, make no mistake.
If the Pawlowski brothers or people like them actually HAD power, they would have no problem restricting the freedoms of people they don't agree with. 36/
If the Pawlowski brothers or people like them actually HAD power, they would have no problem restricting the freedoms of people they don't agree with. 36/
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
