Thread by @sunnshiiny

When will Albertans wise up?

Clinging to the false narrative and belief that this is about freedom and liberty and is just a rowdy protest, they’ve convinced themselves (with much SM help) that police should have had this shut down in a day.

Completely ignoring details that demonstrate this is not a protest but a well planned coordinated attack on democracy. Sanctioned by Kenney and UCP and federal conservative MPs.

They’re listening to the gaslighting of trolls and bots.

Their tunnel vision precludes them from considering anything they can’t see through the end of the tunnel.

Frankly I’m sick of it and it needs to be called out!

People, open your eyes & remove the tunnel vision. Look beyond the end of your nose, for once.

I don’t know what it is about some people’s ego but they feel the need to opine, regardless of their ignorance. They speak in an authoritative tone like they know what’s going on. But they clearly don’t.

Maybe they should let others who do know have the floor.

And no, I don’t mean just women. I mean people who have taken more than 5 minutes of their time to examine the situation from the local turmoil to the geopolitical big picture.

Listening to these folks you’d think we existed in a impervious bubble here in Alberta.

We don’t. We have the highest average earnings in North America. We have enormous deposits of oil & natural gas, fresh water, arable land and a lot of greedy libertarians who wouldn’t think twice to profit at the expense of all Albertans.

Opportunists want in. Real bad.

In fact they’d do anything (ANYTHING) to get their greedy mitts on Alberta natural resources. They want unfettered access.

Some have already paid for it. Like CCP, Russian oligarchs, Koch, Exxon. They want their profits and care nothing for the people, environment or economy.

There also happen to be a number of far right radicalized mainly rural religious extremists being used as fodder and foot soldiers. Gaslit up the ying yang, incapable of discerning truth from BS, told god is on their side and wants them to take over the province.

They’re brainwashed magical thinkers who believe their own rhetoric because they haven’t spoken to a person outside their religious community except in passing or strictly commerce. Fed lie after lie after lie from the Postmedia monopoly that has removed all other print news.

Self righteous from promised salvation in exchange for total obedience. Dubbed spiritual warriors, they fervently believe Kenney was chosen by god to return political power & control to the god fearing white christian evangelical men of rural Alberta and appoint them as stewards.

Everyone of the people living in denial thinks they’re a fringe political force. That was the 1980’s. Currently evangelical Protestants and traditionalist evangelical Catholics make up about 20-25% of UCP’s voter base out of all voters. They’re probably 50% of active voters.

Every rural riding, and every small urban city votes UCP. Calgary is dominated by avarice fuelled libertarians. Edmonton is the only majority progressive centre in all of Alberta. Gerrymandered ridings give rural Albertans a clear advantage over urban ridings.

19% of Albertans live in rural Alberta and small urban centres. 81% live in Calgary or Edmonton, Ft. Mac or Grande Prairie. But rural ridings control 46% of the legislature seats. Meaning the UCP only have to win 5% more ridings and they have a majority. They’re cheating to win.

Bombastic, rude, condescending contemptible evangelical white Christian men are the MLAs in those ridings. About 75% of UCP caucus is white evangelical Christian nationalist libertarians. The rest are irrelevant. They aren’t the majority in caucus.

But the Albertans who opine like they’re the authority on all things ABpoli are oblivious to most details.

This is the part that pisses me off. They’re mainly white people with privilege. They don’t see a need for details because the current situation isn’t hurting them.

Well guess what? Only half the population is male and white people are not the only inhabitants of Alberta that matter.

Where are the women who have opinions and observations? Where are the BIPOC who have the background in Alberta politics & can see beyond provincial borders?

Why do we listen to white people speak when they don’t know shit about what’s happening? But they condemn who the easiest target is & point fingers to focus public sentiment?

Why do we listen to them? Please someone tell me why?

They’re half the reason we are in this trouble.

This occupation & hostage taking is a siege. A military siege. It’s not about freedom. It’s about power.

Albertans don’t recognize it as a siege because no one is brandishing a gun. We live in Canada. We have gun restrictions.

The hostile take over is using trucks as weapons.

Please tell me these people know the difference between a protest and a siege.

If they don’t know the difference, this little tutorial will help.

The people blocking the Coutts border and invading Edmonton streets are NOT PROTESTERS.

dictionary.com/e/what-you-nee…

Their list of demands includes ignoring everyone else’s freedom to give precedence to theirs. Under the guise of religious freedom.

They’re a mob using delusions, disinformation & lies told to them to demand all power be handed over to them. Kenney has every plan to capitulate.

If you aren’t aware of this subtext, sit down and shut up.

If you aren’t going to bother with these details because you don’t believe they’re relevant, F off. It’s not your life at stake. Things will pretty much stay the same for you, being white & privileged & all.

It’s people like me. BIPOC, LGBTQ, & smart & educated women who will suffer the most. So why should we listen to your analysis of what’s happening when you barely have skin in the game?

And where do you get off acting so confident?

Not one of you is referring to Dominionism, Russian interference or Americans funding the hell out of a coordinated military attack by far right Dominionist Christians from across the US and Canada. As it fulfills Russian foreign policy: remove democracy.

Not one.

You want to live in a bubble, go ahead. But I live in the real world and I’ve fucking had it with people ignoring the details and minimizing danger to us all. It’s the most vulnerable who are the canary in the coal mine. Not the brawny miner.

The miner is oblivious until the canary falls dead.

Then miners concern themselves with details. After the canary has already died. An expendable death to save the miners lives.

It’s time you listened to the fricking canaries who are chirping like mad to get your attention.