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Feb 10 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
There's a diverse group of truckers and protesters, vaccinated and unvaccinated, and of many different ethnicities and backgrounds, at Freedom Convoy. Their stories haven't been told. I meet some of the people at the protests and try to tell their stories. bariweiss.substack.com/p/what-the-tru…
The piece is so much richer thanks to the powerful and evocative photography by Dan Aponte, @just_dan_thingz bariweiss.substack.com/p/what-the-tru…
Many truckers at FreedomConvoy are vaccinated but oppose the mandates.Protestors are a mix of vaxxed and unvaxxed and not all of the unvaxxed are anti-vaxxers.They've taken other vaccines.Their problem is with the COVID19 vaccine,the circumstances of its rollout and the mandates.
Peter the trucker who appears in the story says, "We’ve gotten rid of a lot of diseases though vaccination so science is great. We need to get rid of the divisiveness and rhetoric around it." He remains unvaxxed because he doesn't want to contribute to the divisiveness.
Many protestors from Quebec I spoke to have a strong desire to leave Quebec or even Canada. Alberta and Florida often came up as possible destinations.
Linking to some interviews I did after the story went live. Here are some folks I met over the last 24 hours on why they joined the protest.
This was earlier today while I walked around the protest. Things are a bit quieter today but there are still people coming in.
More Ottawa residents who came out in support of the protest. These people are hurting and continue to be mocked and demonized by an important section of the power elite including the PM. Begs the question who is unCanadian after all?
I just went through all of @just_dan_thingz photos from the protest, some of which complemented my story and added so much richness and depth. Each of his photos tells a story, yet I can't find anything even remotely comparable in the mainstream. Why is that?
Visit Dan Aponte's @just_dan_thingz twitter page and see the great photos he's taken from Freedom Convoy protests. These are images you don't see in the mainstream. Portraying the convoy and protestors as a homogenous mass makes it easier to dismiss them.
As the Ottawa protests increasingly gain legitimacy abroad (including from WSJ and NYT editorial boards), but not among the Canadian elite, let's not forget it's about people who're suffering. I shared some of their stories yesterday. bariweiss.substack.com/p/what-the-tru…

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More from @rupasubramanya

Rupa Subramanya Profile picture
Feb 8
Placards outside Parliament from where @JustinTrudeau and his minority government (which lost the plurality vote) rule the country on a day when he doubles down demonizing a peaceful protest. The contrast couldn't be starker.
Anyway more tales from the badlands...saw a young convoy supporter go up to a senior citizen counter protestor carrying a Go Home sign. He said "I know we disagree with each other but I respect your opinion and thank you for being here."Terrible what's happening to today's youth.
Kids playing after two blissful years of restrictions and lockdowns that kept them mostly at home. They were smiling, laughing and being kids while ignoring their parents. None of this makes any sense to me but then again I'm close to giving up on today's kids. Hopeless.
Read 4 tweets
Rupa Subramanya Profile picture
Feb 7
Every independent small business around the Rideau centre is open and seen their business go through the roof since the protestors arrived. Begs the question why the Rideau centre which has security and resources to open remains closed. Image
I've spoken to a few business owners around the Rideau centre who're open and asked them why the Rideau centre is closed and they're equally perplexed. The restaurant attached to the Rideau centre which doesn't have a mall entrance is open. I had dinner there on the weekend.
One business owner less than a block away says this business is back to pre-pandemic levels because of the protestors. He pays $10,000 a month in rent and has lost a lot of money because of the lockdowns.
Read 4 tweets
Rupa Subramanya Profile picture
Feb 6
Another important update after a gruelling day fighting the dark forces of white supremacy, racism, misogyny and all other bad stuff in the crime ridden wasteland of Ottawa. Comedian Hassan Chaudhry, originally from Pakistan, does a stand up routine to rousing applause. Scary.
Ran into these three gentleman from Scarborough. The older guy on the far right (ugh naturally) comes from my hometown in India. They were smiling and said they'd never felt more proud to be Canadian. All very disturbing.
Originally from Iran, @SalmanSima also gave a speech on the importance of freedom, liberty, blah blah. I tuned out cos what credibility could he possibly have on these issues given how liberal and progressive today's Iran is.
Read 4 tweets
Rupa Subramanya Profile picture
Feb 6
I've heard from so many today that some Ottawa hotels have been instructed by the city/feds not to give out rooms to the protestors. The Marriott downtown apparently is empty but evidently all the rooms booked. Someone should really investigate if this is true.
If this is true, this is a serious abuse of government power to say nothing of a huge waste of taxpayers money. Should be investigated.
Bringing this to the attention of @rpoconnor @JCCFCanada .
Read 4 tweets
Rupa Subramanya Profile picture
Feb 6
As an independent voice for the last decade in India, I've been at the receiving end of vile abuse, defamation and threats to my personal safety both from libs and cons, latter more insidious because they're close to those in power. Being liked is not part of a journalist's job.
Independent voices don't have the support of large corporate media houses or other powerful backing. Pointing to facts as uncomfortable as they may be to those accept a received narrative without question doesn't win you friends as I have discovered over many years.
One thing I've learned over the years is if you're a journalist and you receive a threat that's credible, report it to the police. Abusive language as unfortunate as it is is something all public personalities including journalists have to accept.
Read 4 tweets
Rupa Subramanya Profile picture
Feb 5
Here are Sandeep and Jag from Montreal. Both originally from India. They're here to oppose lockdowns and mandates. They say they're not white supremacists.
More mercenaries from Montreal spreading hateful messages of love. I suspect Ottawa can't handle this outpouring of affection. Call in the army.
Meet Ottawa residents Kyle and Meghan with this extremely provocative message of coming together and ending divisions. Should be filed under hate speech.
Read 6 tweets

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