Anti-COVID Mandate challenges…. More than a little confused here.

 I’m not often as confused or perplexed by the actions of others as I currently am in regards to the “freedom” rally/Convoy.  I mean the total number of people we have lost in Canada due to covid is 35K and we have had more than 3 MILLION people infected, many of whom now suffer from what is called “Long Covid” or the effects have really taken their toll on them. Also, the world has seen over 399 MILLION cases of Covid and we have seen nearly 6 Million deaths! I personally know around a dozen people who have had it and I have lost 6 people from Covid. Covid has infested our lives for over two years now, and I get it…we are all fatigued by it.  We don’t want to hear about it, we don’t want to talk about it, we don’t want to be lectured or told how its important to do what ever it is we need to do to contain and maintain it.  I also think we lost our perspective a bit in other ways.

The whole “Lock down” and “Mandates” were set up to help the health care system not fall apart in most countries, I don’t think it was actually set up to stop the outbreak, we knew that it was not going to be stoppable as it had the same transmutability of a flu like virus and not like one of the others we had faced. I mean we had SARS and others we had battled the last few decades, but this was uniquely transmittable and dangerous.  Lots of people came out early on and said “It’s the flu” or “its like the flu” and while they may have had some merit to that assessment, it became so much more. 

 

So, we fast forward to a few weeks back. We have lived through two lock downs (in Manitoba where I live) and mask mandates that are still in effect, as well as a vaccine mandate for many things, mostly those involving activities where people from different homes were to be around each other. We first did not have vaccines and it was all we had to protect the general public. In a short period of time, we had people YELLING that they wanted a vaccine and not to have to wear masks or segregate from one and other, they wanted life back to NORMAL damn it!

Finally, the government came out and said “We got a vaccine” and people rejoiced…for like five minutes, then people started saying that they were not going to put that “Stuff” in their bodies, it was “Experimental” and or various other silly things…Im still upset I do not get 5G right now! People who had received mumps, rubella, chicken pocks and a variety of other childhood vaccines were not suddenly against vaccines.  I know of one person who had traveled to the far east a few years back and who had received yellow fever vaccine and they were so dead set against this new vaccine it was laughable.

 

A big shift had occurred just prior to 2016 in the states as well that was starting to make its way up north of the boarder, as do most things…like Starbucks and McDonalds. The chasm created by polarizing popularity politics was starting to create ripples here and while we have always had a Right and Left in Canada both sides seemed farther apart than before.  Our Liberal party, who is about as central as you can get when you look at Canadian politics (meaning not that central but kinda) was under fire by the far right and the far left. Never left enough for the NDP and far left advocates and not even close enough to the center for the Cons or the far right they were in power at a very horrible time seeing a COVID landed square in their laps to mandate, control and counter. 

The major issues that came because of the polarization, that was honestly sort of an issue before or we would not have separate political parties….was first the attack on the Media and the realization that some media outlets were more left or right than others. It got so bad that recently at the “Freedom rally” in Ottawa and Toronto media were told they would be killed after some kind of fascist trial.  It was kind of scary when people who insist on being able to speak their mind threaten those that are reporting and using the freedom of the press. People want someone to blame for the issues and you can’t blame a microbe sized virus! So, they blame the media, government or even the front-line workers. Its ridiculous and childish, but its common right now.

The far right seems to be fringy and a very small, but super vocal minority. They also have the ability to manipulate different media to get a message out that is confusing enough that those on the fence take notice and THINK they are saying what they are thinking, but the reality is that the message is masking a lot of hate and an agenda to take over. The new brown shirts are getting their message out and the ignorant and naive are lapping it up. But what is this specific protest about and who is in control of it?

 

                The first thing to make note of is that the mandates are supported by most people. The specific ones that the convoy are against would be the mandates against employees not being vaccinated in Union and federal supported/related shops, which of course stretches out to truck drivers. Its super important to note that ALL challenges against the mandate have failed and were shot down using logical reason. In a decision brought against Hydro one by the Union for the requirement of all workers to be vaccinated, the courts did not hear the case, they sent it to arbitration….who stated that “Hydro One is complying with  their obligations under the Occupational health and safety act to make reasonable precautions to protect the health and safety of their employees and the public that they serve”. Two other major cases ended the same way.  Local 847 vs Maple leaf sport and entertainment and UFCW Canada local 175 vs Bunge Canada.  Many more have just been tossed out of court and not even gone to arbitration…none have been successful. Why do I bring this up? Its one of the great lies that the Anti Vaxers are saying…”Our rights out weigh the mandate”…um, no they don’t.

                Wayne MacKay, professor emeritus at Dalhousie school of Law says “people are starting to chafe under the ongoing nature of them (the mandates)”,” Ultimately, given the charter limitations, these restrictions are by their nature temporary, not permanent”. Most people are concerned with their rights under the charter, but as I have discussed in a previous blog…they have no idea what the charter actually says and have never read it themselves.  MacKay also added “You don’t have the right to put others at risk, you don’t have the individual right to harm or put others in jeopardy”. This is the key reason all of the court challenges have failed.

 

                Back to the Convoy! Here are a few facts that need to be known! The Convoy suggests that the reason they are doing all this is to protest against the mandate for truckers who need to be vaccinated to cross into the states so they can prevent supply chain disruption, thus protecting us from not having food and goods. The CTA however has reported that only a small number of truckers who actually cross into the states would be impacted by this mandate as about 85% of the truckers who are traveling cross to the states and back have reported to be vaccinated already. Also, of those actually in the convoy or at the boarders clogging up the crossings, only a few ever did cross boarder driving. The majority are interprovincial drivers. This lead the head of the trucking industries biggest union to assess that those who are participating in the convoy are their with “a separate agenda beyond a disagreement over cross boarder vaccine requirements”. Its also important to note the irony that those who are trying to stop the possible issues with supply chain availability are actually causing it.

                Let’s actually put aside the elements of the protest that included white nationalism, separatists, racists, islamophobia and the crazy idiots who follow QANON or MAGA supporters. We will even allow ourselves not to focus on the fact that the far-right elements are even parts of the organization machine that got this thing going and a big agenda of violence, illegal acts and support of the desecration that had occurred to Terry Fox, the war Memorial and the tomb of the unknown soldier, and we will ignore the more flagrant illegal acts that they have spurred on. One of the common threads that I have seen in this whole thing is the fact that most people assume they understand the reasons behind the convoy and they don’t really understand it at all, but the level of hate is so high that they just want to support them and put their own ideologies into the convoy and see if they will stick.

                First off it was not the Canadian government that first came out with the mandates, it was the US…they just gave a lot longer window for the drivers to get vaccinated or be barred, also it’s the US boarder that is turning them away, not the Canadian side.  The Mandate we have is no drivers can enter Canada with out a vaccine with out quarantining upon entry for up to 14 days. However, as anyone that has EVER actually entered the states, it’s the US customers you cross through on your way to the US. The US mandate is also against Canadian truckers exclusively. The Canadian government then enacted the equal measures for American drivers. We also implemented that all federal employees must be vaccinated as well as are all federally regulated industries.

                The goal post however has moved, and continues to move depending on your group focus. Some only want the mandates gone for trave, others include the need for vaccine proof at other events and times. Some want all the laid off workers who refused to get the poke to be rehired and some of the goals also extended to toppling the current government…yes, that got crazy fast!  Its sort of a “what your view is dictates your goals” situation.

 

                One of the more spoken about fixture of the convoy is the support that they are getting for things like fuel and food. It seems extremism is very financially lucrative right now!  Most of the organizers are saying that the funds are coming from small donations from locals and Canadians, but the truth is out their and it is not that. A LARGE portion of the donations are actually coming from the states and from extreme far right groups. Nearly a third of the donations at this point are from anonymous sources and use false names. A great deal of the groups identified in the states for supporting the convoy are also Trump supporter groups or associated with far right groups.

                Facebook posts have stated that nearly a million trucks will show up or another says 50,000. One suggested that you can see it from space, which is such a load its not even funny. Did you know you can not even see the great wall of China from space, a common misconception/story/fable. One source said that it could enter the Guinness book of records as the longest truck convoy, which would be hilarious seeing as their were only around 3,000 trucks who made the trip from across Canada and currently there are numbers of about 250 still present. By trucks I of course mean semi trucks, not the many pick up trucks that accompanied them.

                Lets not make light of who was actually at the head of this thing too.  I mean its not a pissed off trucker who decided to drive cross country! It’s a QANON supporter, who called for the arrest of Justin Trudeau for alleged Treason.  A conspiracy theorist link to QANON Again, who calls herself the “Queen of Canada”who asked her followers to shoot healthcare workers. A supporter of Wexit (separation of the west….mainly Alberta….From Canada) and none of them were truckers. Also, in the group are groups like Action 4 Canada, No more lockdowns, Soldiers of Odin and several other sub groups all traveling with the convoy or now camped out in Ottawa…why is this important?  Well they are knowns groups that are anti LGBTQ, Islamophobic, Conspiracy theorists, and the cherry on top…Neo Nazis. Nice!

                A great number of American interest groups are now interfering with our domestic affairs and inciting these types of groups. One person said that they were not going to be violent, however on February 7^th a supporter of the event from Ohio was arrested on his way to the encampments in Ottawa with a home made bomb that he intended to place at the Ottawa Police Services Head quarters building. Rocks have been thrown at reporters and a mob of people showed up at a homeless shelter demanding food as they planned to do this to feed the supporters who did some with them.

                One of the things that really upsets supporters is that support for the convoy is not universal in Canada, in fact after a extensive poll done between January 31^st and February 2^nd 68% of adults stated they did not support the convoy and had little in common with their beliefs or ideologies of the demonstrators. Furthermore, 57% said they felt that the protest was offensive and inappropriate! But being Canadian a good margin, 43% said that they felt it as appropriate and they had a right to state their views…even if they were not those of the 43% who said they a had a right to speak their mind.

 

So, what is it all going to lead to…what is the outcome of this convoy?

                I really hope you did not think that the convoy was going to lead to massive changes in the way that government does things! I mean a group of people, who are not the majority, trying to make changes by being the noisiest? The truth is that the biggest changes that this could lead to is how the police deal with situations like this across Canada.  We have never really faced a crowd of angry mobs or protesters like this before and most of the information we have is that Ottawa Police did their best, but not good enough.

                As much as I don’t like Trudeau, I would have to say the way he has dealt with the mob was average or as expected from him. If it had been a “Shoe on the other food” situation and the MOB was a left leaning group and the government was conservative, well rubber bullets would have been line one of the way they were dealt with, so the crowd can thank god that the spineless were in power when they decided “revolt”. 

                Other changes, I think that in all honesty this brought us closer to the issues that the states is having right now. We used to be the sober older relative to the states, always kind to each other and unless it had to do with hockey, we basically let each other off the hook and did not try and assault each other, that has changed. We now have to contend with fringe elements in the west (and east) who feel rhetoric is not working and they must FORCE their views on us using more annoying and possibly violent means. Respect and intelligence is replaced with ad Hominin attacks and other personal attacks. If they cant beat you with truth and logic they will try and go after your personality, past or something else insulting. Other than that…nothing immediately will change.

 

Now that some mandates are coming down, some are actually stepping up to argue they should remain.

                So, here is the ironic and annoying part of this whole thing…the mandates are coming down regardless of the silly truck rally in Ottawa. They were always meant to be limited and temporary and some provinces, Saskatchewan first, are dropping all the mandates. Some in the medial field are actually stepping up and going to the premiers and MP’s and saying that this is to soon and we will need to reinstitute them sooner than later.

                Personally, I go with what the current medial suggestions are, I wear a mask when in public and probably will for some time to come and I am very happy I got my shots to help protect my family, myself and others. AND honestly anyone that says “Traitor” to me for doing so is not patriotic and they are very self centered and not worthy of my time.

 

What really blows me away!

                That last comment may sound like Im mad, Im not. But what really blows my mind is when people who have gotten the vaccine support the convoy or those that have had COVID or know people who have had covid support them. Its mind blowing that some can lose a family member and still say ignorant things…but that’s just me…all heart and logic. 

Life Liberty and….Read the damn thing before you try and invoke it!

 As of late there has been a lot of people trying to use the Charter of rights of Canada and the constitution of the country to justify their want to “protect their freedoms” and try and do everything from get the government to revoke any protective COVID mandates up to and including the toppling of the government. Now everyone knows Im triple vaxed as it my wife and my special needs daughter is double vaxed and will be triple when we can get her the third shot…..So most people also know, like most Canadians….Im Pro-mandate and feel that the need to protect the medical system, those that are at risk of dire consequences…like death….and those that can not actually get vaccinated is a personal duty that we all have.

However, people I know personally have been posting on their Facebook pages (I now the great and mighty land of social media…where no one has consequences for what they think and say right…unless someone disagrees with you then…well you are the DEVIL). What have they been posting…well Anti-vax, anti-mandate and pro-“Freedom convoy” BS.  I say BS because its what I see.  Now we all have a right to speak our mind, with the caveat that we also then must live by what we say. Someone says “Vaccine mandates are stupid and no one should get the vaccine, its dangerous and evil” then they bitch when they get fired from a job or family members abandon them…that’s the consequences of stating your mind.

So lets talk a lot more about things like the Truck convoy as that’s the latest in a long line of hot topic items we should NOT be talking about. I mean we don’t walk around talking about religious things, Politics or other topics that can create a chasm between people…wait we do?  Crap! Well we should not! Im trying to learn the lessons my wife teaches me…or yells at me, and those that my friend Mary tells me (She is nice enough not to yell).  By that I mean I am trying my best to not reply on line to things I see as stupid arguments, its not my job to educate or argue with others…and my blood pressure is starting to concern my doctor when I talk about this stuff and other stupid things people do or think…however I do want to clarify a few things here.

Its not our job to push our morals on others. Some people simply wont get the vaccine for their own reasons and they don’t feel the risk of taking a vaccine is worth it, never mind that most of them will go get a Flu shot and have had lots of different vaccines over the years. If you said “Free trip to Fiji, but you need to get travel vaccines to go” Bloody rights those people would get into line at the travel clinic to get the shot!  So, in most cases its not really their health they are worried about, its their pride!  I also think that if their “political” party or their side of the argument had come up with this idea of a vaccine that would protect society…big ass line up of red necks and right wingers!

Im not going to go to deep into the reasons people don’t want the vaccine or don’t like the mandates, most of which are paper thin even if they hold onto them desperately. I want to look directly at two of the most silly arguments that they use as to why we CANT force them to get the vaccine and they do not have to listen to the mandates.  However, I do want to point out most of the people just don’t want to wear a mask and are not even traveling but they feel they should be able to…if they wanted to….okay! Also, the vaccine…not being forced on you. You have a choice not to get the vaccine, no one is showing up at your house with police to hold your dumb ass down while they inject you with this unholy vaccine!!! However, your choices DO have consequences and in this case its how you travel, were you can eat and what kind of activities you can do. 

But, lets talk about their “Legal” argument as to why they don’t have to get a vaccine and should still be able to do the things they want to do…like opulent children, they must be told…just because you want something does not mean it is so. But what arguments do they make…well they say its against the charter of rights and freedoms or the constitution to restrict them from these things…..And the first indicator that these people are wrong…99.9% of them have not read the charter, taken a law class and they are quoting web sites and not the charter or constitution themselves. Most of them do not even have a science back ground! They can not pass a grade six science test but they know all about how the vaccine may affect the body and how they are made….and they are wrong.

Now I am going to use Betteridge’s law here a lot…and no that not a science technique, it’s a literary technique made famous by a magazine that essentially says if a headline has a “?” in it…the answer is almost always NO! I am also going to avoid giving a complete civics class, so keep in mind this is not a total run down of the two documents Im going over here, AND I do encourage you to read them yourself.

 

Some Background….

                The Canadian constitution is often referred to as “the supreme law of the land” and it outlines Canadas method of governing itself and its civil and human rights for those who live in Canada, visit Canada as well as how we interact with the Aboriginal/indigenous peoples of Canada. The Canadian constitution is an ever evolving document, it started off as a set of treaties and acts between the crown and Indigenous peoples in 1867 when it was known as the British North America Act. It basically said “this is how parliament is going to work, who gets to vote and how confederation is going to work out. It was renamed the constitution 1982. This document is mostly used to outline the division of power between the provinces and the Federal government now adays.

 

Canadian Constitution

                In 1982 an amendment was added to the constitution that basically legislated independence from the UK and it also outlined a rule that now said Canada was officially a bilingual country. No small thing as the province of Quebec itself had never had federal protection for its language prior to this. The original British north America act was split into Ten parts and a “Small bill of rights”.  The first and second act were about the union of the country itself, The third was about executive power, fourth was about the legislative power along with the formation of the house of commons and senate and the fifth was about provincial constitutions. 

The Division of power, First nations, Inuit and Metis, Criminal law, Marriage and Property rights/civil rights were all part of part Six. This section says that the Provinces have the right to make law related to “Property and civil rights of the province”. This second is not really about civil rights as much as it is who can create and enforce them locally.

The Seventh part is about Judicature, meaning setting up local, provincial and federal courts.  Part Eight is about Revenue, taxes ext, Part nine is “Miscellaneous” …essentially its actually about the Federal governments power to implement treaties on the part of the British government, however since Canada acquired full Sovereignty…this part has lost its importance. Part Ten…the last one is about admitting other colonies into the Union. But what about the “Small bill of rights” Well I read the whole thing. Its call the “Implied bill of rights and it has NOTHING to do with the kind of rights that the right is saying they are being infringed upon. The Bill of rights limits the duration of a house of commons can sit (Maximum 5 years), guarantee of representation in the house of commons for all provinces, Jurisdiction over education to the provinces and also a very Segregational idea of separate schools for protestants and Catholics, Prohibition of customs duties and tariffs on inter provincial trade, Provisions for Bilingualism n the legislative and judicial branches….and also an act to create Canada day.

The 1982 act added a lot more about equalization and equal opportunity, Aboriginal and treaty rights of indigenous people, Some minor changes were also put in place and of course the whole booting the Brits out of our country law making ext. but for the most part it did not make a tone of changes. So when someone says “Its in the constitution…” NO, No its not! 

 

But, what about the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

                The Charter of rights and freedoms is in part one of the Constitution act of 1982 and it is the constitutional guarantee of your Civil rights and liberties in Canada. It guarantees lots of things as a right, but keep in mind…if its not listed here its not a guaranteed right…and there is also this little thing called the notwithstanding act, which I will also outline.

                Most importantly, the whole act is written in very plain language so that everyone can understand it, which is IRONIC because most people misquote it and add to it when they feel its needed. The Charter of rights actually was the easiest part for me to read…in grade 12 and again last week…actually a few times since then too. The charter is mostly seen as a tool for the courts to balance the rights of people and provincial/federal law. It has been used to strike down laws that were created that infringed on the specific rights guaranteed in the charter. It is not a tool an individual can use, which confuses people. You can not quote it and magically things happen, or don’t happen anymore. You must go to court and the judges will then balance the case against the charter. This confuses people, but put plainly the duty of enforcement of the charter is in the hands of the COURT not the people.

                Under the charter, people PHYSICALLY present in Canada have specific civil and political rights, this means…for those paying attention…if you are not in Canada…you don’t have the same rights you have here…so don’t tell the Russian embassy that you have some specific rights…you may get them to laugh at you comrade!  One thing to note, people who are Indigenous to Canada have several rights that we do not, and Im not going to cover that at all other than to say we set up some pretty sweet agreements with the people who were here before us to guarantee them specific rights…..not saying we enforce them or treat them as if they have them…that’s for a different blog.

                First lets start with Second 1, which is a section often “Over looked” by those arguing that the human rights (not a thing) are being taken from them…it’s known as the Limitations clause, which allows the government to justify certain infringements of charter rights to people. Infringements can be upheld if the government reason for infringing on the rights in the charter are “Pressing and substantial” in a “Free and democratic society”.  And it has to be “demonstrably justified” meaning it can be demonstrated as to why its necessary. This type of “Exception” has been used to pass laws like Hate Speech laws that seem to counter our right to free speech.

                The other charter changing add on is the famous notwithstanding clause in section 33. This basically means that the government is authorized to temporarily override a person’s rights and freedoms for up to five years for things that they feel may be hindering them or even for laws that are passed federally that they do not feel are to their liking…basically. In this case the Notwithstanding clause CAN be used if people argued that the mandates are against a protected right….but I digress, lets actually look at those rights.

               

                The Rights and Freedoms are enshrined in 34 sections of the charter of rights…I will be brief on most of them!  First up the Fundamental Freedoms! Section two of the charter protecst a persons Fundamental rights, which include…..Freedom of Conscience, Freedom of Religion, freedom of thought, freedom of belief, freedom of expression, freedom of press and other media, freedom of peaceful assembly democratic rights and freedom of association. So, you DO have the right to think what you want, assemble “PEACEFULLY” and vote. Oh, and hang out with who ever you feel you want to.

                Briefly section 3 is the right to vote your own mind for your MP, Section for limits their time in the house of commons, Section 5 is the annual amount of time they have to sit in the house of commons. Basically they have no real bearing on “human Rights” or even civic rights…..

                Section 6 is all about mobility rights, and this is one that people actually point to when you have a boarder mandate for vaccines. It protects the mobility rights of Canadians to enter, remain in or leave Canada…problem is that the US can say they barred you and you may have a right to leave…but not go to the states or any land/air/sea crossing into the states if you are just landing to connect to a new flight ext to get to other destinations. Or come through that country  on the way home. So the whole mandate in Canada, even if it was dropped, is a moot argument because the states DOES have a right to bar you from entering the states unless you are vaccinated. Oh, and you have a right to move to any province and take up residence, but that’s not the argument is it.

                Section 7 is the right to liberty, life and security of person. YES, finally a spot that the anti vaxers are going to be right in! So, you have the right to life…pretty basic you can breath and no one should be able to take that away from you…got it….liberty…well that’s a bit more difficult. Liberty originally meant the protection of an individual’s freedom to act with out physical restraint (meaning you can not be arrested with out cause), but it has expanded a bit to mean include your RIGHT to make personal choices. This is personal choices specifically; this does not extend to your family. By that it means that if MOM says that she does not want her child to undergo specific surgery for religious reasons…she does not have the right to make up her child’s mind for them. It also means that a person has a right to say decide if they want a vaccine, but they can not infringe on someone else decision to not get one or to get one. It also basically says your rights are yours and can not infringe someone else’s rights. This is basically you have a right to smoke and pollute your body, but not in public if you now cause someone else to “smoke” by taking in your second-hand smoke.

                The next few sections are about your legal and civic rights as you interact legally with the government. They guarantee protection against unreasonable search and seizure, freedom from illegal detention or imprisonment, right to legal counsel and habeas corpus, Right in criminal and penal matters to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, a right not to be subject to cruel and unusual punishment, a right against self-incrimination and a right to an interpreter in a court proceeding.  You also have a right to be treated equally before the law and have equal protection as anyone else.  If you do not have interactions with the government, you probably wont ever need to know these. But if you do have interactions with the government…you really should know these.

                Section 16-23 are all obsessed with language rights. This is the rights given to individuals, provinces and the federal government when it comes to bilingual access to things and a right to use the languages they want to. Nothing hidden in here at all about COVID or other vaccines.

                The last few sections clarify how the charter works in practice. Section 25 is all about how the charter does not derogate existing Aboriginal rights and freedoms, Section 27 says that other rights in Canada (Provincial charters) are not invalidated by the charter and 27 says that the charter needs to be interpreted in a multicultural context and 28 says that all charter rights are given equally to men and women. Section 29 and 30 say that the rights of separate schools is preserved and application of the charter in the territories are also explained.

                So far nothing like what the truck drivers are saying really, or the antivaxxers.  The last two sections confirm that the charter does not extend the power of legislators and the last one basically names the charter. That’s the whole charter.

 

 

Does it say anything about mandates?

                Really nothing. I mean it does mention you have the right to liberty, which can be viewed as “you have the right to choose….what you put in your body”. So, I will assume this to be true, but it does not then say you have a right to select what others put in their bodies. It also does not say “if you don’t get the vax you can still go to restaurants or you an then go to a soccer game or concert. With all choices come consequences.  The ramifications of choosing not to get vaccinated is not restricted under the charter of rights, its not a right. And actually if the consequences of choosing to not get the poke is that a restaurant now bars you from entry, well that’s with in the right of the company owner.

                Cities, provinces and even the feds can step up and say “you wanna keep your licence to sell food/booze ext, you have to only do so to vaccinated people in house, the rest can buy it but have to go off site to eat it. The rights that people are bitching about do not exist.

                Lets get specific about the Travel Mandate now…cuz…well truckers….The travel mandate basically says in order to travel with any carriers (Air planes, trains or boats) you must be vaccinated, but there are options to come “home” from abroad with out being vaccinated if you quarantine and show a negative COVID test…so yah. But its like 14 days each way.

                So again, you have the right not to get vaccinated AND you can come home…but what about traveling outside the country…well lets see. Canada is enforcing a mandate that requires to you be vaccinated to travel, but so are other countries. So the reality is, even if the Canadian government said “Go ahead…travel” you still COULD NOT. Why, well the states will not allow foreign nationals to travel across the boarder until they are vaccinated. Period. So you think you get the government to change its mind, show up to go to Florida for some beach time…..and nope…back home you go. Essentially the charter of rights does not specifically say you can travel for pleasure, it does say you can travel for work or to move to a province…A PROVINCE so truckers who are not vaccinated have every right to get a long-haul gig from say BC to Manitoba or from Ontario to the East Coast, just not into the states.

 

Some issues I have personally with the Truck drivers ext.

                So, we now know that the charter of rights does NOT protect you from things like Mandates requiring you to get a vaccine to do things like go to concerts or foot ball games. It does not protect you from having to wear a mask or quarantine if you are sick. It does not protect you from being stopped at a boarder or airport and having your vaccine status checked nor from having to test prior to coming home. Good, so why then am I supporting the original idea of truckers traveling to Ottawa to bitch and moan about things they are actually not protected by?

                First off and foremost, I believe in the right for a person to speak their mind, even if I don’t agree with them. I look at hospital staff, care givers and first responders like cops and ambulance attendants and think…HERO and I look at the truck drivers and think “IDIOTS” but those truck drivers have a right to tell us how they feel. Every right, hell its protected under the charter of rights, and it does not say they have to be right or have a valid argument to voice their opinions! Having said that two things also come to mind…first if you can not defend your stance logically, perhaps you have to confess that the real reason you are against the Mandates are that you don’t like to be told what to do. You suffer from an entitlement complex and have no sense of community. You want to do what ever it is you want to do with no restrictions because its YOU and you are just a privileged child. I am also willing to admit that when I am told what to do I am often very upset, granted Im a law abiding proud Canadian so if its for the good of others, I will probably do it, but as a Manitoban…I reserve the right to use my free speech when I stomp my feet like an indignant child.

   

             The other thing that really gets me upset is when some trucker traveling across Canada to pout about the laws says they are doing it for “my protection” or to “Protect my rights”….Um no thank you! I support the mandate, I think Vaccines are the only way out of this shit show and you bitching and moaning is fine, but not getting vaccinated and wanting to travel to foreign countries and then come home with new variants of Covid is stupid and selfish. Someone argued “we are all selfish then” My answer was “Nope, I got vaccinated for myself yes, but also for my daughter, my mother, my wife, my students, my father, older people I may come into contact with, I got vaccinated for my community!”

                DO NOT pretend to represent my feelings or wishes when you travel from one part of the country to the capital. You do not speak for me and you don’t represent my better interests. In fact you represent the OPPOSITE of what my interests are. I think of those in my community and their health first and foremost and I would appreciate it if you stopped pretending to represent me or that you are trying to protect an actual thing that is real. Just pout and stomp your feet like a child.

                And the right to Peacefully congregate and speak out against the government is fine, but when you start strong-arming homeless shelters, accosting symbols of Canadian pride like Terry Fox statues or the tomb of the unknown soldier, threated and assault the media, block others rights to free movement to and from home/work and just act like jackasses, well you lost my vote….time to move on.

 

So were does that leave us ?

                Put simply the truckers have every right to PEACEFULLY congregate, speak and be heard by the government, after all the government represents the people. People also have the right to Not get vaccinated if they don’t want to and we should not condemn people who choose to not get the poke. Also, We should not attack those that support these truckers as again, you have a right to freedom of thought and freedom of speech. We do however have to address the fact that right now, as the law stands, they are wrong!  Also, they do not speak for the MAJORITY of Canadians who feel that the mandates are in place for the right reasons, which are to protect our health care system and those that want to be protected as best we can from COVID.

                Any other argument about the vaccine effectiveness, mandates for quarantines are sort of fluff. You can argue what you want, you have a right to your own opinions and beliefs, but you don’t, as the saying goes, have a right to your own facts  

Arguments against the COVID Vaccine or why people are vaccine hesitant and Restrictions

  

Its that time of year again! When all the morons and idiots…er in-laws and friends come to our homes…often against vaccine regulations, to celebrate our most coveted of seasons….frost bite season….er Christmas! Along with them they bring presents, food, infections, phycological issues, alcoholism and a need to be listened to and respectfully acknowledged for the amount of study they have don’t his year at the internet university they attend while at work (usually while reading from the great book of twitter on coffee breaks ext).

Now it used to be that when that annoying uncle/brother/cousin came over you only had to hear about their plan for starting a “weed business” or how the government was out to personally destroy all of us, maybe some flat earth “science” would be dropped on you or perhaps you had the rare breed of “Sovereign citizen” family member who tried their best to inform you of your rights and freedoms and how you should fight the powers that be and be free…but this year we are having a continuation of last years uninvited guest, with a twist…the COVID Deniers are now, not always but often, mutating themselves into that stoic and humble creature….the Anti vaxer!

Now its important to note that not every Anti vaxxer is (with an extra X) a nut job that is mentally changed by social media and possesses a scary psychological disorder that causes them to be very extreme in their thinking. Some are just scared, like the rest of us…but it is also more important to realize that they are not victims…some play victims on the internet…and Im sure a few on TV, but the serious point is that most of them are just in denial and others are just idiots….yet a few of the rare actual vaccine nervous are caught between the garbage news and propaganda of the anti vax crowd and the sharp barbs that they say they feel from the other side.  Its super important to point out that being hesitant is different than being Anti, but we also have to realize that only through education will the gap between nervous hesitant vaccine rejectors and logic is important to overcome.

I have looked at some of the most common reasons or arguments we have had these almost two years since lock down to come up with some satire and logic, some answers and some laughs to counter the silly and serious arguments presented to me in reference to this bug and those that don’t want to be vaccinated or even acknowledge it is serious.

 

 

The Vaccine was created way to fast, is it safe? Almost every company that makes drugs jumped on this the minute that they saw it could be a pandemic! The speed in which the available technology was put into play does not mean that they bypassed safety protocols or did not perform proper testing. We can actually go back and read about this if you avoid web sites with bias and wanting to convince you its dangerous by omitting this fact. The FDA in the states also continuously reviews results from ongoing testing and evaluations of this and even newer drugs that may be used for the battle against the pandemic. mRNA is also an old technology that Pfizer and others have had kicking around for years.

 

Why would I put it in my body…I don’t know what’s in it! No one is suggesting you SHOULD know about it, I mean its pretty high tech and most people who don’t want to take the shot either A) can not pass a greade 9 science test or B) don’t take the time to read about the tech at all. It’s a mystery because you are ignorant…or willfully ignorant. So what is it. Well in as easy to understand terms ( and yes I read up on it…its freaking cool tech) the mRNA is a the information that is provided to your Cells at to how to fight off the Sars-CoV2 virus.  Every cell in your body has DNA in it, which tells the cells how to act, mRNA is a message sent to the cells to recognize the virus as an invader and to attack it. mRNA is a message that is readable by the cells, its sort of like sending a program to a computer to allow it to do something. I know, that’s all how does it work, but what is it…also, mRNA is a basic part of human biology, these messages are running around your body naturally. Actually, these mRNA based vaccines are somewhat safer than traditional vaccines.

 

I know what is common medication because it has an insert that tells me what is in it…..Hmmm, so I went and grabbed a Motrin bottle (unopened) and opened it up, they don’t have those anymore for the most part…so I grabbed a no name brand we also buy and opened it, yup wee slip that has some things in it…it told me the Cardiovascular risks, Gastrointestinal risk, gave the Clinical Pharmacology and Indications/Contraindications and some scary side effects. So, I went to the Motrin web site and it told me all this too….what didn’t it tell me…whats in the drug! It did however tell me that Motrin is a trade name and they basically did not share what I was putting in my body…oh, and who made it….Pfizer…you know the same one you say is not safe if they make a vaccine but its fine to put the drug for head aches in your body…got it.

 

What about the horrible side effects? Because this is a major roll out of a very important vaccine to fight off a pandemic the government and the companies (as part of the standard contract protecting them from litigation) have been super open about the side effects. Most of the common affects are Redness, soreness, swelling, mild to moderate fatigue and headache. Less common side effects would be mild chills, Mild fever, muscle aches.  All of these are manageable and expected. After my two shots…NOTHING at all. In fact the only ones I tracked in my family were all at the site of the injection and they were only sore arms.  So, what about common pain meds like Ibuprofen….Constipation, Diarrhea, Gas, Dizziness, tinnitus….Tylenol also has some fun ones….Nausea, Somtach pain, Loss of Appeite (that could come in handy to counter the nausea), Itching, rash, headache,….wait what….Jaunidice and swelling of the throat, face and tongue…wait…trouble breathing.  Fine we can live with small side effects, mind you these two common drugs do paint a less than pretty picture. But what about more uncommon side effects. 

                The vaccine can cause Anaphylaxis in those allergic to vaccines, its about 5 in 1 million people.  Thrombosis or thrombocytopenia….well its super rare…..0000033728 per 1 million doses…so you know…could happen. What about that COVID HEART we hear about…or Myocarditis and Pericarditis….well it happens as well. 0.0001128994 out of 1 million. So it can happen as well…but you now someone who had it. Probably not. The rate of misdiagnosis of those reported is 1/3. Its real, but not THAT real. But what about the common drugs.  Well lets JUST look at Ibuprofen.  Less common side effects, difficulty breathing, fever, blisters, rash, hives…wait it gets better….extreme nausea (cuz regular nausea is not bad enough), jaundice, tachi cardia (Fast heart beat), confusion, aggressiveness, hemorrhage, vomiting (yum), anemia, Decreased Hemoglobin (I aint no doctor but that sounds bad) and hypertension….and you thought that the vaccine sounded bad?  Oh, and to let you know…the extreme nausea…is sed to be 1 in 15….NEVER have I ever thrown up after…wait…no I did, but I thought it was because I was sick, never mind.

 

Scientists are being silenced about the side effects of the drug and safety! No they are not. In fact you can go to a simple social media page and find YARDS of info about those that are speaking out about it on both sides of the fence, granted those speaking out about it on the “Pro vaccine” sites are mainly saying we are not going far enough, or we need to mandate it even more strictly.  Saying that scientists are being silenced is false, baseless and with out proof. WHO is being silenced?  I have read about one or two people who were “silenced” yah, I read about it from THEM…so if I said my wife wont let me post any more…in a post…how valid is that. This dog aint got legs people.

 

The vaccine has a zero-indemnity clause attached to the distribution…I wont risk it! Did you know that this is common practice? All vaccines are contracted now with a protection from Liability. All countries, generally speaking are faced with the issue of identification of companies who create new medications, especially in cases of Novel technologies. This predates the pandemic, if we did not have this then the inoculation process would be slowed down for ALL medications/vaccines.

 

So, even if I get the shot I can still contract COVID…then what is the point? Well two points here and they are both SUPER important, one is self serving the other is in the service of others. So, if you are the type that does not like others, does not care about them at all…but still hates being REALLY sick or even in the hospital…you get the vaccine as you can still contract the virus, but chances of a hospital visit are limited and chances of a really bad infection (getting real sick) are limited.  And the more people who are vaccinated, the level of infection one gets goes down (the sciency part…the body fights off the virus faster and the period you can infect others then goes down). If we all get the vaccine then we may still have test positive rates but the time in which we can get someone sick goes down, thus lessening the number of people we can spread it to…and the suffering those can have from getting sick. Sort of a hard concept to follow but its is one of the only ways we can drop this pandemic to a seasonal annoyance.

 

What if I am allergic to Vaccines? Most people who are allergic have a reaction to Polysorbate. Polysorbate is an emulsifier used in not just the vaccine but other drugs…and foods. They are also used in cosmetics. If you are allergic to this product its best you take a different vaccine other than J&J vaccine as its one of the only ones that uses this product. Most people can get the vaccine very safely and most reactions that people are having are mild and happen immediately or with in the first four hours. Now there are few people out their with medical concerns who are choosing not to take the vaccine, however most people I know who do have medical issues have taken it and had little to no adverse reactions.

 

So, getting two shots was enough, now we need a booster? when will it end? When the pandemic is over?  I mean we are learning more and our knowledge is evolving, we knew pretty much right off the hope that we MAY need to get a booster, depending on how long the body held its effects. Because of the SAFE nature of the vaccine, we are using (a message mRNA over a dead virus…both are valid by the way). And with people extending the COVID pandemic by going to super spreaders, not getting vaccinated ext. So, the longer this thing drags on the more times people will need boosters.  Actually, they MAY find a better vaccine that does not require boosters in the future, but for now…we need boosters.

 

Why do I need to get a vaccine, I have no chronic medical conditions? I have been told by so many people “Dude if I get sick I will just ride it out, Im young and healthy”….well that’s wishful thinking! I have to friends now who have received positive COVID tests, one is actually my brother-in-law…who is young-ish and in good shape. He quarantined and felt sick for a bit but from all accounts nothing terrible.  If everyone had the same issues as him we would not have the current hysteria….however, friend number two…a Gym teacher who is the SAME ages as my brother in law, prior to the vaccines got this infections bitch of a sickness and ended up in hospital and then a bloody ventilator! Both guys are fine (brother-in-law on the mend) but the outcomes of the infections are VERY much different. From the numbers, which support my anecdotal examples, if you get the vaccine you could get sick from COVID but the disease does not hit you as hard. Now people will say “Well vaccinated people still go to the hospital….”Yes, they do skippy but the numbers, the hard statistical, no opinion, basic plain as day numbers say if you are vaccinated your chances of needing to be hospitalized are much less than those who avoid the poke.

 

Its against my religious point of view?  Which one is that, can you point out the ACTUAL religious tenant that it is breaking to protect yourself from a virus. Do you think Jesus (if you are Christian) would say your choice to take a mRNA vaccine is going to send you to hell….wait…they did not have mRNA technology when he was around…or even technology from the old way of….screw it…they did not know about bacteria or viruses back then bub! Point out in the bible (again…Christians) the line that says “AND THOU SHAL NOT GET THE POKE” and I will back off, till then its an excuse and a weak ass one at that!

 

Its being forced on me, I have rights you know! You are starting to sound silly and paranoid! Seriously, I have had people say they are feeling pushed into getting vaccinated….but these people are the ones who used to do basically the same thing in their jobs!  We are trying to make people protect themselves but in the end its 110% up to you, we will fight the BS anti-vax miss information but at the end of the day…its all you! The whole rights thing is weak tea mind you. I asked someone who kept saying “its against my rights” about the charter and they THOUGHT that they knew it, but the last time they read it was in high school (so 20 ish years ago) and they did not know the “not withstanding” clause at all…and they did not really know the charter at all.  Seriously, if you quote a statute that you think protects you….um….learn it.

 

This is all a political agenda and the government is planning to control us.  So, you think that the government created COVID and they are using it to control us. Well, I have some questions of my own…Which government?  And to what end…really?  First off “which government” do you think the government of China is going to roll out a fake pandemic to affect Canadians? (Or what ever country you are in) and your government is going to go along with it?  Well, that’s stupid! Sorry, but you either did not think this through or you are just a dummy! To what end…I mean that, what are you going to think they can attain by doing this?  I will wait for you to adjust your tin foil hat and gather your thoughts. (the snarky comment is aimed at only a few people who actually want to argue this…not everyone)

 

COVID is not that bad so lets just ride it out and treat it like the “Flu” that it is! Yah, if you have the vaccine it will PROBABLY be flu like, if you don’t the outcome CAN be MUCH worse.  Yah, I know its not a guarantee you will have no issues if you get the poke or if you do not its not certain that you will be horribly sick. But the statistics so far show that those that do not get the vaccine have a much stronger reaction to the virus than those that have not…or in laymen’s terms…if you don’t get poked you feel way worse when you get infected than if you get the poke on average.

 

I read on the internet…….STOP! the pandemic has proven something I knew from before the pandemic happened….the internet is the WORST place to get info on medical stuff in general. First GOOGLE is DANGEROUS and can lead to an increase in stupidity and a tendency to find web sites made up by people with an agenda that caters to our personal bias. What this means is if you are a anti-vaxer or Covid Denier you will land on web sites that tell you how right you are…even if the science is basically “Flat earth”Style info (meaning complete bull pucky).  If you want to find info you think is correct already then you can gain your MD from Google U….but if you want the truth, talk to doctors, listed to those working on the vaccines and the virus…not someone giving an opinion on the data that they skimmed and jumped to conclusions they had BEFORE They did their research. Also, most people MOST PEOPLE …again…MOST PEOPLE do NOT understand how to read a research paper or data and could be fooled into just about anything from someone who can “Talk” the talk. If someone says they read it on the internet….hang up on them.

 

From my research……Ummm, sort of same as the above note but even more annoying…..You are not a researcher, I am not a researcher, we are not paid to research…so we BROWS, we SKIM and we then form opinions based on a lack of education, lack of time and a lack of actual understanding. Stop telling people you researched something…you did not. I have done research papers on things for school and YOU did no research! You took your bias and went hunting on the web for sites that reinforced it. So stop it!!!!

 

This whole thing was created by the MSM/Government/a Kabbalah of the rich! And so, it begins. My argument about the MSM-Mainstream media and the lack of actual understanding about news vs opinion is one I can make at a later date. HOWEVER, the Government did not create the COVID virus (I mean not ours but you could argue it may have been made in a lab some place), Main stream media is not creating this viral outbreak and there is NO KABBALAH of the rich! If you think about it logically it does not stand up to just a bit of thinking! But that is obviously the problem with people who lean into this as a reason not to get the shot, they are not thinking logically. But this is the problem with social media…as I say….it makes all of us think our opinions are important and correct…..when they are best served being kept to ourselves.

 

I am a free person; I’m not listening to the governments “Gestapo” tactics. If I hear that silly weak and very offensive term used one more time, or the use of the term Nazi one more time I may just slap the person using it! Comparing what the Nazi’s did to the Jews, Pol’s, Slavs, Romani and Russians as well as…well anyone not German…and even some of them…to what our government is doing to curb COVID is sickening. As someone who studied the atrocities that the Nazis unleashed on the world its vulgar to me to hear this stupid comment. Also, who gave you the impression you were free to do what ever you want. Life is made up of rules, laws and consequence or to put it as “Grade three” as I can every single choice you make has a consequence. Not getting vaccinated is a choice, no Nazi is going to show up to force you to get the poke, but you do have to live by societies rules and if you chose not to get poked then you will lose some privileges.

 

Im going to wait for the Herd immunity to kick in! I used to hear this early on and people did not realize what it actually meant….I mean logistically. So, we have this virus that kills older people in smaller numbers but also affect them horribly, some younger also get a “kick in the shin” sort of reaction (meaning it sucks) and what Herd immunity means is you are going to risk horrible infection rates, people dying and getting very ill and suffing, hopefully dodging this virus so that you can wait it out and see if enough people get sick that the virus has no one new to infect.  Several horrible flaws exist in this thinking mind you.  First….YOU COULD GET SICK AN DIE WAITING FOR THIS.  Lets face it even somewhat healthy people are getting sick and some are passing away waiting for herd immunity to happen. And now we are finding out we may need a booster and maybe even a totally new vaccine in the future because of mutations that are caused by us “waiting around” and allowing the virus time to mutate. Ergo…no herd immunity. Never mind the fact that you are basically sacrificing people to reach this fictitious level where there is herd immunity…who is the Nazi now?  If you are not getting the shot because you are waiting for herd immunity, I can only hope its because you are dumb and not because you care so little about human life that are are willing to gamble with it.

 

The Virus has a 99% survival rate, I am willing to risk it!  I have read this a handful of times and its not accurate.  The current numbers are 2.4-4.1% mortality rate. REGARDLESS of the numbers “Some number” of people will die from this virus and they will go down alone, separated and quarantined from family, suffering with a ventilator installed to keep them breathing and then pass away in a medical coma.  Yah, it may not be you…but it could by a loved one, a daughter or sister, a brother or father, a neighbor or beloved teacher. I have seen to many people I know go down to this bloody virus for you to preach your 99% bull shit and just sort of glide by the fact that others have died. And…just for shits and giggles…what if you are part of the 1% you say will ONLY die from the virus….probably not….but maybe!

 

I don’t want to be made to feel like I’m a strain to the medical system and I’m not getting the shot.  So, if you are not getting the shot…and you get sick…..YOU WILL BE A BURDEN AND STRAIN ON THE MEDICAL SYSTEM.  Period!  I’m thinking if you choose not to get vaccinated and you get sick…enough to need hospitalization…then we should install a “Nope, you stupid” tax for your medical stay. You Knowingly took the risk and gabled with your life and your need for medical intervention, you should pay the price. Its all of our taxes that go to support your ass in the hospital, if its not your fault for being their fine, but you don’t take every precaution then you should pay.  But I feel the same way about smokers and others who do things that harm themselves and who don’t take logical steps to protect themselves and end up in hospital…so yah, you are as bad as a smoker…worse actually because you are only addicted to misinformation and illogical actions.

 

The hospitals are not that bad. Okay, here is what I have to say about that….do you work in one…probably not. I have a friend whose wife works in one and its ape shit crazy right now and everyone is scared but working hard.  I hear idiots say “They are not that busy” or “the lazy staff are just bitching for a pay raise” Shut your mouth! These are the same people saving lives while getting yelled at by morons on the street, having to wade through bloody protesters for Christ’s sake. To those that say its not that hard or they are over reacting…go do their job for a day…hell half a shift. You would not last a minute. These people are bloody heros and you have the NERVE to denigrate them or suggest the are not battling a life time of PTSD from this stuff…just proved how stupid you are…congratulations!

 

You don’t support freedom of choice if you want me to get the shot! Nope, I support freedom of choice but I also support two other things…the freedom of choice after being properly informed of all sides of the issue, not just force fed info that meets your current personal bias and I also support your freedom to make up your own mind and not get sucked into the new bias media or polarized group think positions. If after you have ACTUALLY read REAL info and spoken to a REAL doctor about the vaccine, talked to family and made up your mind, if you choose to not get the vaccine I totally support that. As do most, we don’t understand it, but we don’t have to right.

 

The government is using it to track us! Putz, you have a cell phone and they CAN track that! Why do they need a tracker in a vaccine? This one and the next one really made the rounds and proved that some were dumber than others. We all need to keep in mind that most of the people who believe this stuff are fragile people who are the essential snow flake, treat them with kid gloves. Im not going to try and help them as they are beyond my ability to help explain things to.

 

It will make you magnetic! I cant even…..Really, what kind of three year old super moron are you! I have seen the videos and laughed at them too. I guessing if that’s your reason for not getting one you will never be able to be convinced, and the earth is flat to you and the lizard people are ruling the world…have a nice day.

 

What about the vaccine vs the new COVID variants? From what I have read the “new variants” are controlled by the vaccine as well, the latest however seems to be avoiding getting snagged by the vaccine. The research into the Omicron bad boy however is really new and we don’t know if its going to hold up. Right now most of the vaccine efficacy is based on year old data and it looks good, but we will have to wait and find out if the newest mutations cause the effectiveness to lower.

 

Why does the info change all the time? Because as well all know by now, or should…science evolves! We learn new things over time. If we did not evolve our understanding and just sort of lived life and walked along with out learning…well we would be in the dark ages still….Lighting struck a key and then it was understood how electricity worked (well it’s A) a fake story and B) very simplistic but it’s a cute story) we would not have lights, computers ext. The science is evolving because we strive to move ahead and learn, this my friends IS A GOOD THING!!!!

 

These lock down rules make no sensei to me! Actually, you got me on this one. Most of the rules that are rolled out make little sense, are toothless and probably won’t be as affective as the government hopes.  Every time they do this I think you could lock down tight for 2 weeks and see a huge impact, or you could do this spineless restrictions and see no really change but for more time…nice! In my opinion they are not going far enough and they are doing it for to long!

 

At the end of the day there are a few things we should all be able to agree upon. First, you should be able to make up your own mind…but the choices you make come with built in consequences…both pro and anti! We also should not cause others to feel hurt for making choices that they make…but we do need to remind them that they cant have it all….we are all in this together as well, Vaccinated and unvaccinated! We can also all agree that online, on TV and most info we are getting from most sources is BIASS and we have to learn to realize this…but we also have to realize that some sources are telling the truth while others are not…MSM or Main Stream media is not to blame…opinion media is. And at the end of the day the one thing we all want, we all want to come to being is the end to the pandemic.

My only suggestions I will make is to first agree to disagree and realize you do not HAVE To tell everyone your opinion…yours is not that important and neither is mine and lastly…we can get through this together if we remember, that aside from a little ribbing, most of us deserve a bit of respect…but you have to give it to get it!