Thursday, February 03, 2022

Ottawa held hostage: In what way is this still technically a "protest?"

Given the relentless breaking of Ottawa city bylaws, it occurs to one to ask: In what way is this collection of Nazi truckers still technically a "protest?"

Based on readings, it seems that, yes, one is technically allowed to "protest" on Parliament Hill, but it also seems that that freedom comes with at least a few restrictions, such as that you're not allowed to interfere with the normal operation of the city, and also that, even if you were allowed to block Wellington, for that to be defensible, you need to remain on the Hill and actually protest on the Hill. But none of that seems to be happening here.

Ignore for the time being that no one applied for and received an actual demonstration permit; the more important question is -- can you defend all of your law-breaking by hiding behind the claim of a nebulous and never-ending "protest" that allows you to do anything you want for as long as you want? Because if that's true, that has serious and permanent implications.

Are Ottawa police seriously taking the position that all one has to do is holler "I'm protesting!" to get a pass for, well, pretty much everything? Is it actually true that a trucker puttering down Dalhousie, obstructing traffic, blaring his horn and parking illegally can simply claim he's part of a "protest" in order to get the city constabulary to respond, "Ah, we understand, sorry to inconvenience you, sir, carry on"?

It's overwhelmingly tiring to hear so many people defend this idiocy with, "Hey, it's a peaceful protest." It's no longer a question as to whether it's peaceful or not -- it's a question as to whether it's even a "protest" anymore, or whether it's just a bunch of disgruntled, racist, sociopathic truckers, driving around, impervious to the enforcement of city bylaws such as noise and anti-idling and parking bylaws.

If that's all it takes to inoculate one from law enforcement, then what stops me from driving up to the Hill, parking right in front of Parliament and insisting there's nothing anyone can do because, gosh darn it, I'm "protesting" something.

I respectfully submit that this convoy of idiots had the right to protest, and they exercised that right, and now the protest is over. It's not a protest anymore, it's just a bunch of assholes driving around town pissing people off, and perhaps Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly could get off his doughy, overpaid ass and see it that way, and deal with it.

Based on his pandering and gutless capitulation so far, I am not optimistic.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a good point since it seems that, at the very least, to be a protest, you must have applied for and received a demonstration permit, but they didn't even do that. So do they get the right to just keep yelling "protest!" day after day to be exempt from the law? Sure looks like it. So why aren't the rest of us allowed to do that?

theo said...

https://albertapolitics.ca/2022/02/occupation-of-canadas-national-capital-by-a-lawless-mob-must-end-forthwith/

Anonymous said...

The Ottawa police saw this building up and seem to have tacitly encouraged this over the weekend.

Now they are screaming "help"...

If only there had been some people that were paid to uphold the law and prevent this...oh wait. Never mind... [ That is the level of stupid we are dealing with ]