Blog Dis

It's a privilege to be able to mouth off without fear of reprisal, as much as it is to express opinions in public or on any social platform that observes the right of free speech. Well, this is the ideal, though not always the reality.

Everyone is as busy as a bee. Busy people, the really busy persons of this world who get up at the ass-crack of dawn, and then only lay their head on a pillow in the wee hours of the a.m. are often too exhausted to digest the avalanche of online blathering, be these freely offered opinions presented in videos or the old-fashioned written word. Allow me this brief moment to express my gratitude for taking the time out of your crazy life to read this blog. After all, those who know me personally can attest to having experienced my expressiveness in person.😅Shy I am not, when it comes to observational opinions.

I've little difficulty pulling back the curtain to share my thoughts. It's not lost on me either that the harsh experience living in different parts of this world means that not everyone has access to this level of privilege, to speak out—this is due to governments that dole out brutality, serving it up like a hot plate of draconian laws that are in effect threats disguised as gag orders, to disallow all public demonstrations. If you recognize yourself living in one of the truly free-countries, as I do in Canada, count yourself amongst the privileged.

A former colleague, whose family hails from Iran, and who emigrated to become Iranian-Canadians, took the time to apprise me on her involvement in the demonstrations in Toronto, to fight for change in Iran. We discussed the tally of human carnage. As of August 2026, the official Iranian government cites about 3,000+ demonstrators were killed vs leaked records, gleaned from local area hospitals, indicating that this number is over 30,000. Further still, The Guardian, Time and Iran International estimate the actual count exceeds 36,000 persons. Why all these deaths? These individuals were not in possession of the privilege, to which I just referred, yet despite this, they dared to express their disdain for their totalitarian government, and its hardline tactics. The protests initially began over the failing economy, to demand an end to the brutal Islamic regime, and then evolved to basic human rights, what women cannot claim in Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) falls under the official military name of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, along with the Artesh—both branches are empowered to shoot on-sight, and ask no questions later.

The world witnessed a similar event of suppression of free will to demonstrate in Russia in 2024, when Alexei Navalny, the opposition leader died while being held in prison. When the news broke out, protestors took to the streets to stage vigils, flower-layings, to show their outrage. Some 100+ protestors were killed and over 400 were detained.

There is no equivalent in Canada where thousands of protestors have been shot. Granted, we did have the Quebec City Conscription Riots of 1918 (five civilians were killed when the Canadian army opened fire on Easter weekend), as well as the Estevan Riot of 1931, when striking coal miners faced off with RCMP officers and three miners were killed.

In current times, however, there is still no comparison that qualifies in Canada, and this surely doesn't apply to the Freedom Convoy, where only non-lethal measures were taken, to use rubber bullets. Contrary to what was televised, our individual rights as Canadians were not being infringed upon, despite how this protested was promoted. This claim was merely the flag waved by the original core group in Calgary, Alberta, credited with starting the convoy in January 2022—their Memorandum of Understanding had demanded that the current government in power, duly elected, must step down in order that the convoy leaders could install a committee to run the country. The convoy also protested the lockdown mandates, and masks, at a time when the pandemic was in its shutdown phase and over 90% of truckers had already been vaccinated. Once the Convoy left Alberta to travel into Ottawa, it executed a flawless takeover of the Nation's Capital.

Before I continue, kindly note that there is a difference between staging a peaceful protest, one that doesn't infringe upon the lives of others vs staging an outright takeover, that locks down access as well as services.

One of the convoy's high-profile leaders, Mr. Pat King, is due to receive sentencing, after the Ontario Appeals Court found him guilty two weeks ago on an additional count of intimidation. As of this week, his final prison or jail time hasn't been determined. It is well known that Mr. King had a following of 300,000+ supporters on Facebook at the height of the Freedom Convoy. To his captive audience, he spurred on others to join with his right-wing rhetoric, and to utter threats of violence against our Prime Minister Trudeau that "... he's going to catch a bullet," as well as to call for the closure of our borders, to prevent more immigrants from getting into Canada, to put a halt to the decline of the Anglo-Saxon race. When the publicity for the Convoy had revved up, Mr. King proudly declared to the media, "... we had all the paperwork approved for a three day protest but we had no intention of leaving...[laughs]." Whenever a protest comes with 'demands', the intent is no longer regarded as being a peaceful one, and is subsequently elevated to a takeover status, what some might call a hostage-taking, as one variation.

It is noteworthy, too, to state that the Convoy ended up costing local businesses in excess of $200 million in lost business, and how border blockades in other parts of Canada, associated with the Ottawa convoy, had halted $4 Billion in trade, over and above having weapons stashed at border crossings that were ultimately seized.

Before you fire back in dispute, to cite how the federal government illegally seized bank accounts of convoy participants and supporters, take a moment to roll back this misconception. The government had issued warnings one week prior to this action, to state that the convoy had been deemed an illegal act, along with posted notices in the downtown core, asking all future donations to be stopped. This was done when it was determined that one leader, Tamara Lich (pronounced leech) had diverted $1 Million in GoFundMe donations to her private bank account. All monies the leaders collected from donors in Canada, to include donations from the USA (total in excess of $10 million) were seized. Meanwhile, Quebec truckers who generously spent their own money to help the financially strapped American truckers, as well as Cdn truckers, didn't receive one penny in reimbursement from the convoy leaders, despite being assured they would. Some of our Quebec truckers ended up declaring bankruptcy.

I honestly didn't want to harp on this subject of the Freedom Convoy, so here I must apologize. At the same time, it makes my point for me, with regard to privilege. If you think you have it rough in Canada, I would ask you to look at the award winning editorial cartoons of Theo Moudakis. I can't re-post his most recent cartoon owing to me not having copyright but in it he depicts freedom convoy protestors perched atop a rig with placards about Canada's dictatorship, while a family of Ukrainians stand on the street in tattered clothing with bombed-out buildings in background. One country has seen the death and loss of over 16,000 civilians, and over 50,000 Ukrainian service members vs the supposed loss of rights and lives in the Freedom Convoy which amounted to zero.

Perspective is everything, is it not?

If this subject still holds interest, you need only input the words Freedom Convoy Interview The Fifth Estate into YouTube's search and you'll be treated to a 42-minute video, highlighting how three key organizers were ex-military personnel, one of whom had 25+ years in counter-intelligence, and another with 22 years service with the RCMP. These men are the ones credited with planning the city shutdown that included setting up secret refueling stations, hidden in other parts of Ottawa, to ensure the total number of rigs, upwards of 3,000, would be equipped with diesel fuel to continue running their engines.

I lived blocks away from the incessant bombardment of noise of thousands of rigs honking their horns, for ten hour periods, every day, as well as the crowds flocking into centertown to participate in the circus, as well as the non-stop toxic smell of diesel fumes. In truth, while everything about this lockdown felt wrong to me, a part of me also had to begrudgingly applaud their planning and execution, on the basis that they were able to shut down a city center without firing a single shot. Impressive. If I didn't know any better, and often I don't, I'd say my city's takeover was a blueprint for a future city takeover elsewhere.

Consider, for a moment what would happen if a similar convoy protest were rolled out in Washington, D.C. Imagine this city's capital with blocked streets, cutting off access to roughly 10 city blocks, end to end with thousands of parked rigs, each weighing up to 15,000 pounds, and then to grow the streets being cut off up to 70 city blocks, as had happened in Ottawa, as more rigs rolled in from different parts of the country. How long do you think it would take for the US Army to be called in to end it or ICE along with local police, if every Senator and Congressperson was blocked from gaining access to the U.S. Capitol Building?

The City of Ottawa lasted three weeks, before extra police personnel and security were called in to shut down the convoy protest-takeover. It was a testament to our patience, and also a scathing indictment of our local police and politicians who did nothing to stop the convoy in the beginning.

And so, after digesting the aforementioned details, would you characterize the Freedom Convoy as a simple and peaceful protest or as a city takeover?

In a country where the right to protest is enshrined in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which is Canada's Supreme Law, here too there is a line that cannot be crossed, and it pertains to when rights and freedoms of others are being infringed upon, as the convoy did with great enthusiasm to the city's inhabitants and to every small business owner whose business was cut-off, many of whom went out of business permanently. In the end, our Ottawa Chief of Police was forced to step down, when it was determined that members of his force were colluding with convoy leaders. Far too many were quick to blame our Prime Minister Trudeau for the Covid mandates. When in reality, each province signed off on these mandates in their own provincial legislatures. In Canada, we have the Notwithstanding Clause, introduced into our Constitution when it was repatriated in 1981, which empowers each province to vote against Federal mandates. Every province, on the contrary, had signed off on the mandates, and this includes the Premier of Alberta. However, it was just easier for the Convoy leaders to use our Prime Minister as a whipping boy.

Tunnel-vision is a form of blindness.

I take my privileges and freedoms seriously. I know of no other way to live. I've traveled into countries where women don't have the rights, freedoms and privileges that I'm able to enjoy in Canada. Because I take these freedoms and privileges seriously, I also do not want someone to come along with their idea and agenda of freedom, to be empowered to lockdown the freedoms of others, more so if this agenda promotes right-wing views to squash the rights of others if their ethnicity is deemed as unwanted. Take due note of the symbols included in this post. These were the flags waved by protestors, buried in the crowds, along with the Canadian flag. It was an embarrassment.

I'm still not finished blathering. Hang in there, baby!

There are levels to privilege, such as the Aristocracy in countries where royalty exists, though it behooves me as to why royalty still exists in the 21st Century. Their privilege of extreme wealth means that royalty cannot comprehend what it means to barely make it to the end of the month when there's more month left than there is money, to cover off bills. Nor are royalty ever likely to understand what it means to be categorized as 'food insecure'. This is one of the reasons why news coverage on royalty, to showcase their foibles, like marriage failure, are gobbled up by the non-royal public who take pleasure in the reality that even the privileged suffer, just like them. Can you blame them?

The ostentatiously privileged know of no other life than to be privileged. If there is a familial lineage of privilege, handed down generation after generation, their ways of living and interacting with each other is in of itself a privileged society, that someone not born to this level of privilege wouldn't be privy to, nor would you be welcome. I'm not a member of this privileged sector. Yet, I feel privileged in many ways, such as being born in North America and having a healthy imagination, and state of being, as well as access to good food and a clean source of water.

I also regard it as a privilege to be able to work.

If you're able to work, it means you're capable and in possession of a good brain to enable you to make a valuable contribution, enough that an employer is willing to pay you for your services. If you're a creator, and able to pursue your art, consider yourself extra-privileged. Not everyone is gifted with an artistic nature. Writing is a good example. I grew up in a family where I was the only one who couldn't stop creating, whether to sketch, paint, write or stage live theatre for my family and friends. Nobody in my family had to light a fire under me. I was compelled to create, as I do now, though I learned later that my paternal grandmother was also creative, and that my father had talent to become an opera singer though he chose a different life path.

For me the idea of having to work, in order to be able to pursue my art, to create, is the price I'm willing to pay, to be able to continue to express my imagination and what's inside my head. Understand, that I don't want to tread on the feelings of others who are also artistically minded, when they speak how they'd prefer to focus 100% of their time on art. This is the dream of every artist, so keep pushing toward it. Keep fighting. Don't give up!

If along the way to living you're faced with having to step up, to stand up for your rights, I can only wish for you that you live in a tolerant country, where leaders will fight with their political career your right to freely express yourself, and then for you to show your support, and to do so responsibly and in a peaceful manner.

I am in awe of the bravery of the women and men who protested in Iran, and lost their lives, as well as for the civilians and service members in Ukraine who refuse to give up, and who are prepared to fight to the death.