The “People’s Convoy”, which recently numbered about 1,000 vehicles, arrived in Maryland on March 5th. The convoy had signs and messages referencing far-right political views, pro-Trump and conspiracy theories, including calls to “arrest Fauci,” referring to White House medical adviser Anthony S. Fauci, and ridiculously equating the mandates to slavery. Convoy organizers intended to drive the minimum legal speed and increase the number of loops around the Beltway each day to pressure lawmakers and public officials, but not to actually enter the core district of Washington, D.C. Given what happened during the so-called “Freedom Convoy” illegal occupation in Ottawa, Canada, which lasted over three weeks, police agencies from D.C., Maryland and Virginia are closely monitoring the group. In addition, hundreds of National Guard members are on stand-by should they be needed to control the protest.
The truckers’ protest is a spin-off of the Canadian version, which has so far fizzled out following the removal and arrests of several protest leaders. Like the Canadian situation, there are many different complaints and factions among the protesters, some of whom are more radical than others and often represent far right fringe groups. While the primary protest in Canada appeared to be against vaccine mandates related to the pandemic and other public health measures, there also appeared to be a segment that simply wanted the current federal government to step down and be replaced by some form of alternative governing body. There was a good deal of American influence on the Canadian convoy as evidenced by pro-Trump and Confederate flags. In addition, a good deal of funding in support of the protest came from the U.S. As observers note, what’s already clear is that that success begets imitators. The Ottawa occupiers’ ability to attract massive financial support and international media attention — while suffering few serious consequences — inspired copycats across Canada, the U.S. and around the world.
While there is little debate over the fact that both the Canadian and American populations have seen even more political division during the pandemic, one has to ask how these intense expressions of anger, sometimes legitimate, will be reflected in the future? Most enduring social movements tend to focus on single issue causes. Take for example, the “right-to-life” and “pro-life” movements which have been around for years in both countries. Then there is the women’s movement for “equal pay and equal opportunities”. However, there have been those movements which portrayed a scattered issue protest, such as the early 2000’s Occupy movement in the U.S., Canada and other countries. Started with the Occupy Wall Street in 2011, it primarily focussed on what it referred to as income and wealth inequality between the wealthiest 1 percent and the rest of the population which became the 99 per centers. The Occupy movement’s goals came to include a vast number of issues including: a reduction in the influence of corporations on politics, more balanced distribution of income, more and better jobs, bank reform, forgiveness of student loan debt, more affordable housing or other relief for indebted students. Without organized formal leadership, which the Occupy movements deliberately shied away from, the movement soon fizzled away into the history books.
The same outcome could be expected with the recent convoy protests, especially as governments remove more and more public health restrictions and vaccine mandates as a result of declining cases related to the pandemic. However, this does not mean that the anger of a significant portion of the population will simply disappear. Some have suggested that the current mistrust of government and the authorities will continue into the future, hopefully to be reflected through the ballot boxes in both countries. The economy will be the next big issue, notably the impact of hyperinflation, including high gas prices, on the average American and Canadian. Employment issues surrounding the economic recovery from the pandemic and a possible recession will stand out as major issues for governments and businesses. Lower income and blue collar workers have been particularly affected and wages have not kept up with the current cost of living increases. Whether a new protest movement results from the new socioeconomic and political circumstances, only time will tell? Given past history, I would see future protest movements as being entirely inevitable, in one form or another.
FROLITICKS 