As a Canadian, I am pleased to see the trucker protest in Ottawa and elsewhere being held, generally, in a good natured, peaceful way. These are unlikely protestors and there would be few, if any, professional activists among their cohort.
Of course, with any large gathering, there will be a few things that go sideways and a few people who do things that both sides would prefer didn’t happen. But rather than look at the sample size of one, or two, lets look at the vast majority and the positives.
It’s peaceful. It’s almost joyous in its nature. There are lots of smiles and hugs, dances and good manners and even well spoken leaders calling for continued calm. Bear in mind it is mid-winter in Ottawa and temperatures sink to -20C (-4F) at night and might only climb to -6C (21F) during the day.
There doesn’t seem to be looting, rioting or arson, which makes it a much better experience for all affected. They are on point. They are there to be heard.
The UK has dropped the mask requirements, along with a growing number of other OECD nations. Serious Covid infections are now about 0.1% of all cases, despite cases being almost 5 times higher than this time last year. This is all good news going forward.
According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) in the UK, Covid deaths here are starting to approximate those of the flu and pneumonia. If we could live with their annual deaths and challenges for decades, perhaps it is time to make this a win for the people over Covid everywhere.
I entered a shop without a mask this past weekend. It felt so natural and so good. And those that wanted to wear a mask did. And we all shopped and went on our way. No issues. But having that choice felt so good, after two long years. I missed that great, natural feeling. It’s so good to have it back.