[UtakataNoAnnex]

I'm not too sure whether people are upset about the action or the cause. Peaceful assembly is an enshrined right in Canada, regardless of the issue. Is the abortion debate fueled by recent US-based information and events? Probably, but so what. People have been rallying for and against abortion in this country for decades, certainly long before the Tangerine Toddler and his gang showed up, and I've seen no indication that the topic has any political traction here.

I'm not upset. I can even agree here. But I also know what they stand for.

...I mean if they where standing around draped in white sheets and/or Nazi paraphernalia holding hands while singing Kumbaya I think our conversation would be different here. >.<

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

White House official inadvertently reveals plans to send elite army unit to Portland

Anthony Salisbury displayed chat about deployment of 82nd airborne division on cell phone while in Minnesota

www.theguardian.com

 

[lenaitch]

I'm not upset. I can even agree here. But I also know what they stand for.

...I mean if they where standing around draped in white sheets and/or Nazi paraphernalia holding hands while singing Kumbaya I think our conversation would be different here. >.<

Not really. Unless the assembly falls under some provision of designated terrorist group legislation or crosses into what is legally defined as hate speech, we either stand by our Constitution and the principles of a liberal democracy, or we don't.

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

Not really. Unless the assembly falls under some provision of designated terrorist group legislation or crosses into what is legally defined as hate speech, we either stand by our Constitution and the principles of a liberal democracy, or we don't.

To be clear, I am not debating their legality here...but what they represent. That said, if they demonstrating something peacefully, then no they should not be rounded up...but that does not mean we have to agree with what they stand for.

...it becomes problematic though when what they stand for starts to become public policy. And to put that mildly.

 

[Full Metal Junkie]

it becomes problematic though when what they stand for starts to become public policy.

That's the thing. Personally, I am worried about Canada not being immune from any of the political upheaval we're seeing in the US. And due to our tight cultural integration and largely shared news/information landscape with them, we're probably very susceptible as a society to join the US in the downward spiral they're in.

When I see sizeable anti-abortion rallies in a tiny town like in that video, I am worried that this is a first symptom of something much more sinister. These people feel emboldened by what they are seeing in the US. They're seeing voices that were marginalized for decades (and for good reasons) all of a sudden amplified by the MAGA movement and by people in the highest positions of power. Racists, misogynists, xenophobes, transphobes, fascists are no longer hiding their views. They spread them proudly on college campuses, on YouTube, on podcasts, from government offices, from the very steps of the White House.

So when our fellow Canadians who share those views watch all of that and then watch Fox News anchors constantly normalize that behavior and those views on TV, it's no wonder they feel emboldened. They start coming out of the woodworks. In droves. They start protesting, they start demanding things that are fundamentally anti-Canadian. And they would love to have political representation to turn their unheard voices into political action and legislation. All it takes is one sly charismatic right-wing populist to tap into that demand, and we're off to the races.