Random Thoughts On Trucker “Protests”
Fascist And Racist Forces Are Driving Astroturf “Working Class” Events
Message of “Freedom” Used To Appeal To Broader & Legitimate Public Grievances
[Update #1: 2/14/22 – economics professor Richard Wolff explains what I meant by “legitimate grievances” and how they create conditions conducive to the rise of fascism – listen here!
[Update #2: 2/14/22 – Chris Hedges does his usual superb job explaining. A taste:
The US domination of the world economy, after 75 years, is over. It is not coming back. We manufacture little, short of weapons. Our economy is a mirage build on unsustainable levels of debt. The pillage orchestrated by the capitalist elites and corporations has hollowed the country out from the inside, leaving the infrastructure decayed, democratic institutions moribund and at least half the population struggling at subsistence level. The two ruling parties, puppets for the ruling oligarchs, refuse to curb the rapacious appetites of the war industry and the rich, accelerating the crisis. That the rage of the dispossessed is legitimate, even if it is expressed in inappropriate ways, is never acknowledged by the Democrats, who were instrumental in pushing through the trade deals, deindustrialization, tax loopholes for the rich, deficit spending, endless wars and austerity programs that have created crisis. Instead, shooting the messenger, the Biden administration is targeting Trump supporters and winning draconian sentences for those who stormed the capital on January 6. Biden’s Justice Department has formed a domestic terrorism unit to focus on extremists and Democrats have been behind a series of moves to de-platform and censor their right-wing critics. ~~~ end updates]
There is little doubt in my mind that the forces (by “forces”, I mean people, organizations, money, media, and ideology) who planned, organized, funded, publicized, and mobilized the trucker anti-vaxx “protests” in Canada are right wing fascist forces.
But their seemingly targeted opposition to vaccine “mandates” and the message of “freedom” are very effectively disguising these fascist forces and being used to appeal to a far broader set of issues and legitimate grievances. This enables the fascists to grow their movement and expand their base. (The Guardian):
The official line from Bauder and his co-organizers, however, has remained focused; in a Facebook live broadcast, Bauder instructed his supporters to “stop talking about the vaccine” and instead stick to message of “freedom”.
Such strict message control has attracted mainstream support. Numerous members of the Conservative party, Canada’s official opposition, have come out to meet the protesters. Elon Musk and Donald Trump have both endorsed the convoy. Fox broadcasters Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson have provided glowing updates on the continuing occupation.
Legitimate anger and grievances are being mobilized and targeted against government and left/progressive ideologies, instead of the corporate forces and Neoliberal ideologies that are generating the social and economic conditions that create the grievances.
Republicans and libertarians have effectively done this for many years in the US – blaming government for corporate abuses.
In response, government, media, progressives, democrats and those on the left are dismissing these “protesters” as ignorant rabble . This dynamic is way beyond Hillary Clinton’s “deplorables”, but reflects the same elitist arrogance and detachment from some people’s suffering and legitimate grievances. The result is a further polarization between left/progressives and working class and popular concerns that the left could and should be organizing.
This is a very dangerous and destructive dynamic.
1. Clearly, the media’s wall to well coverage of these protests is getting out the message of the protesters to the public and stimulating more participation and growing the “movement”.
That virtually never happens when anti-war, climate, environmental, or civil rights protesters take to the streets.
2. The police are not arresting, harassing, assaulting, confining them to “free speech zones” and otherwise intimidating these protesters. In some cases, police are supporting them (Youtube of cops bringing food, etc).
That never happens when anti-war, climate, environmental, or civil rights protesters take to the streets. Just the opposite: left leaning protesters are assaulted, arrested, shot, beaten, water hosed, bitten by dogs, and serve long prison sentences. Their “occupations” are crushed immediately – even Occupy Wall Street was crushed by a coordinated national campaign.
3. There are liberals and “moderates” who argue against protests and aggressive tactics, because they antagonize the public and allegedly will create a backlash (read Dr. King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” about that).
Ironically, these fake trucker protests will strengthen that argument and further suppress any left oriented street protests, just when climate activists and others need to ramp up pressure and street activism. Tragic beyond words.
4. The fact that fascist forces, organizations, individuals and messages have successfully appealed to the public and mobilized protests is extremely disturbing.