Truckers’ message about masks was hijacked by extremists

By Lethbridge Herald on March 2, 2022.

Brian Hancock – Lethbridge Herald publisher

What began as a peaceful protest of a ruling made by Justin Trudeau was somehow lost along the way. Trudeau decided unvaccinated truckers should not be able to cross the border anymore, the truckers decided to take their disdain to the streets in the form of a peaceful protest. Everything was legal on both sides of the issue, the issue would be tried in a court of public opinion and most seemed to side with the truckers when things first began – then things changed.

What began as a common group against a single issue was quickly lost as more and more lost causes joined in to try and get some traction. On their own they had no support; they looked at the truckers as an opportunity to get some validity. Little did the truckers realize that every time another group of outsiders joined them to “strengthen their support,” they were actually watering down the trucking issue and making the truckers an afterthought in their own movement. 

Anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers took over the movement – they hadn’t been able to gain any traction on their own issues so they hijacked the truckers’ cause without them even knowing. The original argument became secondary, the truckers were lost in the mayhem, the supporters forced their way in and became the focus and the case for the truckers was no longer front and centre. They tried meeting with provincial representatives to overturn a federal mandate. Their focus was lost. 

Then entered the extremists – white supremacists, gun-toting trouble makers, anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers – anti anything was welcomed into the “peaceful protest” and the terms of engagement started going in the wrong direction. They and their views were not invited, they just joined in and took over. In their need for validation the truckers took them in and revelled in their support. Naively they still thought people were there to support them and their cause, not until the last minute did they realize they were no longer what the convoy was all about. Now the blockade is gone and the trucker’s issues remain. Sadly, support for them is waning; they had a valid concern but got caught up in the emotion and lost sight of the cause. You may not agree with their cause but peaceful protest is allowed in our democracy. It was no longer peaceful when the radical’s guns were found. Line the side of the highway with the horns blaring but let fellow truckers do their job, don’t punish Albertans while trying to send a message to Ottawa. Voice concerns and send a loud and clear message – instead they let the fringe causes beat their drums louder, eventually drowning out the truckers message.