The Globe and Mail has printed plenty of hot takes on the Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa: the paper turned to “activists and academics” to make the case that the protests weren’t “peaceful” because that ignored the “non-violent danger” they posed to citizens. The CBC hasn’t been any better, running a piece with “experts” explaining that the word “freedom” had been co-opted by far-right groups.
The CBC piece is the perfect lead-in to this opinion piece in the Globe and Mail by former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Beverley McLachlin, arguing that the protests exposed “the ugly side of freedom.”
The Ottawa truck convoy has revealed the ugly side of freedom https://t.co/vQyv17e3KK
— The Globe and Mail (@globeandmail) February 22, 2022
McLachlin writes:
Who sets the limits on our freedoms?
In the first instance, it is our governments – our duly elected representatives in Parliament, and the executive branch that has the responsibility to maintain “peace, order and good government,” to quote the Constitution, for the good of all. Our governments must draw the difficult lines that mark the limits of freedom in a particular situation. When you must wear a mask. Whether you can cross a border without a vaccine certificate. How many people can attend a party and who gets to go to school.
…
The heady notion of freedom, defined as the unconstrained right to do what you want free of government limits, serves as a cloak for actions that harm women, men and children who are simply going about their business and trying to do the right thing. Freedom without limits slides imperceptibly into freedom to say and do what you want about people who don’t look like you or talk like you. Sadly, the Ottawa truckers’ convoy has revealed this ugly side of freedom.
McLachlin’s argument, essentially, is that people should accept the limits on freedom that the government sets until they can vote out the government and gain new representation.
HONK HONK.
— Yanky 🐊 🚛 (@Yanky_Pollak) February 22, 2022
🤡🤡🤡
— NigelTufnel (@zapcitytx) February 22, 2022
— Quaesitor (@Quaesitor121) February 22, 2022
"The ugly side of freedom"
Dear lord.
— Conservative Nerds (@NerdsOnTheRight) February 22, 2022
Did Karl Marx write this headline?
— Rocky Cersosimo (@rocksauce22) February 22, 2022
I love freedom but only the people I agree with should be free tbh. The idea of dirty smelly truckers actually having opinions and expressing them peacefully makes me and my quinoa eating freedom fighting friends uncomfortable, and we think they should all be arrested.
— MoonBaboon (@40powerup) February 22, 2022
— AC (@notthatnitsua) February 22, 2022
Um, no.
— Social Distance Champion (@realchrishynes) February 22, 2022
If you only believe in "freedom" for those whose views and way of life you approve of then you don't believe in freedom, and what we're seeing in increasingly stark terms is that the elites in western so-called democracies don't actually believe in freedom.
— Steven Hunter ☕ (@StevenWHunter) February 22, 2022
At the end of the day it has all shown that Canada should not preach about freedom to other countries if it can't model that same type of freedom at home.
— Spurty Nellies Welly (@Hugbert4) February 22, 2022
So basically we just have a perceived notion of freedom and we must quietly comply and only challenge government overreach through a long and expensive court procedure while being vilified.
— Joe Hawkins (@JoeHawk373) February 22, 2022
Wow, what a headline.
— Chris Broadbent (@BroadbentChris) February 22, 2022
"True freedom – freedom subject to reasonable limits that allow us to live together …"
True freedom is doing what we tell you.
— EasternOregonDude (@EasternORdude) February 22, 2022
The ugly side is the totalitarian government cracking down on freedom lovers.
— John Jacob Oppenheimer-Schmidt 🐝 (@MrBadAim) February 22, 2022
It revealed the ugly side of government that feels free to do whatever it wants even when it harms others. Governments are doing all the harm – mandates AND SHUTDOWNS CAUSE HARM. Freezing bank accounts and seizing assets cause harm.
— Leroy Green (@leroygreen) February 22, 2022
Well said.
If you believe that someone choosing not to wear an ineffective cloth mask in your presence violates your rights, you don’t know what rights are.
If your believe that people gathering in a place of worship violates your rights, you don’t know what rights are— TxAgAdam87 (@TxAdam87) February 22, 2022
It amazes me when elitists exercise their freedoms to tell non-elites that they (non-elites) don’t need their freedom.
— CaliExile (@petercrary) February 22, 2022
Opinion: Canada is no longer a democracy, and mainstream media outlets are state propaganda
— King BlackBored 🏴☠️👑 (@KingBlackBored) February 22, 2022
Bet the next article will be titled: "the positives of tyranny"
— AngryLatina.eth/tez 👁️The Millionaire Trip👁️ (@angrylatinaeth) February 22, 2022
Stop.
— 🅃🄷🄴 🦷 (@tweegirl) February 22, 2022
Absurd. The Constitution, the Charter, the Bill of Rights are there to guarantee freedoms – yes with reasonable exceptions in extreme circumstances, but that threshold has not been met. It is unfortunate that ethical and unbiased journalism has disappeared from the G&M.
— Grindsmygears (@Grindsm97871149) February 22, 2022
Freedom is never ugly. This article is ugly. Freedom does not have limits by definition and to suggest it does is ridiculous.
— nametobe (@nametobe1) February 22, 2022
There is no “ugly side” to freedom. You either believe in it or you don’t.
— Alex Armstrong ⚡️ (@itsreallyalex_) February 22, 2022
This article is the biggest heap of vomit I have ever read.
— GordWD (@GwD_65) February 22, 2022
Tell me you weren’t paying attention to previous protests without telling me you weren’t paying attention to previous protests. pic.twitter.com/mvUNah2IlL
— David York (@davidwyork93) February 22, 2022
Your freedom to protest is dependent on what you’re protesting … that’s what this is saying without saying it.
* * *
Update:
The Globe and Mail just won’t quit:
Our new national disgrace: harassing TV journalists https://t.co/nbczXLF9fh
— The Globe and Mail (@globeandmail) February 22, 2022
“The extreme harassment of TV reporters is a form of psychological warfare.”
Related:
‘So SICK in the head of you, but revealing’: Mollie Hemingway DECIMATES Canadian state-sponsored media for openly trashing the word ‘freedom’ https://t.co/aB6T9GSYuV
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 14, 2022
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