Dear Editor:
My children and I spent five days in Ottawa attending the Freedom Convoy. We had stood at an overpass when the convoy was heading to Ottawa to cheer them on.
However, after reading the news reports of what was going on in Ottawa once they got there, I became concerned that maybe the convoy wasn’t worth supporting. Yet, when I watched videos on the Freedom Convoy’s Facebook page, it seemed completely different than what the media was portraying. I like to know exactly what I support, so off to Ottawa we went.
For five days we walked around chatting with people and handing out thank-you cards to both the truckers and the police. For five days we read reports by the media of the destruction and the angry atmosphere regarding this convoy. For five days I was dismayed by the outright lies by our mainstream media to Canadians.
Trudeau and the media are presenting this event as racist, misogynistic, white supremacist, homophobic and violent. I saw many different ethnicities represented; there were endless women, many of them without a man near her, including tons of moms with their children; I saw many white men, but no swastikas, no Confederate flags, nothing to indicate they were white-supremacists; I saw people thoughout the week waving the Pride flag; I saw many hugs, endless high-fives, singing, dancing – no violence.
This event has even been referred to as an insurrection. There has been a constant presence of protesters in Ottawa for two weeks now, yet there have been no burning vehicles, no statues torn down and, most importantly, nobody has been hurt. Instead, the protesters have been cleaning the streets, doing snow removal, and cooking food for whoever wants it. Insurrection? Just another blatant lie by the media.
Please do not only get your information about the Freedom Convoy from the mainstream media. Be open minded enough to watch the videos coming out of Ottawa from the protesters; you’ll see thousands of peaceful people who just want their freedoms back.
And Mr. Trudeau? You say you will not speak to the protesters because you support Canadians. The fact that we disagree with you does not make us any less Canadian. I am proud to be Canadian, and I am proud that I was able to attend the Freedom Convoy 2022.
Kristin Swaving,
Fergus