Laying It Out: Everything one could say has been said, repeatedly
By Scott Schmidt on February 12, 2022.
Listen, if your unconditional support for Ottawa protest organizers lasted one second past hearing they offered to form a coalition government with opposition parties and, like, be in it, I think we’re pretty much past reasonable debate. Can you pick out people from this convoy to show peaceful, honest interest in fewer restrictions and mandates? Of course you can, but the organizers at the heart of it are complete wackadoos (one group even live streamed themselves deputizing themselves as ‘peace’ officers) and you either see it by now, or you won’t. That’s the last thing I ever want to say about Freedom Convoys. As for Premier Jason Kenney’s decision to end nearly all public health measures by March 1, with the Restrictions Exemption Program gone as of 12:01 Wednesday and kids reminded that a COVID-less childhood is lame if you can’t see your friend’s mouth, I think at this point I’m just done having to say the same thing. Anyone who has paid any critical attention to date will, at the very least, be skeptical of the premier’s mindset and motives as he once again goes out of his way to be the first to free the shackles of the “damaging restrictions.” Anything I could say about it now would simply be redundant, seeing as I said it all last February, and then again in May. And July. And about a half dozen other times since about October of 2020. What else is there to say? The only thing more predictable than Kenney is the virus itself – it’s up to Albertans to know which is actually in charge. In fact, that’s really the underlying point at the heart of both the premier’s political intentions and the various ‘freedom’ protests around the country. Humans want to be in control of something that doesn’t remotely care what we want. COVID doesn’t care if our supply chains break down, it doesn’t care if our economies suffer and it certainly doesn’t care how each of us defines freedom. We started this pandemic with a semblance of understanding that we needed to adapt our behaviours in step with coronavirus, and two years of evidence has proven the virus expands and contracts based on how we react to it. Every time COVID cases decline, premiers like Kenney and Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe race to lift the very health orders they implemented when cases ramped up – sometimes calling them “stupid,” and sometimes (like this time) not even waiting for the wave to end. These same premiers are now saying health orders don’t really work, and Kenney literally said it while saying he’d bring them back if COVID ramps up again. No wonder we have people demanding the return of freedoms they never actually lost (convoy organizer Tamara Lich promises not to leave Ottawa until people can “hug their best friend again”). Every statement people hear is doublespeak. Many Albertans are no doubt concerned about what the next chapter of this pandemic will look like, and, clearly, they should be – the most selfish among us have gathered to demand control, and our premier is trying to control his political future by giving it to them. The next time COVID spikes, bad things will follow one way or the other. In the meantime, once health orders are gone, the only way we’ll be able to see where we’re at is in ICUs, which Kenney has simply promised to pad through the upcoming budget. And since we’re also dropping isolation requirements soon, employers will no longer feel obligated to provide a full week off. It’s not exactly bold to suggest this isn’t going to go well, but to be honest, I’m tired of having to do it. And I’m downright exhausted of trying to convince people or politicians to do the right thing, or at the very least, stick to a script based in reality. Kenney’s been wrong about COVID every time, and he’s wrong about COVID this time. But he doesn’t care and we can’t make him. If he loses his job at his April leadership review, he’ll be replaced by someone even less likely to properly deal with the next wave. This is our current reality, and almost everyone knows it. What good does it do to keep repeating myself? Scott Schmidt is the layout editor for the Medicine Hat News. Contact him by email at sschmidt@medicinehatnews.com 18-17
The handle “true Alberta” is clearly an oxymoron. Albertans clearly favour peaceful protest within the rule of law. Speaking of “morons” our local MP who has spent his life as a police officer charged with enforcement, decided to side with the lawlessness in favour of trying to find an extremist right wing cause to get behind.
There was previously a comment decrying Scott’s talk about the flu trucks clan from someone named “true Albertan”, apparently the comment has been deleted.