The 2022 Truckers' Protest (also called the Freedom Convoy or Trucker Convoy) was a far-right petite-bourgeois protest movement and blockade in Canada carried out mostly by truckers in response to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.[1] It grew to represent opposition to COVID-19 restrictions in general, not just vaccine mandates. The protests were funded by wealthy capitalists in Canada and the United States.[2]
Reactions
From the left
Various left wing voices have criticized the convoy for its class character being aligned with small businesses and owner-operators, as well as the political content of the convoy lacking in correct analysis about the real root cause of alienation felt by the truckers; namely the trend of declining real wages and working conditions.[3]
The class character has been further called into question as journalists have investigated the sources of donations, which tend to be wealthy conservatives.[4]
Indigenous leaders criticized the convoy after protestors did a racist imitation of an indigenous ceremony.[5]
From the liberal-bourgeois center
The convoy has received criticism from the capitalist bourgeois press for opposing vaccine mandates.
The accusations of right-wing reactionary thought are prevalent among the capitalist class, which has sought to rebrand itself as "socially liberal" and "woke" while still maintaining the capitalist system of exploitation which drives workers into anger at the status quo.
From the right
The right wing has been a primary supporter of the movement, seeing the opportunity afforded to them to expand their influence due to the fact that the left wing socialist parties have very little influence among the working class in Canada.[6] One of the most enthusiastic supporters of the protests was the far-right People's Party of Canada. Benjamin Dichter, the self-proclaimed vice president of the convoy, blamed Islam for Canada's problems at a meeting of the People's Party.[5]
The protests are supported by former Canadian police and security forces. The truckers' head of security, Daniel Bulford, was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.[5]
References
- ↑ "‘Freedom Convoy’: Who Is behind It and Why Does the Media Attack Them? – RT RELATED". RT.
- ↑ Timothy Dirté (2022-04-24). "On the Canadian Trucker Convoy" Red Patriot. Archived from the original on 2022-04-24. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
- ↑ Adam King (2022-02-04). "The Trucker Convoy Is Not A Workers’ Revolt" Passage. Archived from the original.
- ↑ @BenjaminNorton "As was obvious from the beginning, there is more and more proof that the right-wing so-called "freedom convoy" in Canada is funded by rich conservatives in the US: "The richer an American community was, the more likely residents there were to donate"" (Needs archive link)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "PSL Statement: Why workers should oppose the far right Canadian ‘trucker’ convoy" (2022-02-18). Liberation News. Archived from the original on 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
- ↑ Oliver Darcy (2022-02-09). "Right-wing media offers fawning coverage of Canadian truckers as it encourages similar protest in US" CNN. Archived from the original.