Now that many people have received their COVID-19 vaccines, we are continuing to see sabotage by parties that are eagerly and aggressively trying to keep the world in this pandemic. I almost wonder if the pandemic did mysteriously end, what the next topic of their attention would be, or would they simply run out of conspiracies to picket the rest of us about? They claim to be against lockdowns and similar measures which they claim cause financial grief, among other things, especially for small business owners. Yet, almost all of what they do contributes to the spread and disinformation about COVID-19, where others may be encouraged to take up similarly risky practices. In turn, this contributes to more people getting ill, going to hospitals and locking up too many beds, up to a point where governments reluctantly have to impose yet another lockdown.
It seems that whenever any attempt is made to mitigate the spread of the virus, a growing minority of the public will attempt to sabotage all efforts on the part of public officials in the name of their "individual freedoms". They claim the measures are all part of an unproven global conspiracy designed to enact a "communist" regime on everybody, where nobody will be allowed to own anything, be forced into poverty, etc. When the vaccines came out, we began to notice on a global basis on how effective the vaccines were in preventing severe cases and deaths.
However, the group of naysayers want to claim that the vaccines were made of aborted fetuses and are neurotoxins which will kill. They point to a website that shows a list of reported injuries as evidence that the vaccines are dangerous, which is not even evidence as these reports have not been proven to be caused by the vaccines. One guy from one of the online groups claimed to be an "authority" on wrongful death issues when his bio even for the same website stated no degrees apart from documentary/film maker. This website does not even have vaccine as its focus; most of the issues arise from other causes of "wrongful death". It is quite dismaying that anybody with an Internet account can claim expertise in this area, despite the fact that it may be contributing to many deaths and illness.
Over the past year, over five million died around the world of this COVID-19, while tens of millions of others are suffering from long COVID-19, a disabling condition that nobody knows much about, but is associated with getting the condition and then, never quite recovering even though they may no longer be transmissible. I see people losing their businesses, their employability as well as their quality of life, because of the continuation of this pandemic, and the utmost refusal a selfish minority of people that refuse to abide by reasonable public health guidelines. Long COVID-19 is alleged to found among 10 to 30% of survivors. They try to cope amidst crippling fatigue, headaches, weakness and other health conditions. Some can continue to work, but many cannot.
So far, disability insurers are rejecting claims of long COVID-19, although at some point, they will have to accept them, as they did in the past for fibromyalgia, regional sympathetic dystrophy, myasthenia gravis, Lyme Disease, myeloencephalopathy syndrome, amongst other conditions and illnesses we researched over the years to assist our clients in qualifying for disability benefits. We currently have a few that are suffering from long COVID-19 and have no more money to their name. Unlike these protesters out there that seem to be drowning in funds to pay legal bills, full page ads, carpooling and various organization strategies to get to the current federal election campaign, particularly Trudeau..
Throughout the pandemic, I have become more disgusted by the level of antipathy and ableism that the anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers have been showing to the people with real disabilities. This is not to say that there may be some people out there that cannot take a vaccine, or use a mask, but their numbers are certainly not as high as the anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers are exemplifying. As a person with a disability, I sometimes would love to see these people have to live with a real disability that challenges them from their privileged perch in life, such as not being able to drive, not being able to work, or not being able to function in a day to day way, or requiring care from other people.
Virtually all of them at these protests are walking fine, talking fine, often carrying signs or other props to register their anger, as well as being able to shout in concert with the other sheep they hang around with, citing the same disinformation that any other of their ilk would cite to anybody that asks. They claim to have an independent mind, but none that question the veracity of their own experts, most of whom have no credentials to say what they have said, or the wrong ones. These people are usually quite privileged, as many of them have funds to pay for full page ads, legal fees, videos, full colour flyers, filled to the brim with their lies and outrage. If they were worried about where their next meal is coming from, I am almost certain they would be protesting about that, but they are not.
In exploring the origins of their claims, the Centre for Countering Digital Hate found that over 65% of the fake information about the vaccines, COVID-19, etc, have come from the Disinformation Dozen. These individuals are named, identified and all of them, except for perhaps Robert F. Kennedy, have their hands into the alt-right. Members of the alt-right only care about rights as they pertain to themselves only. They do not care about the rights of others, or the rights of one's community to be free of certain menaces. Most want unabated free speech, where even yelling Fire! at the back of a movie theatre would be acceptable. They want the right to express their hateful feelings for members of excluded groups or racial minorities. They want the right to teach or publish these thoughts onto others, so that others will adopt their cruel ways of thinking. In many ways they already are and we are seeing the harm that this is causing.
These ideas of freedom are shared by the alt-right, the same people who do not want to pay any taxes or follow any laws set down by any government that are only in place for safety reasons. Many of them are gun nuts, flagrantly racist, anti-immigration and against any kind of social safety net the state may offer or provide to those less fortunate than themselves. Many of us watched them live on television when they tried to stage a coup at the White House on January 6. When one asks them if they wear seat belts when they drive, many say they do, but are unable to explain why. The actions of these people in different parts of the democratic world have brought back the likes of polio, whooping cough, measles and to some extent, tuberculosis. These diseases will in turn become endemic and usually become a killer only for those who are very poor or very vulnerable. The same groups of people the alt-right hates, and desires the world to be rid of.
These people claim our Charter of Rights and Freedoms disallows these kinds of infringements. This has not yet been proven, but attempts to take it to various courts so far has proven to be wanting in specifics. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms also has a s. 1 whereby any act or omission on the part of government that can be deemed as unconstitutional can be deemed justifiable in a free and democratic society, or what some might refer to as the "public interest". The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is not about ".me, me, me", as these folks seem to believe. It is about balancing the interests of individuals against that of the public interest, which is very much at stake here when people are dying, hospitals are getting crowded, people are getting long COVID, etc.
Many claim religion is a protected right. It is, but the right to gather in person when there is a global pandemic amidst public health orders is not necessarily a protected right. The Justices in this decision did say 'this assertion is greatly overstated', as there are many ways a religious organization can deliver services to its parishioners, citing examples such as online services, drive-in services, private prayer, and so on. Travel restrictions imposed on travelers returning to Canada before the widespread availability of vaccinations were also found to meet the "justifiable limits" clause. When I posted this to a discussion group, many responded to say this would be overturned on appeal. This is highly doubtful at this point, as courts really do not want to be in the business of restricting people's rights. Our common law situation seems to trend to least restrictive settings. I agree there are more cases out there being tested and as they move up the ladder to the Supreme Court, I am confident our laws would be upheld for many reasons.
To me, the people who are challenging these laws are people with a lot of money behind them, as they obviously are not committed to changing many of the laws that are unfairly and permanently impairing the rights of others, such as poor folks, people with real disabilities, racialized people. Many of these fights for narrow interests are usually taken up by such right wing litigation groups like the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. One of my friends approached that group recently to see if they would take up the cause of equal marriage for people with disabilities, but of course, this does not fall within their mandate. We have rights to refuse a vaccine, but we do not have positive rights to enjoy the same fruits of our labour that other people do, or to engage in the same and equal marriages that other parties have without losing most or all of one's benefits. We can die with our rights on, is what they are saying, because we do not have the financial backing that the alt-right has.
Actions have been taken by anti-maskers to harass businesses and local governments. The mistake they put in the provincial law called the Reopening Ontario Act implied businesses were supposed to serve any person who walks in their door without a mask who claims to be exempt. We are not allowed to ask for proof, or what makes them exempt. Totally open to abuse. Those I know claiming that exemption walk, talk, breathe and act fine and healthy. In fact, I do know a couple of people who could claim exemptions that put on a mask anyways, because they are afraid not to. The anti-maskers ruined it for them. If they want to further their case to a human rights tribunal, they would likely lose, if they have no documented reason for exemption. If claiming a breach of human rights, one needs to prove there is a disability or a legitimate creed (that opposes masks, for example). Sadly, some have abused this "right to not disclose" to almost extort some businesses.
I am absolutely dismayed that these fringe elements have the right to do this, knowing that what they are doing is destroying some of our social fabric that keeps Canada together. They are also potentially forcing us into another lockdown. Governments are trying to avoid another lockdown by setting up vaccine passports of like, so that if people seek to attend non-essential businesses like restaurants, night clubs, bars, gyms and the like, they would have to show a QR code or something to prove they have been fully vaccinated. Instead of showing their support of something like this, the anti-vax crowd went bananas, because they want absolutely no public health restrictions at all and to let many people die, not caring who becomes collateral damage from their rage. They are two year old children taking a fit because once again, they are not getting their way. To many of us, if they want lockdowns, let them enjoy the effect of lockdowns without dragging the rest of us with them.
Of course, Ontario is not making their plans effective until after the federal election. The federal election will be reviewed in a companion piece later. I have become less of a participant in elections lately, as it seems this is so scripted and how the so-called democracy we have has been decimated.
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