A reflection on the Ottawa occupation
Ottawa’s downtown has been closed for three weeks now, with trucks parked all through Wellington, Kent and Rideau streets and where anti-mask protesters were camping.
When the demonstrations started I was so startled by the behaviour of protesters I could not analyze this conflict. I kept asking myself which theory would better help in this situation. I could see a lot of mimetic desire behaviour, the “us versus them” rhetoric and the scapegoating of Justin Trudeau, and not to defend him or anything, but he does not have power over provincial regulations and COVID-19 mandates. There was definitely a lot of structural violence coming to the surface, the privilege enjoyed by the protesters turned occupiers, was nerve-racking and key for the lack of law enforcement, after all, they were never seen as a threat by the authorities.
Truth is, this protest never had a city permit, to begin with, and if justice was blind and the rule of law unbiased, the police would have impeded the tuckers to enter the downtown area. Instead, in the days leading to it, the news and city authorities were warning us of their arrival. For days we heard extremist groups were linked to the movement, and the response of the city authorities was to warn citizens to avoid the downtown core and organize to welcome them. In the first weekend alone, occupiers broke numerous laws and regulations, they harassed local residents and workers and defied many of COVID-19 restrictions, yet, government authorities allowed them back the next day and the next day until they set up a campground in downtown Ottawa.
To stay clear from any arguments on the right to protest and freedom of speech and expression, this is all good and valid when it respects other people’s human rights as well. The law “does not protect riots and gatherings that seriously disturb the peace. The right to freedom of assembly, along with freedom of expression, does not include the right to physically impede or blockade lawful activities”. This occupation has closed businesses, impeded the normal flow of traffic and terrorized local residents.
What is really confusing though is why this was not dismantled earlier. Although I can understand that authorities were trying to avoid a larger conflict, especially because of the fact that this occupation was taking place in a largely residential area, what I cannot understand is why a blockade to stop the influx of people was not done on prior weekends. Without wanting to increase the existing social divide and being careful not to fuel tensions, if I am to analyze this occupation and its many layers of complexity, I have to acknowledge the privilege enjoyed by these occupiers who were never seen as a threat.
The answer to the remaining question on the difference in police action between past protests and this one is structural violence. The way our society is structured, and how we see different social groups is what allows and normalizes the use of violence against one group but not another. Structural violence in this case has many layers, it is not only about race, it is about skin colour, professional occupation, political views and social class.
Historically, the social construct around conservatives has been one of the “good people”, the “organized people”, the ones who “uphold traditional values”, the “religious” ones. Whereas liberals have been seen as “radicals”, the “threat to good family values”, the ones who “go against religious values” to “defend sin and depravity”. Add to that the views we have on blue-collar jobs and how they are seen as the force behind our economic growth, the ones that carry the burden that no one else wants. I dare say, there is a level of condescendence when upper-class white people talk about those in the blue collar economy and it comes with a free pass for ignorant and aggressive behaviour. But do not kid yourself, this level of compassion is only extended to white blue-collar men, get a blue-collar group of BIPOC and suddenly they are a threat to the status quo.
Applying this brief analysis of the layers of privilege that led to a three-week occupation of Ottawa, there are white, blue-collar, self-named conservatives who were here to “fight for their freedom and allow for the economy to get back on track”. Regardless of what they protesting for, if you are pro or anti vaccines, if you understand or hate the lockdowns, what we must analyze here is the level of free passes this group was given. There is a need to expose the structural biases and social constructs we have and how those expose certain social groups to injustices while also allowing for others to overreach their rights.
I have been angry, confused, perplexed, disgusted by the behaviours and inaction shown by the authorities. Moreover, the justifications for illegal and extremist actions and language left me numb. I felt abandoned, scared, enraged, helpless, powerless and much more. The difference in treatment, the politeness of police, the lack of accountability for occupiers and their behaviours. The support that was given to them by the same people who should be upholding the law, the speeches we’ve heard, the manipulation of words to gaslight minorities and decrease the seriousness of this occupancy has been disconcerting, to say the least. It left me feeling vulnerable, powerless and unsafe. I cannot imagine how other BIPOC groups felt and I can only say I am deeply sorry.
The past three weeks have been a series of re-traumatizing events and images that reinforced the status quo, exempted extremists from their words and behaviours and emphasized social gaps. Nonetheless, I did not write this article to increase our outrage, or to bolden the “us versus them” narrative. I wrote it because we need to see the many layers of structural violence in Canadian society. I wrote it in the hopes that it can shine a light on how social constructs and narratives for different social groups can lead to a lack of law enforcement or an exaggeration of it.
We need to start having these deeper conversations around the meaning we attach to race, social status, political views, gender, sexuality and more. The problem is not the police or the occupiers, the problem is with the social views we have that are rooted in Canadian culture and society. The problem is the broken mosaic, that instead of uniting, ensures that differences stay visible and helps feed into one’s sense of belonging, the idea of threat and the image of what is considered an enemy.
The occupation is now over, and what I would like to see come out from it is a conversation about how social stereotypes, can excuse one group from being accountable for their actions, while also overcharging another. This occupation only lasted this long because they were excused, because they were exempted from accountability and because they belong to a group that is not seen as threatening.
In addition to all of the noise, aggressive behaviours and harassment, what also enraged people was how much of a free pass they got, and how unprotected the local residents and businesses were left.
