The polarity between vaccinated and anti-vaxxers have widened the division in our country. The rumbling of a counterculture is stirring in Canadian society today.
“A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behaviour differ substantially from those of mainstream society.”
I was always disappointed that we didn’t have a defined counterculture in my generation like the hippies in the 1960s and the punks in the late 1970s-80s. There was nothing radical enough about millennials who have been easily pacified by smart phones and consumer culture. I longed to be part of a like-minded tribe of others that held anti-establishment views.
The Freedom Movement
My hopes have come true in the anti-vaxxers movement that is taking our country by storm. Or should I say, by trucks? What Trudeau calls the “fringe minority,” is manifesting into the full-blown counterculture of our time. For the record, they are not “anti” anything. Terms like pro-choice and freedom fighter are preferable over anti-vaxxers that holds negative connotations.
As I meditated last night during a sound bath ceremony that concluded an underground silent ecstatic dance “mask-free,” no-mandate event; something dawned on me. I had heard this all before in a book I read in university. I dug through my university books. Low and behold I found my well-worn paperback copy of The Rebel Sell by Joseph Heath & Andrew Potter.
Marxist Theory and Early Capitalism
Karl Marx, a critic of capitalist and communist ideology, argues that the working class are unwilling to be radicalized until they come to see the system of oppression that they are born into, “Only when freed from the mental cage in which they were imprisoned could they begin to saw away at the bars of the real cage that society had constructed around them,” Karl Marx, The Rebel Sell.
Instead of the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism, people revert to reformism which is essentially, “just redecorating the cage in which they were imprisoned. But once they came to see their situation more clearly, they would inevitably rise up,” Marx argued.
Painting Anti-Vaxxers As The “Other”
This is what we are seeing today with the freedom fighters of the counterculture movement. In what our Prime Minister refers to as “white supremacists” are actually a diverse group of individuals. The alleged underdogs of all ages and ethnic backgrounds, spiritual folks, truckers, rednecks, farmers, indigenous, Mennonites, bible thumpers and a notable amount of women. The media is dehumanizing normal people.
This isn’t new. The issue of bodily autonomy and the “my body, my choice” argument is something the feminist movement has been fighting for decades. It is a collage of people who have seen the cage of capitalism and they want a revolution, not reform. It’s not vaccinated versus unvaccinated, it’s us against a system of oppression.
“Antonio Gramsci argued that capitalism created false consciousness in working class, therefore for the “necessity of creating a new culture.”
Through the duration of the protests by truckers for the freedom convoy, we have seen a country coming together with unity and love and a capitalist narrative crumbling. The tide is turning and like many Canadians, I feel a glimmer of hope. On the subway last night, I sat unmasked among four other people talking with their masks pulled down on their chin. It may just be a few brave souls, but people are sick of wearing their muzzles in the cage.
Nazi Germany and Mass Media
“The idea that the bourgeoisie could be controlling the entire culture seemed even more far fetched. It got a whole lot easier to believe however, after the rise of Nazi Germany.” – The Rebel Sell
Theso-called tyranny of today’s government is being compared to Nazi Germany. With today’s mandates on vaccines and masks, almost 90 per cent of Canadians drank the Kool Aid.
“In Germany, the entire country seemed to have gone mad. Nazism had all the appearances of mass psychosis.” – The Rebel Sell
In particular, our leader, Justin Trudeau has taken on characteristics of a dictator. In an almost unsettling way, he has changed throughout the course of his term. Now his rederick reflects the ideology of communism.
Ancient Greek philosophers like Plato understood that tyranny revealed a part of the soul, “that absolute power provoked a special sort of madness in the tyrant,” The Rebel Sell. The expression, drunk on power comes to mind in the wake of Trudeau’s reign.
His use of hate speech against anti-vaxxers has been disturbing. “Certain ideas, expressed in a certain way, meet with the approval of the mob. All participants fall under intense psychological pressure to fall in line,” The Rebel Sell. As we have seen at Trudeau’s rally’s, “crowd psychology imposes conformity.”
The Covid Cult
So now that Canadian society has conformed to a COVID-19 mandate worshiping cult we are resembling Nazi Germany. The reason that the Nazi regime was so successful is because of the invention of mass media, in particular, broadcast radio. “The invention of broadcast media, which, when combined with modern propaganda techniques, allowed the state to cultivate and reproduce the kind of fanaticism and conformity that we see in small groups but on the scale of an entire society,” The Rebel Sell. Or in Canada’s case, an entire country.
The mainstream media in Canada today projects an unwavering support for the vaccine and Canadian health officials. Unbiased journalism is long gone. “The Liberals have set aside nearly $600 million over the next five years for tax credits and other incentives aimed at propping up struggling news outlets,” a CBC article reported. A cool 600 mil that Trudeau jokes is why the media promotes a liberal bias. Protestors at the convoy have been chanting, “DEFUND THE MEDIA,” and this is why.
We get a never-ending narrative of the efficacy of vaccines from rotating talking heads. Among them are journalists, celebrities, influencers and politicians tooting the horn of support for big pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer and Moderna. On the subway, every advertisement is propaganda to wear a mask and get vaccinated. In an unprecedented way we are bombarded with information from all social media channels, television and radio. Honestly this is a Nazi’s wet dream.
The Rise Of Cancel Culture
On top of that, censorship is at an all-time high. Shadow bans have become a popular punishment on social media if you don’t adhere to “community standards,” a vague way of skirting around free speech. A shadow ban is to “block (a user) from a social media site or online forum without their knowledge, typically by making their posts and comments no longer visible to other users,” according to Oxford Dictionary.
“Media can facilitate the mass contagion of sentiment,” the Rebel Sell.
In this case, the mass contagion is COVID-19 and the sentiment is that everyone needs to get vaccinated to stop the spread. Anyone spreading “disinformation,” as in anything other than the mainstream media narrative is automatically cancelled. Voices are being silenced.
This past week, Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act in response to the protests in Ottawa and blockades at the border. The parallels between Nazi Germany and Canada right now are unreal. In 1933 Hitler invoked a similar act, the Reichstag Fire Decree.
“The decree abolished most civil liberties including the right to speak, assemble, protest, and due process. Using the decree the Nazis declared a state of emergency and began to arrest, intimidate, and purge his political enemies,” according to Wikipedia.
The act allowed Hitler to take Germany from a democracy to a Nazi regime. Hitler’s sweeping powers gave him the ability to, “pass and enforce unconstitutional laws without any objection. The combined effect of the two laws ultimately transformed Hitler’s cabinet into a legal dictatorship and laid the groundwork for his totalitarian regime,” according to Wikipedia.
This is what’s happening in Canada and it’s not looking good.
Indoctrination Of The Masses
In the novel 1984, George Orwell alluded that violence wasn’t necessary and “society might use more psychological control to indoctrinate the masses.” We’ve seen totalitarianism insinuate itself into our daily lives through mask wearing, social distancing, mandates and isolation.
“Hitler had used “organized excitement and mass hypnotism” to rally the masses,” The Rebel Sell. It may be a far stretch to claim the vaccine passports are a reward to those that obey the system, but they are propaganda for the capitalist system.
“Consumerism—a kind of conformist groupthink transmitted through mass media. . . making it impossible for the working class to see how much more there could be to life or to imagine a better world.” -The Rebel Sell
After being in lockdown for so long, people can’t stand not being able to go out to restaurants and travel. The carrot on a stick dangling in front of Canadians is their freedom via the vaccine passport and the mule is consumerism.
As a result of the vaccine passports, those that do no comply do not get to enjoy the “benefits” that anti-vaxxers argue are inherent rights and freedoms. “In order to escape from it, we need to accept that fact that social order is necessarily achieved through a system of rules that is, in the end, coercively imposed. Naturally, the rules require legitimacy,” The Rebel Sell.
In the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring vaccine passports is legitimized for health reasons. “The system as a whole cannot hang together unless there is a great deal of voluntary compliance,” The Rebel Sell. In Canada, we have an overwhelming amount of complying masked citizens lining up for miles to get vaccinated and boosted, with no hesitation to show their papers.
It’s Not About Health
Not one of these mandates addresses real health and lifestyle choices like the importance of exercise and a healthy diet. Not to mention that a third of Canadians are high-risk because of being overweight. Natural immunity is being completely ignored for those that recover from the virus.
“But none of this changes the fact that any system of cooperations creates incentives for deviance, and so requires that those who break the rules be punished,” The Rebel Sell. Trudeau warned anti-vaxxers that there would be consequences. Those that choose not to get vaccinated are essentially being shoved out of society by vaccine passports and mandates. This has caused people to lose their jobs and businesses. The government is punishing people for prioritizing their own health and well-being.
Pfizer Profits
“This [COVID-19] vaccine is now officially the top-selling pharmaceutical product ever in a single year,” said a recent report on Axios.com
Top selling product ever. EVER. If that doesn’t say it all, I don’t know what does. “Pfizer made nearly $37 billion in sales from its Covid-19 vaccine last year,” in 2021 according to The Guardian.
Pfizer made that much profit off of a vaccine that doesn’t even prevent transmission. What seems to be fuelling our society is money and greed, not the greater good.
Accepting Opposing Views
The way out of this pandemic and division in our society is that not only must we learn to live with COVID-19, we must also live with each other.
“We need to learn to live with disagreement… about the things that matter most to us . . .and treat all citizens equally,” The Rebel Sell.
Thus, the counterculture continues to stir the pot. I spent the weekend at the Toronto Freedom Truck Convoy and am thrilled by the uprising taking place in our country and in my city. To see the people band together in unity and with love has brought our fellow Canadians together. I have seen a glimpse of the Canada that I remember from my childhood.
Canadians united, to fight the oppressive nature of our government so that we may free ourselves from the restrictions of the last two years. Like many, I am sick of wasting my life in lockdown. I am ready to live again. With all things in life, there are risks. We need to access our personal risk and do what we feel is right for us. Not what the government thinks is right for us and tells us what to do.
So even if you and the anti-vaxxers counterculture don’t jive, maybe you’ll appreciate the view from the other side.