MidlandToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to a story titled 'Area man travels to Ottawa to protest mandates' published on Feb. 8.
*************************
I wanted to respond to the story of Nic Langman that MidlandToday featured.
Nic is a business owner that lost his business as a function of the pandemic and travelled to Ottawa to protest. The article went to considerable lengths to describe Nic’s view that the event was a wholesome protest and how the media is lying in its coverage.
I would first like to express my sympathy to Nic and for his business. I hope that he is able to find employment soon.
I’d also like to say that I support his right to protest.
I would like to remind Nic that his business didn’t close as a function of some arbitrary policy. His business closed as a function of trying to save lives and sadly we were unsuccessful 34,875 times over this pandemic. Please pause and think of the dead.
In the bigger picture, Nic was duped. He believed that this would be his chance to be heard.
Instead, he was used.
One of the principal organizers of the GoFundMe campaign has history with far-right Western separatist groups like Wexit and the Maverick Party.
Another of the organizers, Canada Unity, got involved with the following idea. They will force every MP to resign and then install a new government consisting of the Governor General, Senate and members of Canada Unity. They vow to stay until their demands are met.
Nic, I feel for you. But there are other ways to go about a protest. Parking trucks in the middle of the road and throwing a hissy fit that results in closed businesses and terrorizes residents will not win hearts and minds.
You are being used by extremists. If you do not wish to be associated with the above please consider this phrase: if you lay with dogs, you will pick up fleas.
We all want this to be over. Vaccination, respecting masking and distancing are the paths forward.
I hope you land on your feet soon.
Paul Hutton
Barrie
*************************
