Where is the line?

Has Canada gone too far?

When will Canadians see the unjust measures being implemented and decide it has gone too far? If you are currently supporting these measures, and you are justifying what is being applied to these adults and youth, stop for a moment and ask yourself what would be too far? 

Where is that line for you? 

Obviously, it is not Canadians losing their jobs and livelihoods, or not being able to attend universities, or to travel to see their families.  

So where is the line? 

This summer I had a conversation with a cousin of mine, where I could tell I was not getting anywhere with our discussion of bodily autonomy. There was no convincing her at that moment and no matter what was said seemed to fall upon deaf ears. So, I changed course. I simply asked: where is your line? When will these measures be taken too far and you can no longer justify them?  

Should the government physically hold people down for an injection? No, too far? Ok. 

Should they be able to take our kids away from us? She protested how difficult that would be and that even children in abusive homes are rarely taken from their parents. But eventually she agreed that, yes, that would be too far. 

How about withholding food from those unwilling to be vaccinated? Again, yes too far. 

Good. Those are your lines. That is where you have decided that the whole narrative has overstepped and is now infringing on our freedoms. So, I left the conversation at that, reiterating to her to remember where that line is. She brushed it off and commented on how we need to get vaccinated. That’s her opinion and there is no changing it for the time being. But I hoped that at least in that conversation I had planted a seed. A seed in her mind that would trigger some critical thinking on how oppressing a certain group of people and incessantly demonizing them would over time turn into actions that are much more sinister in nature and are no longer moral.  

This debate had only occurred back in September. The thought of children being taken from their parents, or grocery stores demanding a QR code for entry, seemed unfeasible at the time. Maybe after years of this agenda in place it would create enough chaos where our society would start applying these measures?  

Apparently, it only took a few months for these extreme scenarios to come to fruition.  

The province of New Brunswick was the first province to allow grocers the ability to deny Canadian's food. Read that again! The fact that this was even allowed to be discussed is absolutely appalling. Anyone in support of those restrictions should be ashamed of themselves. Obviously, there was a huge resistance to being starved during the winter or comply and New Brunswick rescinded the restrictions.  

Quebec! Oh Quebec, where do we even start with the insane mandates that have been forced on the people there? The one story in particular is where an unvaccinated father temporarily lost the right to see his own child since the judge ruled it was for the “best interest” of the 12-year-old. This father has been denied visitation until February, unless he decides to get vaccinated. 

There really are no words.  

Reading these articles, I keep thinking about that conversation I had with my cousin back in September. Does she realize that her line on what constitutes an unjust society has already been crossed and then stomped on? When that line is nothing but a blur in the distance, will it be enough for you to stand up, do the right thing, and start fighting alongside the oppressed? Or will that line in the sand be ignored? 

We have all had disagreements with friends and family over the past two years where it feels pointless, no matter how much evidence we present to them.  

So, let’s change course.  

Plant those seeds in people’s minds. How far can these mandates and restrictions go before they can no longer rationalize them? If we can’t convince them with anything else let’s at least start planting seeds, and hope for some compassion to sprout.