BuzzFeed warns about the dangers of ‘bouncy castles’ from Freedom Convoy while ignoring CHOP’s violent anarchists
February 14, 2022
BuzzFeed reported this week that the residents of Ottawa have had enough of the dangerous “concerts, hot tubs, and bouncy castles in the downtown core occupied by anti-vaccine-mandate protesters” also known as the Freedom Convoy.
“Ottawans are just fed up. We’re done. I’ll tell you, something popped yesterday,” Micah Clark, who has lived in Ottawa for 16 years, told BuzzFeed.
“We’re just trying to live our lives, and our city’s been turned into a punching bag by a bunch of people who didn’t do real well in civics class,” Clark told BuzzFeed about dealing with the anti-vaccine protests.
It’s a message that stands in stark contrast to the way Buzzfeed covered the violent anarchists who occupied the downtown Seattle area called CHOP for two months in 2020 that resulted in “narcotics use and violent crime, including rape, robbery, assault, and increased gang activity” with a 525 percent surge in crime according to Seattle’s Democrat Mayor.
“The CHOP has become lawless and brutal,” said police chief Carmen Best according to Reuters. “Four shootings — two fatal — robberies, assaults, violence and countless property crimes have occurred in this several-block area.”
Yet BuzzFeed tried to paint the picture of a loving communion of hippies in Seattle that summer:
“While largely leaderless, and lacking a clear idea for its future, the CHOP has been characterized by a somewhat utopian response to autonomy: Free snacks are distributed throughout the neighborhood; there was a screening of 13th, a film by Ava DuVernay about the impact of the criminal justice system on Black people; and there are daily speeches and poetry recitals amid demands to abolish the police department, to drop charges against protesters, and for police brutality within the Seattle Police Department be investigated by the federal government.”
Indeed, BuzzFeed denied the violence that was apparent to everyone not willfully blind and blamed Trump for the perception that violence was out of control.
“The peacefulness of the protests and sense of calm throughout the six-block area hasn’t insulated it from criticism, as President Donald Trump called for Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan to ‘take back your city NOW,’ and threatened to intervene if local governments didn’t act,” according to BuzzFeed.
By contrast, the Freedom Convoy of truckers up in Ottawa, who simply just want to work without vaccine mandates, as they have for the past two years, keeping the supply chain going, have quite reasonably negotiated with local authorities to make the protests easier for local residents.
The convoy leaders have agreed with proposals to try to ease the pressure on local residents and businesses said CTV News Ottawa.
Thus far, no deaths, shootings, rapes, robberies, assaults or gang activity have been associated with the Freedom Convoy protests, unlike the protests in Seattle.
But that hasn’t stopped BuzzFeed from warning ominously about the latent danger that could strike peaceful residents at any time because of the Freedom Convoy.
“This is, realistically, just an occupation at this point,” Myriam, who lives in the Centretown neighborhood, and is afraid to leave her house, told BuzzFeed News.
“Personally, it feels really violent that there’s cars in the mix because a car is a weapon, Myriam said. “You can hurt somebody with a car.”
As can “concerts, hot tubs, and bouncy castles,” BuzzFeed reported.
But a violent anarchist in the Pacific Northwest who excelled in civics classes, we all know now — thanks to BuzzFeed — wouldn’t hurt anyone.