MANDATE PROTESTS
And the day New Zealand changed its spots forever
We quietly watched
In my country New Zealand, we were mostly untouched at the start of Covid. We drowned in media-drenched news as the mainstream media pushed the narrative of fear. We saw viral videos on youtube of people collapsing in the streets, death numbers growing, constant border updates, and a never-ending list of changes. And we quietly watched.
One by one countries closed their borders. Loved ones couldn’t come home or attend funerals. They couldn’t travel unless it was work-related, it was a new world that we struggled to get used to. With everyone being at home online, we all knew a conspiracy theorist or two. Some of those may be true and some may not. This all added to the fear and in all honesty, I also got roped into it.
Some coped and some didn't
Covid is now a couple of years old. It started off with lockdowns, isolation, not working, and lots of computer time. For the lucky few, they were able to work from home. A lot of businesses and people lost their jobs. It was an extremely challenging time for most. Some coped well while others simply felt it was all too much to bear and grew anxious.
Lockdowns and varients
The first lockdown finished and then another. This was followed by different varients, more lockdowns, and more computer time. Also, more businesses went under due to the financial strain. It had got to the point where the world was tired and burnt out. Everyone was struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Some wondered if the world would ever get back to some sort of normality.
Rules and regulations
As time went by new rules and regulations were introduced across the globe. Some countries had curfews, some had compulsory mask-wearing outdoors, while others even resorted to shooting those outdoors such as in Nigeria. That being said let's touch on vaccines and mandates. Because that in my opinion is where the world really starts to spin its head to snapping off point.
The first thing was a so-called miracle cure called the Phizer vaccine. This claimed to be the magical cure to treat covid symptoms. This was closely followed by mandates although the timeframe is a bit of a blur now. Tied to this miracle cure where rules and regulations. This did not sit well with a lot in the world. Especially when talk of injecting children as well started.
Gone were the days of going to a local coffee shop or the movies. Most jobs were regulated and in order to work, you needed to have a double dose of Phizer followed by boosters. Boosters were required six months after you were double dosed, then four months, then three. You couldn't even take your kids swimming at the local swimming pool if you were not jabbed. The list was endless.
The most surprising one that stunned people the most was travel. In order to hop on the metal bird to fly around the world, you had to have had two doses of the vaccine. Without it, there was no holidaying, no flying domestically, and no ferry trips. You were stuck in your own country whether you liked it or not.
With all the changes, people in the world were at boiling point. This became very evident to New Zealanders as we saw protest after protest happening on a regular basis. But nothing of this scale had happened before in New Zealand. We have had protests on parliament grounds before, but this was on a whole other level. Omicron had pushed them to breaking point.
Protestors arrive at parliment
It all started with the Canadian convoy protests. People across the world saw what was happening and other countries decided to follow suit. New Zealand was no exception. On the 8th of February, the first convoy traveled to parliament. On the way, they were cheered on by those standing on over bridges or on the side of the road. Even cars traveling in the opposite direction were tooting. Social media was alight with support.
When the convoy arrived they blocked roads and set up camp. Wellington the capital of New Zealand had effectively come to a halt. The police tried to stop them but there were just too many people. Eventually, police receded and for the rest of the day, there was an edgy peace about the grounds.
The protest becomes a movement and a community
Over the course of 23 days, about three thousand protestors, give or take, camped, sang, ate food, and set up all kinds of resources for people. There were food tents, an admin tent, a school, two stages, and an array of activities for people to do. The protest had effectively become its own community. The atmosphere was one of coming together and unity. On the weekends it would swell in numbers
A day would consist of waking up whenever you wanted, eating what you wanted, doing whatever you wanted, and bonding with people. Throughout the grounds, there was a community growing stronger and stronger. People consisted of plumbers, midwives, nurses, teachers, and every other profession under the sun you can think of. They were all out of work because they didn't want to take the vaccine or disagreed with forced mandates.
Every time the police tried to stop them they failed. The masses just grew and grew day after day. It had grown so big that it coined the name ‘Profest’ and even had its own website. You could donate funds for the protest or goods and consumables. It also allowed them to tell others what was happening firsthand on any given day. This only increased the numbers and attraction to people.
A byproduct of the number of people in one area was live streaming. People became self-appointed journalists and started their own pages, solely dedicated to showing others what was happening around camp. Sometimes you would see police trying to move cars or barricade the streets with concrete blocks. But more often stories from people who had been affected by mandates or the vaccine.
Other times you would see singers on stage, kids drawing with chalk, church services, food being prepared. Many people were live-streaming showing all differing viewpoints. And I was hooked. I wanted to be there just to be a part of it. The main theme throughout was peace and love. The mainstream media were often called out for their fake news by live streamers. It was beautiful.
People combine their skills
With so many people out of work and having skillsets the masses united and put them together. Plumers built working toilets in the middle of the entrance to parliament (priceless), Teachers taught kids, cooks cooked, tattooists tattooed, musicians sang. In fact, when everyone came together they were very capable of making things work. Every need was taken care of. A new way of doing community had been birthed. Right in front of the lawmaker's faces.
Things turn nasty
After twenty-three days of the police trying to move people on, they brought in reinforcements. It was reported by the police commissioner that they had 900 police at their disposal. Police mandates had been dropped a few days prior. This allowed reemployment of police who had either quit because they didn't want the vaccine or had been fired because of their choices.
It all started around 5.30 am in the morning, give or take an hour. Police started off by towing vehicles that had been parked around the grounds while holding back people. Protestors stood around chanting peace and love. Some were going around offering cups of coffee. Others were picking up rubbish and handing out water. But the mainstream media didn't show this. It wasn't dramatic enough to fulfill the narrative.
When police started asking people on the grounds to leave they resisted. They ripped tents out of the ground and destroyed people's stuff without a care in the world what it meant to them. They didn't know who was in the tents at the time. Just rip it out. Things became so heated. A 65-year-old man was punched by police for trying to help somebody that police were manhandling.
In amongst the chaos, a fire was started. A generator was tipped over spilling fuel onto one of the tents. Adding to this people who were not a part of the protest started adding to the fire making it bigger. They wore masks to cover their faces so they couldn't be caught on camera.
As people piled onto the streets milk was been handed around to pour over pepper-sprayed eyes. On one side of the wall surrounding parliament was the police. On the other were people with cameras and cellphones abusing them asking them to stop while filming it all. Afterward, parliament looked like a dump. There were tents and belongings everywhere.
One thing that surprised a lot of people was the levels that police went to just to end the protest. A lot of people thought that things would get resolved peacefully. The general train of thought was that the mandates would be lifted, people would clean up and then leave. We were all a little stunned by what was happening. It was like something you only see on television.
So what can we learn from this
A lot of people think that the police overreacted. And a lot of people think they didn't. One thing that cannot be denied is the mandates have brought people together on whatever side of the fence you sit on. The world will continue to change and it is people's viewpoints that either allow it or fight it.
It is important to the human race that whatever is happening in the world that we stand together and continue to love each other and be peaceful. Whatever your choices are in life they are yours and we need to respect that. Others might not agree and that is ok. We need to be the bigger person and retain human connection.
Thank you for reading my article. Please check out other stories from me.
