Freedom with, not freedom from.

Before I became a fundraiser, I was a political science undergrad at Dalhousie University. I entered university wanting to do psychology, and quickly learned my passion for politics far exceeded my desire to understand how neurons fired.

Over the course of my fundraising career, the study of politics and political history has served me well. What I came to understand, is that there are nuances in every political philosophy, and words can be weaponized against those you disagree with. Ideas like liberty, freedom, and equality have been debated for centuries by political philosophers.

Throughout history, the word freedom has meant different things to different people, depending on their positional power and access to resources. For marginalized and oppressed communities, the word freedom has been a push to expand democratic access and ensure that their voices are valued. Freedom has been a push to include them at the tables where decision-making takes place - tables that are overwhelmingly white, male, and wealthy.

For some communities, especially those with proximity to power, wealth, and influence, the word "freedom" follows the 19th century philosophers whose beliefs focus on protection of property and are highly individualistic. This version of "freedom" is not one that focuses on inclusion, but instead focuses the individual versus society. The trickle-down effect is a famous example of this type of capitalist ideology.

I was born on the cusp of the GenX and GenY generations, in the post Cold-war era. My peers and I have been raised in a time where our civil liberties and personal freedoms were rarely threatened. I have been able to access a ballot box and have voted in every Federal, Provincial, and Municipal election I had access to since I was 18 years old. We have a long way to go, and there is always a need for reform, but I am grateful to my #feminist predecessors who fought so hard for the women's right to vote more than 100 years ago. *** I must note, however, that Indigenous peoples were not permitted to vote in Canada until 1960.

Until 2020, with the arrival of COVID-19, I lived in a world where very little personal sacrifice was asked of me. I was able to pursue my education, my career, and my life with the rights and freedoms hard won by my predecessors. As a white, cis-gendered, middle-class woman, I have led an extraordinarily privileged life. I have been fortunate to dedicate my career to fundraising due to my unearned privileges and access to resources. This career has taught me so much about inequity, poverty, systemic racism, and the systems of oppression that hold us back from being a truly inclusive society. I have seen the best and the worst of our society every single day of my career.

When COVID-19 arrived, like many people I did not take into account how serious this situation might be. It was not until later in March and early April that I fully understood the severity of this disease and how it might impact my elderly mother, in-laws, and immunocompromised friends and colleagues. I spent two-years with the QEII Foundation, working hard to raise funds to support our front-line health care workers and keep our colleagues safe. I watched as doctors, nurses, continuing care workers, and others, were terrified to go to work. They were not able to see their families, their friends, and worked to the point of total exhaustion. They sacrificed their lives and their mental health to keep us all safe.

So after 2 years of pandemic restrictions, multiple waves and variants, and complete mental exhaustion, it is not surprising that society is fed up with COVID 19. Families are exhausted, people miss their loved ones, and many youth have missed out on significant personal milestones. People have died alone in hospitals, with only an iPad and a loving health care worker to help them say goodbye. People are tired of being scared and tired of being told no.

We are tired, frankly, of being tired.

I am exhausted too, but what I cannot accept is that the #FreedomConvoy is about a definition of #freedom that I can agree with. I believe a significant portion of the #FreedomConvoy participants are people who are frustrated with our situation, with the Trudeau government, or have been financially impacted by restrictions. I also believe that the #FreedomConvoy is now a cover for #whitesupremacist #bigotted #antisemetic rhetoric that is harmful to our civil society. Once a movement is co-opted by the alt-right for its own purposes you need to re-evaluate your affiliation with it, or accept, you are perpetuating alt-right and racist views.

When we have the Canadian Black Caucus calling the convoy a "venue for white supremacists" you listen. When Indigenous senators state that the convoy is a disturbing display of white supremacy, you listen. When genocide experts and the Jewish community call the Nazi symbols and rhetoric of this convoy shocking, you listen. If you don't distance yourself from the #FreedomConvoy immediately, you are telling people about who you are and what you believe in your heart.

To my fellow white Canadians who are sitting idly by as this Convoy rolls from one city to another, shame on us.

For those of us who posted Black squares on your social media during the #BlackLivesMatters protest, but do nothing about your friends and family who are participating in this convoy, shame on us.

For those of us who claim to be allies, to be "one of the good guys", and believe we are just trying to "understand both sides" - shame on us.

It's not too late. You can stand up, you can speak out, and you can call people in. You can call the Convoy what it is - a vehicle for hatred.

May we all remember where we stood on this issue when this Convoy comes to an inevitable violent end.

Freedom with, not freedom from.