PITTSBURGH (Newsradio KDKA) - The fight for freedom took two very unique and historic turns over the last week or so. The people of Ukraine are physically fighting for their freedom and their homeland against an autocratic tyrant. And, then folks in Canada were fighting a war against authoritarian regimes of a different nature: cyber warfare. Our neighbor to the north was not invaded physically. However, the citizenry was invaded by their own government that wanted to take control of the bank accounts of anyone taking part in protests against draconian lockdown measures.
So, what is the difference? People in both countries are struggling for their lives. One group is physically getting shot at and killed quickly. The other was slowly suffering, cold and hungry, in winter conditions because a government froze them out of the modern world with one click of a button. The consequences for both are very real and should be alarming to us all.
In Canada, three weeks of large-scale, overwhelmingly peaceful protests by truckers have ended. The big rigs have left Ottawa, 114 were towed away by authorities, after pretty much turning the capital city into a parking lot while shutting down the Canadian economy. Those participating in ‘Freedom Convoy 2022’ were sick and tired of the harsh national Covid vaccine mandates and social restrictions in the land of an 81.3% vaccination rate. In all, 196 participants were arrested for their behavior and support. Interestingly, it was not until late January that more than 500 fans were allowed to attend each NHL game or any indoor event. The people of Canada endured the harsh orders for over a year longer than most Americans. Canadian officials who once lauded the front line drivers as heroes of the pandemic now call them terrorists. Terrorists who ended their blockade of the Ambassador bridge which connects Windsor, Ontario and Detroit once the cops showed up and threatened arrest. I guess they felt their point was made: If you bought it then a truck brought it regardless of whether the driver was vaxxed, masked or within 6 feet.
The government made its point as well. The demonstrations and disruptions enraged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau so much that he verbally assaulted those partaking in events. The fully vaxxed and boosted leader who spent part of the blockade in isolation after allegedly receiving a positive covid test called the truckers “symbols of hatred and division.” He retaliated by invoking Canada’s ‘Emergencies Act’ for the first time in history. Law enforcement made lists of those participating in or supporting the convoy. Many who gave the truckers money, fuel, or food to survive the freezing temps were added to those tallies supplied to administrators. With a few clicks on a keyboard, hundreds of citizens had their bank accounts, credit cards, crypto accounts, and access to financial products frozen for 30 days from February 14th. The Canadian government has now begun to unfreeze some assets. Whether you side with the demonstrators or not, it is scary (and deadly) how quickly the planners can erase your modern identity and worldly access if you do not conform.
Here in the US, concerns are being raised about a Federal Reserve nominee for her views on the fossil fuel industry and its access to funds. Could she, someday, enact policies that would cut off certain sectors, like say oil companies, from the banking industry? It is just a mandate and a few clicks away from reality in the modern world of war (and peace). Millions of workers could be put in serious situations by those decisions. Put up a fuss and your entire life can be locked or deleted. Embroiled in war with Moscow, Ukraine’s vice prime minister took to Twitter to urge “all major crypto exchanges to block addresses of Russian users.” That would be any account holder in Russia regardless of their feelings on Vladimir Putin’s invasion. So, what about old world war tactics?
In Europe, Ukrainian freedom has not come easy. They have had internal growing pains and corruption to manage as they built a new nation. They have also had to deal with much outside influence, meddling, and interference from various governments, including our own. Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union in August of 1991. Many of the people in Ukraine remember full well what it was like living behind the Iron Curtain as Moscow exerted pressure and influence on every aspect of daily life.
They will never forget the Holodomor or extermination through famine. Yes, this was the era in which communist General Secretary Joseph Stalin ‘collectivized’ farming in the breadbasket of the Europe. This caused disorganization and eventual crop failure and shortages. Protests by the peasant farmers lead to entire regions of Ukraine being blacklisted from receiving food from the ‘benevolent’ central planners who sent troops into villages to collect anything edible, including pets, in order to ensure their subjects were not hoarding anything. As many as 4 million starved to death. Many simply dying in the streets.
The imbedded American press in the USSR was forbidden from reporting on it. It took until 2019 for the US Congress to even acknowledge via a resolution that “Joseph Stalin and those around him committed genocide against the Ukrainians in 1932–1933.” The Ukrainian people were treated viciously by the Bolsheviks 15 years prior to this wave of Soviet persecution. The wounds of genocide are very fresh. This is a major reason the very proud Ukrainian people are fighting like hell to keep their sovereignty. Many vow to resist the Russian invaders until their death in order to remain free and protect their homeland.
Be they physical or virtual, disagreements over policy and political boundaries are settled in many different ways. However, the world is shrinking. The consequences of those protesting the powerful who attempt to impose their will in the future can and will be quick, devastating, and deadly. War, regardless of type, is hell.
Kevin Battle can be a ‘glass half full’ kinda guy, believe it or not. He is cohost of the KDKA Radio Morning Show with Larry Richert. It airs M-F 5a-9a on Pittsburgh’s 100.1FM & AM1020 KDKA or on the free Audacy app. Ask your smartspeaker to: ‘Play KDKA.’ Thank you.