Sunday, August 27, 2023

Schism Appears Amongst "SaveTheChildren Convoy 2023 East Meets West" Convoy to Toronto Organizers

If I've said it once I've said it 1000 times, but if there are three things in life that are certain, those things are death, taxes, and the ironclad certainty that there will be infighting amongst members of the far-right and/or conspiracy theorists.

Back on the platform formerly known as Twitter, I've been keeping an eye on the latest efforts to organize a convoy to occupy a major city in this country. The folks involved in that effort are calling their proposed event the,  "SaveTheChildren Convoy 2023 East Meets West" convoy. It is based in part on the conspiracy theory that vast numbers of children are being trafficked to be used by the elite as sexual slaves, hunted for sport, and harvested for adrenochrome. It has also adopted anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric as well as erroneous claims of children being sexualized in schools by, for example age-appropriate teaching about the importance of consent.

In any case, you can read those threads here and the cast of characters involved: 

This past week however there has been some movement. Sort of. Well, not really.

I'll explain as best I can.

Early this week, a person using the name "Freedom Wayne" (god help me with these self-important dorks!) started posting information stating that the convoy would be arriving in Toronto on September 19, 2023:





Got to say that the video of the dude chowing down while pointing to to himself from another video talking about how they will need "warriors" who might have to move barriers should the police try to stop them doesn't exactly inspire a great deal of confidence in their future endeavours:


It seems the timing of this event for September 19 may have been chosen during a recent meeting in Ponoka  attended by the likes of "Freedom Wayne" and Tyson "Freedom George" Billings:


Another figure from the Ottawa Occupation who also attended the Marcus Ray non-event in Manitoba last September, Ron Clark, also posted a video stating the date of the Toronto occupation would be September 19. I've cut the relevant sections into brief clips.

First, it wouldn't be a "patriot" video if someone didn't suggest that a major social media company was targeting them specifically for "spreading truth":


And yes, he is wearing a Trump t-shirt because TOTALLY not a cult!

He then provides the date of September 19 and states with authority that, like Ottawa in February 2022, that the convoy is not going to leave until they "take the country back":

But of course, they did leave, though not necessarily by their choice.

On that note, when asked about the possibility of the government enacting the Emergencies Act again, Clark says let them, but that the proposed occupiers won't be pushed around like they were the last time:

Finally, along with further claims that they will be there for weeks or months until they get their way, we have the ubiquitous by this point request for financial assistance:

Or in other words...


So, everything is a go for September 19, 2023! 

Saddle-up! Yeehaw! Pew pew!

Except, maybe no. 




See, evidently the meeting in Ponoka didn't include the eastern part of the "East meets West" convoy. And perhaps not Elliot McDavid who organizing the western contingent either:



The eastern organizer, Gordon Berry, stays true to form and posted a 30 minute video where he basically takes 5 minutes max to say what he wants to say and spends the remaining 25 minutes restating what he just said.

When I'm asked when I can spend time watching these let me just say that, folks, the struggle is real.

Before I post some of the relevant clips however, let's talk about the shirt tat Gordon is wearing because that alone tells a bit of a story:


The Constitutional Sheriffs is a far-right American project, however in Canada it was adopted by Marcus Ray who at one point claimed that he had a number of retired RCMP and veterans who, as part of an army he and unnamed individuals had created to surround the RCMP barracks in Regina, hold mock trials, and (say it with me folks because it is basically a mantra at this point), "take the country back":

Instead of the millions he claimed would be involved however, Ray's event ended up being around two hundred people who spent two days on someone's rural property in Manitoba and complained about WiFi connections:


What is more interesting perhaps is that both Elliot McDavid and Gordon Berry, organizers of the west and east portion of the convoy planned for this year, were also present:

And, perhaps, it also provides a bit of a clue as to what their plans might be this September as well.

Here we see Gordon Berry, along with Sean/Shawn "Iron Crow" who has been a key figure in the eastern wing of the proposed convoy, taking about making citizen's arrests of political figure they feel have wronged them:

So while I initially dismissed Marcus Ray's involvement in this effort, I will modify that position as it at least appears that his ideas may be at the minimum influencing the direction this proposed convoy and occupation is taking even if he himself may or may not be actively involved.

With that said, let's get to Gordon Berry's clips.

Here he talks about how he is the spokesperson for the convoy effort and that if there was a date, shouldn't the information come from himself rather than others?:


He suggest that there has been nothing in the country until their efforts, but suggests he is suspicious that all these events are taking place now (a controlled op?). Still, he supports their efforts... but not really:


He claims that he will not attack anyone or question their integrity while kinda, sorta, doing exactly that:

This part gets me.

He complains about others hijacking their "Save the Children" convoy idea. 

I will remind folks that the real Save the Children charity has been around for 104 years and have condemned any use of the "Save the Children" hashtags being used by the far-right and QAnon conspiracy proponents. The orange shirt that this convoy has co-opted is the colour chosen by the Indigenous community to remember the effects of the residential school system on Orange Shirt Day.

So yeah, I find this to be a rather ironic complaint he is making:


Berry seems to suggest that the impetus for what he says is the wrong date originated at a meeting "out west" so I'm assuming that it was the meeting in Ponoka. He says that those announcing the a date publicly just don't understand tactics:

 

Still discussing the situation in the west, he says he spoke to Elliot "Moose" McDavid and the two of them are copesetic:

Finally, he does mention something about what sounds like the real date as being late September which sort of makes sense since he is agitated about the number of what he thinks are suspicious events taking place in that month:



So, as I was writing this, I just had a thought.

Orange Shirt Day is on September 30.

How come I get the feeling that these yobs, wearing their own orange shirts, are going to try to co-opt the actual day as well as the look?

I don't have enough palms or foreheads folks.

So that's that right? Gordan is going to travel to Alberta and set things right because no one from the east is going on September 19.

Right?

Well.... someone might need to talk to Norman Blanchfield from Quebec:





Here Blanchfield states that the convoy is leaving for Toronto as well as Ottawa on September 13 and will arrive September 19th. He goes on to say how it won't be no flag wave or party and he's not scared to get arrested. They're gonna stay to the end and, say it again people, "take the country back".

DRINK!




Regarding arrests, it seems that Blanchfield has some familiarity with that already:




Blanchfield had asked for his bail restrictions to go on Parliament and in downtown Ottawa be removed in Superior Court this past August 21. He was represented by someone who named themselves... sigh... I can't even bring myself to write it again:


As of the writing of this article, Norman Blanchfield has not yet received a decision regarding changing his bail conditions to allow him to go to downtown Ottawa and Parliament.

Hope springs eternal I suppose?

But yeah, this is where we are at with the "SaveTheChildren Convoy 2023 East Meets West" convoy/planned occupation.

I suspect they won't get the millions they anticipate... or thousands... or even really hundreds.

But we shall see I suppose?
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