HN Explorer

Ask HN: Anyone Here Part of the “Freedom Movement” in Canada or the USA?

4 points by Jonovono ↗ HN
I started getting involved in the one out in Canada in Febuary and would love to meet some tech people that are also following along and interested in the space that are potentially also interested in building decentralised social applications!

16 comments

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jprd
...wut? Is this about stopping voting rights suppression, supporting civic involvement, transparency, facts, science?

Asking for a friend who still understands that vast conspiracies by humans are absolutely impossible even when it is comforting, and yet still wants to encourage healthy debate and freedom of expression.

Jonovono
I'm not exactly sure what you are asking sorry. The Freedom movement is around like you said ya -> encouraging civic involvement, supporting freedom of speech and promoting science and healthy debate (even within science), transparency, and bringing more "power to the people" in more aspects of society and also fighting against censorship.

If you have watched and agreed with any of Edward Snowden videos for example. I think he comes at it from the technical side pretty well.

Web3 movement is also a part of this, however i'm less interested in the blockchain atm and the WAGMI culture.

h2odragon
I think there's a lot of companies where answering this question positively would result in career stress if not rapid termination.

Some might even wonder if this was some disingenuous bait. "see how many of Trumpist Nazis infest Big Tech"

Jonovono
And that's exactly why it's so important right now! (imo) I thought the same, until I started being more vocal about my support and realized it's more complex and most people on either sides are actually willing to have a healthy discussion around it. I havn't been called any harsh words or anything. I think there are a vocal group (on both sides) that I don't fully agree with of course (but I understand their views)

Edit: I wanted to add. It might be a bit different in the USA. I'm not super connected with that part of it, I just know it's also going on there (as well as worldwide). I don't follow US politics heavily. In Canada I don't think the Freedom stuff is as politicised, altho it still is to some extent. I get the hesitation of "aligning" with trumpers, but that's not what this is about at all (altho it seems some people want to make it seem that way, for whatever reason). I would say people on the right do tend to also be in support of this movement but at the last protests I went to in Canada most of who I met were a mixture of left and right, vaxxed and not, etc. Freedom movement is a superset that contains many disperse groups of people, cultures, and even other movements like imo the web3 movement, free software movement (stallman), privacy movement, and things like that. At least that's how i'm approaching it for now until I have a better term that umbrellas all these that I can refer to ;p

sometimeshuman
If it exists in the US and gains any momentum it will be taken over by people with dark triad personality traits and quickly degenerate into something unexpected. But by then you may have associated your reputation with who knows what.

If you join tell no one and leave when the recurring theme becomes us vs them unless that's your thing. I know this sounds shallow but I wouldn't join an org with a meaningless title. It's almost sure to devolve without some restrains in the name.

Jonovono
Oh ya, sorry, it's not an organisation haha. I didn't "join" anything. I'm able to intellectually agree with people on some topics and disagree with them on other topics and be able to call it a day. Me agreeing with people on certain topics doesn't automatically mean I agree with them on everything. For example, I am left wing and there are many people and things on the left that I disagree with. Likewise for people on the right. But I get your point, I think that's a totally fair concern.
jleyank
Err. is this a different freedom movement that I recall? I remember the one that blocked international trade, advocated the overthrow of the Canadian government and democratic process, took over Ottawa for a month and revealed the Conservative party as the party of the mob and of Trump? They also revealed the brittleness of the police as a means of combatting right-wing terrorism and the sheer distaste for the current Federal government? Forgot, these folks were anti-science, anti-public health and totally disinterested the welfare of others.
Jonovono
That's the same one yes, but I would classify your assessment in very bad faith. I was out in Ottawa for 2 weeks of that (including when they brought in riot police and vehicles to break it up), and that is far and away from the reality. Happy to give my side if you are interested in hearing, just let me know!
jleyank
If you disagree with my assessment, you "part of the problem, not part of the solution". Particularly as the Ottawa occupiers protested the wrong people, annoyed the locals rather than gathering support from them and weakened the political position of the one major party that could support them. Petulance and annoyance aren't defensible political or moral positions, and the biggest complaint (limited access to the US) was a matter than was outside the control of Canadians. One would have thought they would have protested the US embassy which at least represented the source of their annoyance. Unless they wanted to fly or take a train, there was nothing done by the Federal government to protest. Provincial restrictions were set in Toronto.
Jonovono
Thanks for expressing your opinion, appreciate it! I met many more locals that supported it than not, but yes I also empathise deeply for those affected, I can definetly agree that wasn't the most fun for some of them (but it would have been if they had come down, we had free food for all and hockey games!) I think you may misunderstand the full extent of what was being protested.
jleyank
I'm Canadian, and feel I have a pretty good grasp of what was being protested.
Jonovono
That's good, so you went down to the protests too? What did you think after talking to a few of the protestors?
moistly
I also think you have been suckered. Give your head a shake, buddy.
Jonovono
I'd like to keep this thread positive if possible, but thanks for stopping by. (love your username btw tho lol!)
moistly
There is nothing positive about it. Everything about it was wrong. The organizers are dangerous loons. The fundraising was a grift. The protests were held in the wrong places. The protests did not affect the right people at all. Its leaders encouraged and endorsed criminal behaviour. All of these are facts. Way more wrongs than rights, a real shitshow of mob idiocy.

In short, that wasn’t a protest one wants to be associated with. Too many separatists, fantasists, supremacists, and loons involved in organizing and promoting it. You can choose much better political action groups, I am sure.

Jonovono
Yes, we have vastly different opinions and views of the Ottawa protests (i'd say almost the opposite ;p), I think that's been established but this isn't a thread about the Ottawa protests.