It may turn out – in the end – that communities can actually benefit from the so-called “freedom” protests. Not benefit directly but benefit from more inclusive counter-reactions to the inverted flags, yelling, and parading-blockading that began with the trucker convoy to Ottawa last February.

This is the argument made in the National Observer’s ‘This will emerge again’: Communities organize to tackle far-right rhetoric of ‘freedom convoy.

Admittedly, the article is a bit heavy on the personal anecdote side of the equation, but it’s concise enough in the point it makes. “By coming together to demand economic justice, climate justice, health care for all, affordable education or reconciliation, communities can challenge the individualistic narrative of movements like the freedom convoy.”

“Giving people who are frustrated about the pandemic, cost of living or other issues a space to put their energy into hopeful and inclusive work … is key.” Why is it important to hear other voices over the cacophony of the freedom protests? Aside from the reasons given by the author, it’s also crucial because of the built-in misperceptions and the predispositions caused by human wiring.

Humans have a salience bias, a predisposition “to focus on items that are more prominent or emotionally striking and ignore those that are unremarkable, even though this difference is often irrelevant by objective standards.” In other words, we pay most attention to the loudest squeaky wheel even when it’s not the most important or the real underlying problem.

And we also use a consensus heuristic, a mental rule/shortcut for decision making, that predisposes us to base our own attitudes on the opinions that the majority of other people hold. Going along with who we think are the majority, even when they’re not.

Combined, these tendencies can pose significant dangers for communities and democratically representational governments. If voters and elected officials start thinking the views of a more vocal, louder minority are more than fringe, rule by the minority can easily come about.

Unfortunately, this is now as evident in Canada as anywhere. One antidote to prevent this happening, which the cited column examines, is to bring other voices into public view by providing means, mechanism, and motivation. And for beginning at the level of community.

‘This will emerge again’: Communities organize to tackle far-right rhetoric of ‘freedom convoy.’ Canada’s National Observer. May 26, 2022. “The streets of downtown Ottawa are no longer blocked with trucks and peppered with hate symbols, but residents are not ready to rest while the extreme rhetoric of the so-called “freedom convoy” permeates Canadian politics and society.”