Oversized Load - Go Big or Go Home

Some will call me names or say I am just hating, some will try to silence me, some will even call my patriotism into question. I understand that, but these words need to be spoken aloud and heard. I do not like saying what I am about to say, but I feel it needs to be said.

They were going to change the country, but they have been a waste of money, a waste of time, and sadly a waste of a movement. It was handed to us by Canada, and we screwed it up, allow me to explain.

The Freedom Convoy in Ottawa paralyzed the city and shut down the Ambassador Bridge, a major route for trade between the U.S. and Canada. It was impressive. I had very high hopes for the People’s Convoy. In the beginning I was a huge supporter and worked to spread the word through my websites and social media. My wife helped with local donations, pushing on social media and running a county page, and took the kids to an overpass to show them and to show support. I believed the truckers to be the “people’s army” to an extent as far as they have some power to get the attention we needed. I had hopes that they would converge on D.C., stopping the city and forcing the attention of the media much like in Canada. Clearly that didn’t happen. As a patriot I was excited to see what they would do. As a veteran I was ready to make my way there to defend freedom if we were needed.

Instead, they went to Hagerstown and stalled out. You’d see some ambitious truckers that already had small video channels use the moment to promote themselves. Becoming sort of temporary miniature celebrities when they could have been unforgotten heroes that would be written in the history books as patriots that helped to correct the path of America. The potential was huge. Instead, it looks like they will be forgotten and be nothing more than a mention in the history books if they are lucky. So, when they camped in Hagerstown it ceased to be a movement and became an event. A place for people to go see the shiny trucks. My wife and I took the trip to Hagerstown, met Brian Brase and Trucker G as well as others. All of the organizers seemed like they were very nice people, maybe too nice for an undertaking such as this one. It certainly was an oversized load.

They are losing this war by attrition. People are leaving, support is waning, donations are dwindling, and people have stopped paying attention, the few that knew about it anyway.

So where are we now? I believe it is time to pack up and do one of two things. Park in D.C. or take your webcams and go home. With each passing day the People’s Convoy becomes weaker, smaller, and poorer. This should never have been a long drawn-out event with daily drives that have almost no impact and get no coverage. Civil disobedience is what we needed, not a convoy staying within the speed limit and trying not to upset the public. They are playing into the governments hands. They must be willing to lose something. They don’t even want a ticket for going under the speed limit for risk it may anger the public and cause them to lose support. All the while their inaction is doing that at a fast rate.

They have 3 main antagonists to overcome, The media, the government, themselves.

THE MEDIA ~ The media does not and has never covered the People’s Convoy. Even the conservative news didn’t give it the attention it needed. Rarely did I find anything on the front page about the convoy. If they couldn’t get on the front page, they lose already. A mission of this magnitude demands attention, so the people are aware. Sadly, some people need to be willing to spend a month or two jailed in defense of their country. What has been done to the Jan 6th protesters currently held in a Washington jail has been used to scare those that would speak into silence. It worked. The media will never cover this unless the truckers make them.

THE GOVERNMENT ~ The federal government has unlimited resources. The People’s Convoy will never win a war of attrition with the Fed. The government also has a lot of sway as far as what the media covers so it plays into the previous point as well. Also, don’t think they don’t have plants inside the movement listening and watching. Monkey wrenching where they can and planting seeds of mutiny within the gypsies.

THEMSELVES ~ This movement must have teeth. It must be swift. The people lose interest if it drags on like it is, and they are. I still support what they are doing, just not the way they are doing it. It is ineffective and they seem to just be holding on until the money runs out, and it will. I believe the people in charge of the planning didn't have enough time, and were rushed, they screwed it up. Meaning everything from promotion to not going a civil disobedience route. Most people didn’t seem to know about the convoy and the ones that do have faded away. The people expected action. The looming masses of trucks arriving on the streets of D.C., the pictures of Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues swelling with trucks would have been amazing. It would have garnered support. So would slow rolling the beltway. Sure, it would have turned some locals against them but they could have left 1 lane open. They weren’t even willing to break the speed limit. The minimum on the beltway is 45. That’s what they did because that is what they were instructed to do. Not to mention, this was about 6 months too late. Mandates were already falling away across the country. In an article on gobytrucknews.com posted February 3rd, one of the main organizers was quoted saying “Americans love our freedoms and love the Constitution of the United States of America. This convoy aims to bring back our freedoms, our civil liberties and bring an end to all unconstitutional mandates. This is about our rights, as well as the freedom of future generations. It’s not about political parties, but more so about a government that has forgotten its place and has no regard for our founding fathers’ instructions, the Constitution.” What are they doing to accomplish those noble and necessary goals? Having concerts and livestreaming? Should they start charging admission? They are not rolling on Saturday because of an event planned with the “Rally with the Doctors and Live Q&A” on Saturday. Bravo on that event. We need more. They aren’t rolling on Sunday because they are having a concert, a band named “Park Ave” will be playing at 2pm. The People’s Convoy website says, “Motown hits of the 60’s through the hot horn sound of the 70’s and 80’s R&B and Rock n Roll”.

I have truly been saddened to see this fizzle out. People claim it isn’t, but people are leaving. Some need to get back to their jobs, some are leaving and returning some days later, but the numbers are going down. To their credit, they managed to get some members of congress to ride with the convoy and speak as well. Sadly, it seems even they have moved on. There probably wasn’t enough publicity or political gain to be had so they came out in a big way to support them for a day or two, using the convoy as a tool to get votes in their districts and so they can say they supported it.

Clearly, I am not happy with how this has played out. I can’t think of anything of substance that they have accomplished, and I pay pretty darn close attention to the news. I may not be watching all the live streams and that sort of thing, but that is the point and where I wanted to reflect from. As a person who doesn’t follow the news so closely, or even worse, someone who watches the MSM. The average American who only has a few moments a day to catch up with what is going on in the world. You need to be on that front page, or you won’t be seen by them, and they haven’t been.

Their own website isn’t keeping up. It still has a video from day 6 on its front page.

I stood there at Hagerstown saluting these truckers with Old Glory with teary eyes watching them roll out. I am not mad or disappointed in most of these truckers, I am thankful for them. They were and still are willing to stand when others would not. I am however very disappointed in how the convoy was organized and planned. Now they are leaving Hagerstown to go to Harrisburg Pa and then back to Cali to fight state bills there? This whole thing has turned into a bit of a show. What a huge opportunity wasted, it could still be restored, but the people are falling away fast, without that support I fear it may be too late.