The Evident Evils of Donating to Non-Profits

This is insane. 

This Liberal MP characterizes the truckers’ convoy as “calling for the overthrow of a democratically elected government. “ 

Even its most radical elements, repudiated by the organizers, called only for the removal of the government by constitutional means.  This is the same sense in which a government is overthrown by an election. 

They did not commit or call for violence against the government. If some individual on the streets of Ottawa might have at some point, something not demonstrated here, this is no responsibility of the organizers or the convoy itself, as a corporate entity. 

The City of Ottawa was shut down by the municipal government, not by the truckers. They were demonstrating to have it reopened. 

Municipal ordinances might have been violated—noise ordinances, parking regulations—but these are a part of many peaceful protests, and usually tolerated. A judge, while passing an injunction against honking, confirmed that the protests were otherwise acting lawfully. 

The protesters did not block off entire streets, as the GiveSendGo spokesman pointed out; they were careful not to. The city blocked off the streets. 

Horns were never blaring through the night; truckers need to sleep just like everyone else. Whether it was illegal for them to honk was obviously dubious—an injunction was sought to make it so. Once the injunction was granted, the organizers urged it be observed. Most truckers complied.

But never mind all that; now we get down to the real problem. There were members of the convoy “spewing hate.” “Being mean.” “Threatening violence.” “Inciting people to rebel against the citizens of Ottawa.”

 This is a cogent argument for freedom of speech. Anyone in power can declare any speech critical of themselves “hateful” and therefore illegal.

“How many [members of the convoy saying hateful things] is too much?” 

There are obviously more people in Canada saying hateful things than there were in the convoy. This argument would make any financial donations to the Canadian government—say, taxes—illegal.

In this particular controversy, one side is absolutely in the wrong, and is consistently lying. The other side seems purely good, as good as any group could be in this fallen world. 

The question is, are the liars evil, delusional, or both?

I don’t think anyone is ever truly delusional.