Well, whatever on earth it is that the eternally self-righteous members of the protest known as the People’s Convoy were up to this weekend doesn’t seem to have been as substantial as certain individuals involved in the endeavor may have hoped. Amid news that, you know, has a real bearing on the course of people’s lives, these wannabe right-wing heroes recently embarked on a journey across the country, starting at a southern California stadium with the goal of arriving to Washington, D.C., to put pressure on federal leaders over policies tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. The trucker convoy protest model, which is what was employed here, is modeled after recent protests in the Canadian capital, Ottawa. On Sunday, the convoy circled D.C. on a highway that goes around the city… and then headed back to their staging area, which is in Maryland. And that was it (for now). They made just two laps, although they threatened more later.
One last note on The People's Convoy tonight in Hagerstown, after speaking with many truckers, it doesn't seem like most of them will be satisfied after spending $2.5K in gas, only to be left trying to own the libs by merely circling the Beltway.
— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) March 5, 2022
Buzzfeed News reported that convoy members launched their circling-the-capital plans “after local officials made it clear the convoy would be blocked from entering the district.” Buzzfeed added early on Sunday that hundreds of vehicles were “heading out to slowly drive the Beltway, the roadway that loops around the district and has become synonymous with Washington insiderdom. Protesters described it as an opening salvo and said they are prepared to repeat their traffic-clogging demonstration throughout the week unless their demands are met.” So… traffic? That’s it? People who have to regularly deal with heavy traffic in the area could find the right-wing convoy’s presence to be another annoyance — with which they can deal and move on, while the protest’s members keep yelling in the metaphorical corner or something.
Today the truckers left Hagerstown around 9:30am to get to the Beltway around 11am. Two laps on the 64 mile Beltway, even at 40mph, will leave them driving in circles to own the libs for at least 3.5 hours today.
— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) March 6, 2022
On a Telegram channel associated with the convoy, protester Leah Nordman said that the circling maneuver was “putting the ball in their court as to how this proceeds.” Why are these people so melodramatic? It’s traffic. Grow up and go home; Americans have substantial problems to deal with that don’t involve people privileged enough to be able to drive across the country whining about having to wear a face mask, or whatever. It’s frankly embarrassing. Ahead of the protesters getting to D.C., authorities tapped hundreds of unarmed National Guard personnel for assistance with issues including traffic control. Related protests haven’t exactly gone well — Pennsylvania trucker Bob Bolus organized a caravan to D.C. that apparently ended up with just one 18-wheeler in it (Bolus’s own), and a later in-person event in D.C. had somewhere around a dozen attendees. That was it. These people are something else. Read more at this link.
Watching supporters of the trucker convoy circling DC today descend into infighting onvarious Telegram channels and other groups. One of the main complaints being sounded is that the “mainstream media” isn’t paying to attention to them because they are “too focused” on Ukraine.
— Sheera Frenkel (@sheeraf) March 6, 2022
