I’ll start with some good news.
François Amalega was acquitted at his trial in Montreal this past week.
“We don’t keep people in prison simply because we find them tiring, disturbing. And above all, and it’s sad to have to remember this, we don’t detain citizens in prison simply because they may be against government decisions.” Judge Galiatsatos
The above comment was made by the judge presiding over Mr. Amalega's case, who was apparently also “very disturbed” by the defendant's prolonged incarceration without bail.
That said, Francois is still being held in prison, awaiting other trials.
And his “crimes?”
Following his conscience…and science.
Mr. Amalega refuses to wear a mask.
This information is not new.
François found it in March of 2020.
This is why he gave up everything — his career, his finances, his reputation, and even his physical freedom — to stand up for science and human rights.
The latter being the key issue, which I’ll address later.
In the meantime, if you or anyone you know still feels uncertain about the problem with masks, please share this highly referenced recent article. 👇
If you or anyone you know still thinks masks are benign, please see this article about the adverse effects of masking on children. 👇
And if you or anyone you know thinks that masks for adults are okay, please see this article. 👇
Finally, I’ve posted the following comprehensive resource before, but I went through it this time with a view to focusing on the mask studies.
It includes:
97 studies on the ineffectiveness of masks
9 studies on the ineffectiveness of mask mandates
61 studies on the harms of masks
It’s time to stop pretending that masks work.
And it’s time to stop waiting for the government to tell us so.
Where I live, there’s talk about dropping mask mandates “in a few weeks.”
(Until the next time.)
Many (probably most) people will wait until the government tells them it’s okay, and some will continue to wear masks because they now live in a perpetual state of irrational risk aversion.
If I have learned anything these past 2 years, I have learned that no one is coming to rescue me.
If I am to live in a democracy with “guaranteed” rights, I have to take responsibility for them.
And I am requesting of you, encouraging you, and if I thought it would be effective I’d be pleading with you to please, if you aren’t already, do the same.
Now.
Before it’s too late.
Before we forget how to exercise our own agency.
Dr. Naomi Wolf made the point rather more passionately in her profound blog this week. 👇
I’m sharing it because when Dr. Wolf shared her own fears of confronting mandates, she reminded me that we do not need to be brave.
Courage is the act of being afraid and taking action anyway.
We can all cultivate courage.
It is the courage of those I met and witnessed at the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa, along with the courage and conviction of François Amalega, that inspire me to keep pushing my own comfort boundaries.
Since researching the science a year ago, I have been mask-free 90% of the time that I’m in “mask required” environments.
But there have been those few occasions when I just felt exhausted and beaten down by the whole societal pressure and potential conflict thing.
I just wanted to do the ordinary things I used to do without having to succumb or stand up.
But I can no longer abide by what I know is scientifically, politically, and morally unsound.
Not when there are people in prison risking so much more.
Yesterday, I went to the library to pick up a book.
On the way, I rehearsed what I might have to say and, as usual, surrounded myself with love.
I am never out to cause confrontation.
I walked in, joked with the librarian standing in front of the exact shelf where my book was waiting, checked it out, and left.
Nothing.
And yet it was something.
The act of peaceful non-compliance left me buoyed by the very real sense of freedom that each of us can experience when we choose to.
I recommend we all take back our freedoms before we no longer know how.
More importantly, I am consciously defying the now obvious manifestation of fascism that Naomi Wolf has been warning about since her 2008 book, End of America.
And this is where I circle back to François Amalega, sitting in prison for over a month, standing for human rights.
The movement against mandates is not just about inaccurate science.
And it is certainly not some sulky C-19 fatigue or adolescent rebellion against rules.
It is the most important movement of our time, and possibly any time.
Because the world has never faced such a sweeping, all-encompassing, all-pervasive attack on human rights and freedoms.
This is why Dr. Wolf so vehemently makes the case that this fight for freedom requires more than a few brave men and women to get this done.
It requires each of us to dig deep into our values and stand for what is right.
“I don’t know anyone truly heroic who likes the current battle. But I think that most could not live with themselves if they walked away from doing what they know they can do to help — in a moment in which obvious right and wrong have not been clearer since 1941.”
Read Dr. Naomi Wolf’s blog in which she shares her own victory over fear in a New York City hotel restaurant.
And show your children, everyone’s children, that uncovering your face and smile is healthy and natural, and is their right as free human beings.
As I left the library, I looked into the adjoining café with it’s unmasked patrons.
Literally on the other side of the wall was a room full of library patrons fully masked.
The only difference between the 2 rooms was that in the former, there was a drink in front of each person.
We need to stop this absurdity before we lose all ability to see it.
In the wise words of the Hopi Elders…
“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
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