WASHINGTON, D.C.—Thousands of demonstrators gathered on the National Mall for a “Defeat the Mandates” rally this past Sunday to make their case against both private and public vaccination requirements—though that case more often than not rested on the alleged dangers and ineffectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines themselves.
An eclectic group of professionals anti-vaccine activists, musicians and doctors argued through songs and speeches that the government has waged a war against COVID-19 alternatives in an effort to increase Big Pharma’s profits. They claim that freedoms of religion and expression as well as liberty in general have been the victims.
J.P. Sears, a YouTuber, comedian, and host of the rally said that “mandates and freedom don’t mix.” He spoke from a podium at the Lincoln Memorial.[They say]To ensure freedom, there are mandates in place. “I don’t believe we are dumb enough to believe this.”
The words of his father, amplified with speakers and projected on huge Jumbotron screens displayed in large numbers, resonated easily with approximately 10,000 people who gathered to face the January cold. Many of them had traveled great distances to get there.
The organizers claimed that their rally would unite people regardless of race, religion or vaccination status. However, the rally attracted an overwhelming right-wing crowd.
You can’t swing an unvaccinated cat and not hit a sign that says “let’s Go Brandon” or “Trump 2024”. Regularly, chants of “fuck Joe Biden”, “lock him up” were heard. These were usually sparked by mentions of Bill Gates and White House COVID-19 advisor Anthony Fauci.
It was evident that there were still many people from different backgrounds. Although demonstrators were predominantly white, they weren’t the only ones. It was much more children-friendly than the Proud Boys shirts wearing masked men. A few placards that seemed to be inspired by the East, encouraging people to follow their instincts in regards vaccines and warning them about government wars on religions were added alongside Christian-themed signage.
It wasn’t partisanship that was the overwhelming concern of those in the crowd, it was skepticism regarding the vaccines.
“It is not a vaccine. Genetic modification is what it does. It doesn’t have long-term research. “It’s wrong to do this with our children,” a Connecticut man said. Reason.
“I’ve done my research. “I research everything I put in my body. Even though I was trying to sell you marijuana,” stated another Philadelphian man. He also offered me $10 worth of pre-rolled joints. I believe that what is going on in the world today is medical tyranny. I believe in prompt treatment. There are effective treatments available today that don’t exist yet.
The official speakers of the event gave generous support to these views.
Heterodox doctors delivered the first hour’s remarks. They generally claimed that COVID-19 vaccines are far more harmful and less effective than other drugs that can be used to treat the disease, such as ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine.
Robert Malone is the most well-known speaker in this group. Malone was a physician who pioneered research into mRNA vaccines. Malone has since become a prominent skeptic of the technology—which was used to develop the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
“Regarding genetic COVID vaccinations, science has settled. They are not effective. “They’re not entirely safe,” Malone told rallygoers. These genetic vaccines could cause harm to your child.
(Read ReasonRon Bailey discusses the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccinations in keeping patients out of hospitals and/or morgues.
The dangers of vaccines were discussed in contrast to the discussion of coercion used to force them onto the public. It led to some quite cringeworthy and often tasteless historical parallels.
Many speakers compared Sunday’s rally with the 1963 Lincoln Memorial civil rights rally where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was the keynote speaker and concluded his comments about the dangers posed by the COVID-19 vaccins as well as the technological surveillance that is being used to push them upon people. This included a now viral reference to Nazi Germany.
He said that Hitler’s Germany was able to cross the Alps from Switzerland and hide in an attic, much like Anne Frank. This contrasted with today when 5G internet is being used to “harvest data” and “control our behaviour.”
Many in attendance echoed these comparisons with signs and chants that described vaccines “Tuskegee 2.0”, and “Nuremberg 2.0.”
Sunday’s visitors were some of the more measured critics of various vaccine mandates. One D.C. resident was seen wearing a shirt that had the name of Murray Rothbard, an Austrian economist. The man told me that even though he was fully vaccinated, mandates still worried him.
It’s absurd, I think. It’s absurd. I know of friends who have not been fully vaccinated. He said that D.C. requires proof of vaccination for anyone who visits indoor locations, such as bars, restaurants and cafes. It is not segregation, but I won’t call it that. Although it’s not something I would say, it’s an objectively caste-based system.
This viewpoint was not shared by many speakers. This is likely to the detriment of demonstrators.
At Sunday’s rally, all the radicalism and cowardice was largely meant to mask the fact that most Americans have not yet adopted vaccination passport systems. Federal courts are busy stopping most vaccine mandates issued by White House.
It’s not likely because the vast majority of Americans or most of U.S. Supreme Court justices have been repeating Joe Rogan’s Malone appearances.
Instead, most Americans believe that vaccines provide a helpful (and possibly even vital) level of protection from COVID-19. But that government requiring people to present their vaccine cards in order to get a beer or coffee is an overreach.
It’s a sentiment that may resonate even with residents in large liberal cities, where vaccination passport systems are implemented. A quarter of D.C.’s residents aged 12 or older have not been fully vaccinated and they will be prevented from going to the restaurant or to the gym on February 15, thanks to Mayor Muriel bowser’s mandate. Bowser’s orders require only one shot proof.
Kennedy is correct when he states that these passport systems make “every right” a privilege dependent on government directives. Malone also acknowledges that COVID-19 vaccines have risks. He says there has to be an option. This idea was reinforced by speeches from those who suffered serious adverse reactions to vaccines.
These kernels of reason, however, are obscured by broadsides that oppose the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccinations in general and make comparisons with Nazi Germany.
This also hides the fact that these vaccination passport systems are ineffective security theatre, which many businesses only halfheartedly follow here in D.C.
After Sunday’s rally ended, I went to Starbucks to recharge my phone. A staff member approached me as I was settling down to my cup of coffee and asked for my proof.
After I said that the phone was dead, she shrugged her shoulders and moved on. I should be asked to leave by someone more dedicated to D.C.’s vaccination mandate. But she clearly didn’t believe it was worthwhile.
Despite this less-than-perfect enforcement, new COVID-19 cases reported in D.C.—which were already falling prior to the city’s mandate going into effect—continue to collapse. There is an ongoing decline in COVID-19 death in the District.
Reasonable people might look at these facts and decide that vaccine mandates pose a limitation on liberty, which is detrimental to the public’s health. To believe this, you don’t have to be concerned about 5G internet’s totalitarian potential.
At Sunday’s rally, speakers often suggested that they do.