TARA COLLUM | Contributing columnist

The people who have not gotten a vaccine until now aren’t playing.

From what I understand they don’t want to be vaccinated for two reasons: They don’t trust the vaccine, and they don’t think COVID is that bad. This does not at all include people that can’t get a vaccine for medical reasons, those people are forever exempt, and protecting them is one of the main reasons we all need to be vaccinated.

From what I understand my vaccine won’t work if not enough people are vaccinated, hence boosters. I don’t know how healthy it is for me to keep getting boosters if people continue not to be vaccinated. That is why I don’t understand the argument: “If you’re vaccinated why does it matter to you if I’m not?”

A third layer of not getting vaccinated involves governments wanting more power? For some of the most democratic countries in the globe to suddenly switch gears to becoming tyrannical, dictatorial or communist seems like a bit of a stretch. What makes more sense to me is that powers that be don’t want the economy to shut down, and they want it humming despite an inconvenient virus that is easy to catch as a cold, but may result in loss of sense of taste and smell, a long-term illness, or death.

To not want to get a vaccine, or want to wear a mask or support government mandates at this point a person is being asked or needs to disregard the press, the medical community, science, most of the world’s governments, and most troubling a lot of their friends, families, co-workers, and community. To see how things go without mandates or wide-spread vaccines please have a look at what is going on in Brazil.

I wonder a lot why people who get vaccinated and follow mandates are being called “sheep.” Maybe because it’s easier to not care about whether someone else gets sick or not if you dehumanize them.

I’ve been called a lot of things lately. A “woke millennial,” a “comrade” and a “communist sympathizer.”

I support freedom and democracy. If any of my anti-vaxx cousins get hauled away to an internment camp, I’m going to be the first one fighting for their release. But I don’t think that’s going to happen.

I think that if a lot of the globe is starting to relax COVID restrictions then Canada will follow — when it’s safe.

We’ve been going through this for so long now, we’re almost at the finish line.

The convoy at this point is an occupation. You can’t occupy a city and make demands. That is not democratic. The only time an occupation makes sense is if Indigenous are trying to protect their unceded land from a pipeline, golf course or housing development.

Here’s what one trucker says about vaccines and protests

To switch gears a little bit, I used to be an ESL teacher, and one of my students was a soft-spoken man from China, Hong Bing. He came to Canada to “go to somewhere better,” and for a good education for his kid.

In my class he was improving his English for second-career training. He was driving truck, but his boss required two team drivers and to be always on the road. He couldn’t sleep and it was too dangerous for him to drive in those circumstances. He took training to be a PSW and he found that job was not suitable for him.  Luckily, he got another job driving truck solo. He was kind enough to answer some of my questions.

He is currently working and going on runs to Memphis, Tenn. He told me he likes the people’s accent because “it sounds like singing.”

TC: Why did you come to Canada?

HB: I came to Canada in 2006. Before that I took training for wireless technology at Lucent in Orlando training centre in Florida. It gave me a deep expression. I felt, wow! I like it here. That is the direct reason I decided to immigrate and finally to select Canada.

TC: What do you think about the truck driver community?

HB: As a truck driver I could make more money, however I lose a lot of life away from for days on every trip. At the beginning I just thought driving is cool. Maybe I am childish in my deep mind. Now it is just a job, but nothing.

TC: What do you mean by it’s a job but nothing?

HB: A job that is just for money.

TC: What do you think about the Freedom Convoy?

HB: Nobody knows if the vaccine doses are safe or not. I think they just don’t accept getting the vaccines by force. COVID is infectious, vaccines could protect more people. Life is more important. So, I don’t support them.

TC: Are you worried about mandates or restrictions during the pandemic taking away freedom in Canada?

HB: Mandates is a medical restriction even though it has been lasting for (a) long time. I hope it would pass sooner. I believe freedom is always in Canada from (the) past to (the) future.

TC: What do the other truckers think of the convoy?

HB: Drivers around me don’t care about the convoy. Two of them didn’t get vaccines.

TC: How many years have you been driving truck?

HB: I’ve been driving about 10 years. I want to keep going on the road.