In these dark times for people all over the world, the UK seems to be slipping deepest of all into the shadows of tyranny.
With vaccination rates higher than elsewhere, the authorities are now suggesting that their “vaccine passports” may be needed not just for travel but for basic social activities, such as going to the pub.
But, at the same time, the country is also seeing an impressive wave of resistance to the newnormalist dictatorship.
Saturday March 20 saw protests for freedom in some 40 countries in Europe and beyond (see round-up videos here, here, here and here).
And the biggest of all was in London, UK, where tens of thousands of people took to the streets.
There were the usual attempts by mainstream media to avoid spelling out the huge numbers involved, to focus on arrests and to otherwise marginalise the participants.
But, this time, they couldn’t just pretend the protest hadn’t even taken place.
Overseas observers are noting “increasing signs that the British public are growing frustrated with the constraint” and seeing that there is “palpable restlessness among members of the public”.
Behind the scenes, our rulers must be quaking in their boots. They know that their power is crumbling and they risk losing control!
There was also a big turn-out in Kassel, Germany, with a crowd of at least 20,000. Many protesters were chanting “Wir sind das Volk” (“We are the people”), a slogan taken from mass protests in 1989.
Cops in Amsterdam, Netherlands, used water cannons and violence against a large crowd which was chanting slogans like “Love, freedom, no to dictatorship” and singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
In Belgium, people gathered in the Bois de la Cambre in Brussels to protest against “restrictions to our freedom and the harbingers of a dictatorship”.
A shocked journalist reported: “The majority of the protestors are not wearing face masks and are not keeping (sufficient) social distance, despite repeated calls from the police”.
A mass protest was staged by around 3,000 people in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Banners were emblazoned with slogans like “Covid-1984”, “Give our Freedom back”, “Leave the kids alone”, “The media is the virus”, and “Experimental vaccines: we will not be guinea pigs”.
In Romania, there was a protest with music in Bucharest and campaigners burned facemasks in Timisoara.
This followed on from a big event on March 7, when thousands of protesters took to the streets of Bucharest, chanting “Freedom!” and “Down with the mask,” and bearing the message “Say no to forced vaccination!”
In Croatia, freedom protests were held in Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Split, Šibenik and Osijek.
Hundreds of people defied Covid-pretexted restrictions on protesting in Helsinki, Finland, with a police chief complaining that “an uncontrolled number of people have packed in”.
Protester Jonas Nordberg told media: “This event has nothing to do with coronavirus. It’s about the right to be a free citizen in this country”.
In Warsaw, Poland, protesters, mostly without masks, carried banners with slogans like “Stop compulsory vaccination”, “Stop the plandemic” and “Stop genetic therapy”.
Police used stun guns and tear gas against the freedom campaigners. A government minister said it was “scandalous” that they had defied Covid rules and talked of “zero tolerance” of such dissent in future.
In Sweden there were protests in Stockholm, Malmö and Gothenburg.
In Austria, more than 1,000 people in Vienna protested against Covid tyranny near the city’s central railway station.
In Italy there were protests in cities including Udine, Venice and Turin, with placards reading: “Truth, justice, freedom, breath!”.
10,000 people protested in Liestal, near Basle in Switzerland, many wearing white suits and holding signs reading “Enough is enough”, “Vaccines kill” and “Let love be your guide, not fear”.
In France, there was a carnival flavour to the defiance of totalitarianism, with unauthorised pro-freedom festivities in places such as Marseilles and Les Vans in Ardèche.
In Ireland, anti-lockdown protesters chanted “Whose streets? Our streets!” as they marched through central Dublin.
A protest was held in Sofia, Bulgaria, where a man was photographed with a poster declaring “I want a normal life!” and in Serbia, demonstrators danced around a Belgrade monument.
Freedom rallies were held in Canada, too, for instance in London, Ontario, and Calgary.
A huge and angry crowd turned out in Melbourne, Australia, with one speaker at the rally declaring:”We’ve gathered here today because of the lies that have been told to us for way too long!”
The March 20 protests were not a one-off, of course, but the continuation of an ongoing global revolt.
Since the last Acorn came out, there have been significant protests in the UK, Ireland (including Cork), Israel, Quebec, Australia, the Netherlands…
And March 20 was certainly not the end of protests against Covid tyranny either; more like the start of a new phase of intensified resistance as awareness spreads of exactly what is going on.
As a reporter for the New York Times writes: “A year after European leaders ordered people into their homes to curb a deadly pandemic, thousands are pouring into streets and squares.
“Often, they are met by batons and shields, raising questions about the tactics and role of the police in societies where personal liberties have already given way to public health concerns.
“From Spain and Denmark to Austria and Romania, frustrated people are lashing out at the restrictions on their daily lives.
“With much of Europe facing a third wave of infections that could keep these stifling lockdowns in place weeks or even months longer, analysts warn that tensions on the streets are likely to escalate”.
* The next advertised protest date for London, UK, is 1pm on Saturday April 24, with the emphasis on medical freedom and the right to protest.
