Protests
Protests
This morning I left my house unaware of what was going on outside. As I left my apartment I could hear a lot of noise and it wasn’t long before I came upon a crowd of angry people. The Marseillaise was blaring, horns and loud clatter were competing with the cries from the people. All I could hear was “Macron!” “Liberte! “
The protesters were everywhere. The city was so packed that i could barely find my way through the small streets. I was late for an appointment and I was rushing to get to the other side of town. When I reached the square I couldn’t move. I was stuck in the crowd. I couldn’t turn right so I moved with the crowd to the next street. No chance there either. I stood still, looking around for an open spot to slip into when suddenly I was hit by the point of someone’s flag that was swinging in protest. We were both startled as he had just missed my eye. We laughed and he apologized over and over. “Ca vas? Pardon. Ca vas? Pardon”. As there were good vibes, I jokingly looked at him and said in French, while pointing at his flag, that what just happened was worse than the vaccine. He laughed but it was probably at that moment that there was a clear divide and slight confusion. I think we liked each other. We had a joke, but then he realized that i was masked, he was not. I am fully vaccinated, he surely is not. I was annoyed about the situation and he was there defending his freedom. We were not on the same side. I waved goodbye and I found an escape through the outdoor cafes. As I zig zagged my way through the tables and chairs I felt free but it wouldn’t last long. At the other side of the square I was stuck again so I decided to walk with the sea of people until I was finally spit out on the other end and was able to continue my journey in peace. As I looked around I thought it was interesting that all of the cafe’s were busy and the market stalls were doing their best to sell to their customers. The people who were sitting in the cafe’s seemed to continue on as if nothing was going on around them. Meanwhile, the protestors were so big in number that their obvious goal was to disrupt the peace and prevent life from progressing as normal. Did it work? I’m not sure. I feel that both sides ignored each other. From what I could see, there was no interaction between the 2 sides. There was just a lot of noise coming from the protestors.
It’s a tense world. I made my appointment on time but the route to get there was nothing but hectic. I have my point of view and I respect that of others. I will never get used to the protests that happen in France but it is part of their culture. I don’t think anything will change for the anti-vaxxers but I have a feeling things will get worse before they get better.
What’s next?