Randy Hillier wants a change of venue for his 'Freedom Convoy' trial
If the trial is in Ottawa, there’s no chance the polarizing Hillier would get an unpolluted jury, his defence lawyer said.
https://youtu.be/2wY10YSHmOg
MR. HILLIER CLAIMED TO BELIEVE HIS COVID CONSPIRACY OPINIONS REPRESENTED THE MAJORITY OF CANADIANS AND NOW HIS LAWYER DOESN'T THINK HE CAN GET A FAIR TRIAL IN OTTAWA - I WONDER WHY? HONK HONK!!!
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/randy-hillier-wants-a-change-of-venue-for-his-freedom-convoy-trial
The impact of an acoustic assault by truckers could linger long after they’ve left.
Truckers, take note: phantom horn syndrome still lingers in Ottawa’s Centretown neighbourhood. As the Ottawa Citizen reports, people are hearing honking that is no longer there. While relieved the blockade has ended, residents have taken to social media to discuss the health impact of weeks of incessant noise, fearing the long-term effects.
This is the legacy, tragically still forming, of your merciless din. And unlike the consequences of clogged streets and blocked bridges – infuriating as those episodes have been – the after-effects of sustained auditory trauma are often permanent.
Supposedly, this was all in the name of “peaceful protest,” or what American civil-rights icon John Lewis called “good trouble.” As an American myself, I watched the truckers’ protest with great interest from the U.S.
At first, I was sympathetic as I, too, had tired of masks and mandates. But sorry, truckers: your sonic assault wasn’t peaceful, and the trouble it leaves behind won’t be good.
I’m forced to ask: Did you know the risks? Granted, you’re not audiologists, but I would think that while training to drive these multi-tonne machines you’d have learned the horns are double-edged swords. Used properly, they save lives; used recklessly, they can shatter them.
Consider the following: the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that motorcycles run at a noise level of 80 to 110 decibels (dB). Without ear protection, riders could begin losing hearing in half an hour. Sirens wail between 110 and 129 dB – hearing loss can begin in minutes.
And the air horn of a semi-truck? Anywhere from 100 to 150 dB. One blast from one horn can rock your world – the din of dozens for days can destroy it.
Yet there you truckers were, in some cases – stunningly – joined by your children, which inclines me to believe you didn’t know the risks. Just this once, cluelessness may be a defence.
It shouldn’t be, however. Ignorance must no longer confer innocence. Moreover, an uninformed public is an endangered public. By way of preventing more senseless inhumanity, I offer the following on a vital human sense.
Our ears are marvels, but their record is mixed. Injured, they may recover, but often do not. The two most common results of damage are hearing loss and tinnitus, noise we “hear” with no external source.
For those hit with auditory decline, hearing aids are the go-to remedy. Amplification may even restore previous hearing levels but, as many an aging musician will attest, volume isn’t everything. Mozart’s symphonies filtered through artificial circuitry just aren’t quite as textured, sweet or sublime.
Yet – and I don’t mean to be insensitive here – even those enduring profound hearing loss may be the lucky ones. At least there’s some peace in quiet. Those who develop severe tinnitus, an affliction for which there’s no cure and, almost invariably, no end, will have the opposite experience.
You may have felt mild forms of this briefly, such as ringing in the ears after a rock concert. Problem is – as many military veterans will tell you – tinnitus is often neither mild nor brief. The internal sound of it can range from searing whistling to shrieking jet engines, making it nearly impossible to hear human speech. Most horrific are pulsing tones – two seconds on, two seconds off, two seconds on, two seconds off – in an unceasing sadistic loop. Think water torture, without the water.
If all this sounds crazy-making, it is. I’m afraid I know from personal experience. Barring a medical miracle, I will never hear normally, nor know silence again. And this was after a mere two-minute episode of severe noise exposure. The acoustic onslaught in Centretown continued for roughly two weeks.
Compared to some, I cope rather well. I live, work and even – with the help of drugs – sleep. A dear friend of mine fared far worse and ended up taking his own life. I miss him to this day but, though he never asked, I could not have disputed his decision.
I do, however, dispute your choices, truckers. Whatever merits your cause had were mauled by your means. What those means will lead to remains to be seen, but my informed prediction is the agony of innocents.
I hope you understand that, my horn-happy friends. Your legacy, at its core, will be suffering. At long last your rigs have rolled out of Centretown, but the truck-horn torment will almost certainly remain.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-impact-of-an-acoustic-assault-by-truckers-could-linger-long-after/
‘Fringe minority’ in truck convoy with ‘unacceptable views’ don’t represent Canadians: Trudeau
https://globalnews.ca/news/8539610/trucker-convoy-covid-vaccine-mandates-ottawa/
The Ottawa convoy is not peaceful: Megalist
I recommend reading this (if you are not in Ottawa), with this drone footage on full volume, to get the full, horrible, experience.
This list contains exclusively incidents in Ottawa, and does not account for actions in other Canadian cities or at the border. Compiled through the efforts of one very tired downtown Ottawa resident.
See the embedded pdf below for the list, or read it on Google Docs at: https://bit.ly/3K4l9DO
*NOTE: Refresh the web page if the pdf doesn't appear the first time.
https://unpublishedottawa.com/letter/379608/ottawa-convoy-not-peaceful-megalist
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