Nazi Germany’s political, military, and economic leaders were brought to a series of trials in Nuremberg for crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. What was the outcome of this? The Nuremberg trials established that all of humanity, every one of us, would be guarded by an international legal shield and that even heads of state, such as politicians and other leaders, could be held criminally responsible and punished for aggression and crimes against humanity. Even a sovereign state can be punished for crimes against its own citizens. Remember what was said at the Nuremberg trials? Never again.

Are you wondering where I’m going with this? Ask yourself, do you really understand everything about your rights? I will be the first to admit that since the beginning of this pandemic, I’ve been sitting by idly on autopilot, just going along, because it didn’t really affect me. I am not one of the many mom and pop small business owners who have lost their businesses or are struggling to stay afloat against all the restrictions that keep hammering them. While big box stores have been allowed to have many people wandering inside, the mom and pop shops have had to shut down.

I remember, as I think back to the beginning, that I just wasn’t paying much attention to all the rules being implemented against businesses, which ones could stay open and which had restrictions. Think about it. Who got to stay open and made record profits? The major giants—you know, Walmart, Costco, and many more that we all love because everything is there under one roof and it’s like a trip to the candy store. Even now, with the latest news about vaccine passports, I think it’s ludicrous that you’ll be able to visit a fast food restaurant without one. Just the other day, I heard about one restaurant owner who has struggled to stay afloat and is so done playing the games politicians keep tossing at her, so she is using the rules they created to her benefit. She put a sign out and changed her restaurant to serve fast food, with counter service. When I heard what she did, I thought, that is one smart lady! She found the workaround to stay afloat before her restaurant could become one more small mom and pop place forced to close its doors. How many of you have asked yourselves why big box stores can stay open, yet small mom and pop restaurants are a problem? Even I was like, wait, there is something screwy here. Despite the spin they keep putting on it, I’m doing my own research now.

With regard to the vaccine passport, whether you’re for or against it is irrelevant. You won’t be able to go into a restaurant without showing your digital QR code, which, when scanned, reveals information about who you are. Now, I’m sure a few of the moms and pops reading this will wonder why they’re required to foot the bill in purchasing equipment to scan and verify these codes. This reminds me of a situation with my bank, which I called yesterday because something weird was going on with my account. They said they were implementing a voice ID system, and I was like, hell no! I said so over the phone, and the customer service rep didn’t know how to address me, because that wasn’t part of her script. According to her, they can change policy anytime and I have no say. But I’ll save that for another blog post.

Back to the current situation, think of small restaurants, those mom and pop shops that really are the backbone of the community and our local economies. It was announced that this passport policy will not apply to fast food restaurants, food courts, and cafeterias—which makes total sense, because those are more crowded than restaurants! Everyone understands this part, and they’re good with it, but for many local mom and pop restaurants, this is the last kick of the can before they’re out of business for good. Why should anyone want to put these places out of business? A great question that everyone should be asking. For me, because I’ll never give out my personal information, I’ll do what I can to support the moms and pops by stopping my big box store shopping, even though it’s convenient as all hell, and ordering takeout from local restaurants instead.

Even though mainstream media is following a narrative, there are good people stepping forward. One is retired Ontario police officer Vincent Gircy, who created a video to help small business owners and others know how to properly deal with challenges from police officers. Though it may seem like it, and those government guys are trying to make you believe it, the fact is that our rights are not gone even though they have been threatened. I encourage everyone to watch the video Officer Gircy put together, in which he addresses fines, police interactions, courts, and information everyone should know about their rights. He also clears up a lot of the false narratives I’ve heard from people who state something is illegal when it isn’t. Here is the link to the video: https://vimeo.com/534471999?fbclid=IwAR1NLC5NaYZy52czhCnfA0NOLW9QBEngVn-lhkovC_MVEwVR5QowSqxMqf4

One of the things he addresses, and everyone should know this, is to always record the interaction via audio or video. Remember that this is a Canadian retired police officer, and every country’s laws are different, so find one of the good guys in your country and get the facts on how this all applies to you. One point Vincent stresses is that when dealing with the police, no matter how angry you are, you need to park it. Always be respectful, polite, noncombative, and calm. Stand your ground, but remember that those in a position of power never like being challenged, and police officers don’t like to have their authority questioned by you. When you see police officers losing their cool, that is not a good thing, so don’t provoke them. If you get a ticket, don’t tear it up, toss it in the garbage, or throw it back at the officer. Say nothing, but check the section on the back that says you want to dispute the ticket. And if you have several tickets because you’ve suddenly become targeted—and yes, this is happening—just take them, make a file, and dispute them in court.

Everyone is pretty angry right now, and we have leaders and mainstream media dividing the country, fuelling the kind of anger and division that will get innocent people hurt. Remember one thing: How do you create division in a community? Use fear.

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