�
August 29, 2020
from
RT Website
� REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
�
Crowds of lockdown-weary Brits gathered in London at a 'Unite for
Freedom' rally to protest the Covid-19 measures, an event quickly
dubbed a gathering of "conspiracy loons" for its strong message
against restrictions and mandates.
People began
gathering in London's Trafalgar
Square around noon and then marched to the Houses of Parliament to
show opposition to the ongoing shutdowns, introduced as part of the
UK's response to the pandemic.
�
�
� REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
The rally, called under the slogans of "No More Lockdowns - No
Social Distancing - No Masks," among others, attracted more than
10,000 people aghast at the looming prospect of another lockdown
being introduced, as talk of pandemic's "second wave" dominates the
media.
�
One woman told The Guardian's Jason Rodrigues that the
government's reactions to the outbreak was "completely out of
proportion," lamenting how,
"people's liberties
have been taken away" and arguing that it's only going to get
"worse and worse",
...a common sentiment at
the rally.
�
As the crowds grew, they started chanting slogans like "freedom!"
and "save our rights."
�
Footage showed demonstrators, many of whom did not wear masks,
holding signs saying,
"No 'New Normal'" and
"Covid-1984,"
...while others outright
blasted the virus as a "hoax."
�
It is the latter that the media coverage focused on, with some
headlines blasting the demonstration as a gathering of "anti-vaxxers"
and "conspiracy theorists."
�
�
� REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
�
What didn't help the rally's reputation were the invited
controversial speakers like David Icke, who gave a fiery
speech proclaiming Covid-19,
"an illusion
pandemic" and praising the rally as an "island of sanity in a
world of madness."
Social media savored the
quotes.
�
"If you find yourself
at a rally in Trafalgar Square arguing against the World
Health Organization (WHO)... listening to and agreeing with
David Icke... then you should seek professional advice,"
musician John Spiers tweeted.
�
Another speaker, Kate
Shemirani, encouraged everyone in the crowd to give each other a
hug and then exclaimed,
"If this was a real
virus, technically all of you lot should be sick."
The gathering has
received plenty of media backlash for not adhering to social
distancing rules and not wearing masks - in fact, "take off the
mask" became its rallying cry at one stage.
�
Ironically, such worries
have not been as widely expressed over the ongoing Black Lives
Matter protests, which have also drawn massive attendance, with
many ignoring Covid-19 guidances in the name of social justice.
"How many people
calling today's Trafalgar Square anti-lockdown protesters 'covidiots'
said the same about the Black Lives Matter protests
during the actual lockdown?" commenter Martin Daubney
pointed out on Twitter.
London's rally was just
one in a series of recent anti-lockdown events in Europe, where
increasingly many people are finding it hard to keep up with the
ever-changing Covid-19 regulations and are skeptical of the
difference such pandemic attributes as masks make.
Even Britain's deputy chief medical officer said this week that
evidence that masks protect from Covid-19 is "not very strong,"
despite the mandates in place.
A similar protest in Berlin was disbanded by police on Saturday
after they deemed demonstrators were failing to adhere to social
distancing measures.
�
Around 3,000 officers
were deployed to police the crowd of 18,000.
�
� |