Truck protests are spreading as fast as Omicron itself. The protests are variously against vaccine mandates, ongoing Covid-related restrictions and face masks. They are certainly helping to galvanise a weary global electorate after 2 years of lockdowns and precautionary mandates. But even the Canadians haven’t stooped to the sheer terror inflicted on NZ truckies and different protesters who’ve gathered outside the NZ parliament in Wellington.
Starting with the ‘Freedom Convoy’ in Quebec, Canada, the thought of blocking streets and necessary truck trade routes is turning into a global phenomenon. There at the second are similar protests in Paris, Bangkok, Canada and, now, Wellington in New Zealand.
But Fortune have found a model new and cruel weapon to use in opposition to the truckers – Barry Manilow. At least a loud and repeated playlist of his hits on a 15 minute rotation blasted out at high volume. They’ve additionally thrown in the dance hit ‘Macarena’ to combine it up with ‘Mandy’ and ‘Could It Be Magic’ to help repel the truck rallies.
In response the truckies are firing again with their very own musical weapon, Twisted Sister and “were not going to take it’.
Whilst the NZ authorities are resisting rolling out their riot police and squads of uniformed policeman to maneuver on the protests, they unleashed the uncooked power of a Barry Manilow power ballad to do the onerous work for them.
It appears Barry’s huge songs weren’t as big a deterrent as they have been hoping (some Manilow fanboys within the ranks of New Zealand’s truck driving fraternity?), so Parliamentary speaker Trevor Mallard got the police to activate the sprinklers to assist “dampen” the protests in Wellington.
But the protesters merely dug their very own trenches and rerouted the irrigation systems (Barry did do a rendition of ‘Bridge Over Troubled Waters’ which may have complimented slo-mo video of the truckers of their wet T-Shirts frolicking beneath the sprinklers, but no…).
Instead the protesters trucked in bales of hay to soak up the water. Mr. Ballard also took duty for the heavy-handed and brutal use of the Manilow ballads.
So if Barry Manilow can’t deter these persistent truck protests, WHAT probably could?
The protest, inspired by the Canada truck convoys and protests, began last Tuesday, but the numbers waned because the week progressed.
Last Thursday NZ police arrested 122 folks, charging lots of them with trespassing or obstruction.
But numbers have picked up over the weekend again (presumably BYO ear plugs).
According to the NZ Herald, among the many protesters’ grievances is the requirement in NZ that some employees should be vaccinated against Covid-19, together with academics, medical doctors, nurses, police and military personnel.
New Zealand has been spared the worst of worldwide Covid pandemic after it closed its borders early, applied strict lockdowns, and has maintained an ‘almost’ zero-Covid policy to restrict the spread of the virus.
The southern nation has reported only fifty three Covid-related deaths among its population of 5 million.
As Barry Manilow once mentioned of his personal music… “I suppose my music is like anchovies – some individuals prefer it, some people get nauseous.”