Barry McLoughlin
Communications Strategist and Leadership Consultant
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada500+ connections
What began as a 'Truckers Convoy' morphed into a 'Freedom Convoy' as it arrived in Canada's capital this weekend with all of the predictable 'outrages' and images to go with it. A few Confederate flags and swastikas waving in the crowd - along with unruly and disgusting behavior by a number of protesters - ensured that whatever the ostensible purpose of the convoy and protest would be overwhelmed and drowned out by the Rules of Crowds.
Rule No. 1 Poor planning will guarantee failure every time
The organizers couldn't even organize the $8+ million they collected as the convoy rolled across the country. They didn't follow the rules of the #GoFundMe campaign about the disbursement of funds and the account was frozen and inaccessible. That turned out to be disastrous as they had no infrastructure to support the thousands who rolled into town in their trucks, pickups and cars. They were left without shelter, food and 'porta-potties'. They didn't have a speaker platform or audio or video support so that the crowds could hear any speaker. An occasional bullhorn being used by a speaker is inadequate.
Rule No. 2: Have a coherent purpose
Apparently its purpose was to demand that the cross-border vaccine mandates imposed by the Canadian government on truckers be lifted so that they could "earn a living" and keep the supply chain open for food and necessities. With 90% of truckers already fully vaccinated and in contradiction to the Canadian Trucking Alliance's stance in support of the vaccine restrictions, this was clearly not going to be a galvanizing purpose.
So organizers released a Memorandum of Understanding complete with a petition (in which they claimed they could garner 1,000,000 'signatures' but have so far been signed by just over a quarter of that number) with an avowed purpose that it be signed by the Governor General of Canada (the unelected Queen's Representative in Canada, 'recommended by the Prime Minister') and the Senate of Canada (also unelected and 'recommended' by the Prime Minister). They completely ignored in their demands, the duly-elected House of Commons which in our current 'Minority Parliament' has more Opposition Members than Government Members is not only a mystery but an unintended irony.
The irony is that at the top of the MOU is a quote by Thomas Jefferson, "All that tyranny need to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." The American Revolution was predicated on "taxation without representation" and living under the power and authority of the British Crown. However, the contradiction of seeking approval by the unelected Senate and representative of the Crown seems to have escaped the authors of this MOU.
So make sure your demands are coherent and in keeping with the values that you claim to be fighting for.
Rule No. 3 All crowds descend to their lowest common denominator - unless strong action is undertaken
All crowds will be branded by their lowest common denominator. Extremists, anarchists and others with fringe agendas will always be attracted to a protest. Therefore, the need for discipline by organizers and a plan of action for when it happens is paramount. In this protest, such discipline was completely absent. When someone is relieving themselves on national monuments, (the National War Memorial) for example, the other protesters need to be all over that, call them out and take action. Similarly with those who chose to wave swastikas and Confederate flags. I did see one example of where they did that with an individual - with face fully covered carrying a Confederate flag. It was more a quiet request by the protesters for him to leave, which he immediately did. It needed a strong, loud and determined reaction from the other protesters as the automatic assumption will be that he is one of the protesters.
With numerous maskless protesters entering the Rideau Centre, the downtown indoor shopping mall, restaurants and a homeless shelter demanding food, it became obvious that this was far more than "a few bad apples'. Again, no leadership evident in calling out or controlling this odious behavior.
Rule No. 4 Don't attack the media - or reporters
Reports of verbal attacks against reporters and objects being thrown at one or two illustrated the enmity held by the protesters against the 'mainstream media'. Yes there were a number of interviews with truckers and others, but what emerged were messages all over the map - railing against any and all measures to control the pandemic, 'freedom to do what I want', and yes, 'truckers putting food on the table'. However, the net impact was anger, muddled messaging and zero effectiveness.
The media may not be your 'friends' necessarily but they are there to cover the stories emerging from the protest. Help them cover it by organization, clear messaging, and -yes - assistance in covering the protest. In that way, you can reach a mainstream audience who perhaps may be open to your cause. Without the media, you have shut off a significant channel of communications. Relying on social media, you fall into the 'echo chamber' of preaching to the converted.
Rule No. 5 Your 'friends' can do more harm to your protest than your so-called 'enemies'.
Be careful who climbs aboard your bandwagon. Yes, you want to build support among political and opinion leaders, other groups with a shared set of concerns. However, one has to be rigorous in keeping out those who are anti-democratic, and all the usual suspects of extremism and destruction. In this case, by embracing the anti-vaxxers their convoy was hijacked and overtaken.
In summary, protests such as these are an increasingly common method to demonstrate anger, perceived - and actual - injustices, accompanied by escalation of political demands. However, without a coherent plan, message and discipline, it can backfire and slide into a spectacle that erodes their public support. The newly re-branded 'Freedom Convoy 2022' may find itself in the same situation.
Barry J. McLoughlin, MPA (Harvard Kennedy School) is a leadership trainer and strategist specializing in risk and crisis communications.
