Everyone Malfunctioned
Like confused robots, with circuits that got crossed.
Part 1: Internationally Trained, Rooted in Canada
Calvin, the barber from Medicine Hat, describes himself as a nerd. “I go really hard into research, I turn over every rock,” he says. It didn’t take long for him to become uneasy about the way governments were responding to the pandemic. Examples of “deception, and the deceit, and the lies” were abundant, but most people seemed not to notice, he says. “Everyone malfunctioned” like “confused robots. Their circuits got crossed.”
Calvin insists he’s “not one of those people who’s anti-vax. I’ll be straight up and honest with you. I believe in science. I believe in all aspects of biology. I have my flu shot, I have all my vaccinations. So when the COVID thing was happening, I was like ‘I’m down for the vaccine, I’ll get a vaccine.’” After researching his options, he says he was prepared to roll up his sleeve for an AstraZeneca injection.
In early 2021, the Canadian Press explained that AstraZeneca uses a vaccine technology “which differs from the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.” But after AstraZeneca shots were linked to blood clots in other countries, Canada stopped administering them to those under the age of 55.
“I said there’s no f**king way I’m getting an mRNA vaccine,” remembers Calvin. “Not a goddamn chance. mRNA has the ability to biologically alter and change your DNA. The possibility is there. It’s a real thing.” He was listening to multiple points of view, including dissident experts such as Dr Robert Malone, and making an informed choice. In his view, his decision was based “truly on science.”
Another thing that set off his alarm bells was the way health authorities de-legitimized Ivermectin, an inexpensive generic drug with anti-viral properties whose discoverers won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2015. During the pandemic, Canadian pharmacies were unable to fill Ivermectin prescriptions due to a lack of supply, yet Canada Post – at the behest of Health Canada – seized shipments of human-grade Ivermectin tablets ordered from abroad by private citizens. (A friend of mine placed such an order on behalf of the both of us, from a pharmacy in India, so I experienced this firsthand.)
Calvin says he himself caught COVID – but not while he was in Ottawa. “This had nothing to do with the Convoy. I got the Delta, the worst one, and I was violently ill. Like horribly ill. And sweating. By the fourth day it was like, OK, I’m doing Ivermectin.”
Using a liquid formulation sold for horses, he says “It truly frickin’ worked. Not a word of a lie, the only way I can explain it is an ejection seat. I literally got sucked out from the illness. My dad was like, ‘What the heck, Calvin, what did you do? You sound normal.’” He started feeling better within 24 hours, he says, “And within two days I was good.”
When asked how much it cost him in gasoline to drive to Ottawa from three provinces distant, Calvin responds, “I don’t know. I never thought about it. Over $500, probably $500.” The supplies he used to cut hair and trim beards didn’t cost anything, he says. “I came fully equipped.” In some of the photos taken in Ottawa, we see his spray bottle - a Jack Daniels recycle.
“In my brain there was no money,” he insists. “Money was not even a thing. It was pure. I was there for the people. To give the gift of a haircut, of a blessed haircut. With appreciation and gratitude and honour and truth behind it. That’s all.”
When asked if anyone gave him money, he replies, “Oh, yeah. People would freakin’ put money in my pocket. I’d be like, ‘What the hell?’ I was like, ‘No, no. I’m doing this for free. Freedom cuts. Hashtag #freedomcuts.’ But yeah, people would give me 20 bucks. One lady gave me $50.”
He slept in his station wagon in a minus-40 sleeping bag and was comfortable, he says. But some nights he’d take a shift in a big rig, “I would sleep in the guy's truck, on lookout” against vandals who might contaminate the fuel or cause other damage.
Calvin says his two weeks in Ottawa were an eye opener. “What blew my mind while cutting hair was all of the different people of Canada that I met that I didn’t know existed. Like how there’s different groups of French-speaking people. Who all came together. And that was the wildest feeling. I’ve never felt more Canadian in my life. I’ve never felt more patriotism - ever.”
final installment: The Canada We’d Become
I've never felt more Canadian in my life!