People's Party of Canada candidate Darryl Mackie recently posted a video of himself staging a sit-in at local coffee chain Tim Horton's to protest Ontario's new vaccine passport legislation.
During this video he compared himself to famed civil rights activist Rosa Parks, and his desire to avoid doing his duty for public health to her legitimate struggles to be afforded the same rights as white people, and the internet proceeded to drag him—hard.
During Mackie's minute-and-a-half-long video, he referred to fighting Canada's new vaccine passport legislation as "our Rosa Parks moment," demonstrating a staggering lack of self-awareness or understanding of the Civil Rights Movement.
He further claimed that his unvaccinated trip to Tim Horton's was to protest "segregation in our society"
"This is our Rosa Parks moment. What they did in the States—segregating black people from society, making them sit at the back of the bus, not being able to drink out of certain water fountains and excluding them from certain restaurants—was absolutely wrong then and is wrong now."
"And we are doing the same thing and I will stand against it. So I will sit in this restaurant, like these other people here, and stand on my right as a free man and we'll see what happens."
You can view Mackie's whole video in the tweet below, where he even managed to fit in a famous quote from Patrick Henry:
Here I am! This isn\u2019t fun! No problems so far... but we need to stop the segregation of our society before it begins. Give me Liberty or give me Death!pic.twitter.com/ka4BAl0DHU— Darryl Mackie (@Darryl Mackie) 1632335863
Twitter users were quick to point out all of the holes in Mackie's impassioned coffee shop speech.
It's funny how you equate privileges with human rights it's almost like you have no idea what you're going on about— The Notorious PFG (@The Notorious PFG) 1632354685
Your Rosa Parks moment? Really? No one cares about your moment. This your putting yourself as the centre of the universe moment.— Kelly (@Kelly) 1632413112
You\u2019re not Rosa Parks and this isn\u2019t segregation. Black people couldn\u2019t simply get a vaccine that was free and available to everyone that would allow them equal rights. And to compare the two situations is not just ignorant, it\u2019s offensive to pretty much everyone.— Tim W. (@Tim W.) 1632418583
This is not segregation. You made a choice.— Jenn (@Jenn) 1632347385
Did you really compare this to black segregation? Are you really that privileged?— Brabbleboys (@Brabbleboys) 1632442260
Comparing yourself to Rosa Parks is pretty rich. \nRosa did not choose to be black.\nThere is literally NO COMPARISON— Sherry - safely distant (@Sherry - safely distant) 1632417408
Some chastised him for adding more work and stress onto already-overworked Tim Horton's employees.
leave the minimum wage workers who only want to get through their shift alone. take your "persecution" complaint to Queen's Park. #youareabully.— inmyopinion (@inmyopinion) 1632401635
People working in the restaurant industry have had a hellish 18 months. They don\u2019t need you adding to their stress levels. The employees are just trying to earn a living and they do have to follow the rules. Go protest where the decisions are made and leave the Tim\u2019s staff alone— Missie Lees (@Missie Lees) 1632530535
The sarcasm was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Oh my god, @DarrylMackiePPC , are you ok?! First they want to give you a teeny little needle in your arm, and now they don't want you spread a deadly virus in a coffee shop! The persecution!! One day you'll be on one of our dollar bills as a hero.— Brad Hart (@Brad Hart) 1632415520
Mackie was arrested and charged with trespassing and failure to leave the premises after refusing to leave Tim Horton's despite being asked to do so repeatedly.
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