They drove 64 miles in a circle.
That’s the length of the Capital Beltway, the ribbon of asphalt that loops around Washington, D.C. For over four hours on Sunday, the so-called “People’s Convoy,” estimated at about a thousand trucks, RVs and cars drove that circle in protest.
In protest of what? Well, take your pick. Many drivers – nearly all white, nearly all men – flew flags supporting Donald Trump or opposing Joe Biden. Some displayed Confederate battle flags and placards against vaccine and mask mandates, even though those mandates have largely been lifted. One lady told The Good Liars, an online comedy platform, that she’s protesting because she doesn’t want “them” to “digitile” us, a word that does not appear in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary. The drivers uniformly claim to be fighting against tyranny.
Meantime, another convoy of trucks rumbles out of Berlin, bound for Ukraine. It carries donated toilet paper, batteries, medicine, pet food, baby food and other necessities of everyday life impossible to find in Ukraine since Russia began mauling that country almost two weeks ago. “Somebody has to do this,” Vadim Pashkiuskiy, a 29-year-old Ukrainian driver, told The Washington Post. “My war is to deliver goods. It may be dangerous, but it’s my responsibility to my country. I’m not hiding. I’m doing whatever I can to help.”
The contrast between the convoys is painful. And telling.