Strong criticism for protestors comparing public health measures to Holocaust

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — Continued concern stemming from an anti-COVID restrictions rally in Calgary over the weekend, pictures of protestors wearing the Star of David around their neck with the message “Mask Exempt,” a holocaust comparison few are willing to tolerate.

“You don’t have to be a critical thinker to understand the absurdity of comparing public health measures in the midst of a global pandemic to the systematic murder of six million Jews,” said Jared Shore, the co-president of the Calgary Jewish Federation.

There were at least two people wearing these disgusting antisemitic signs yesterday in #yyc

Make them famous. pic.twitter.com/U9SQ8rE96J

— Aunt E Phở ????⬛️ (@JaneQCitizen) March 21, 2021

It’s the latest in what many who watch and study these rallies say is a growing trend: voicing anger with public health measures towards other agendas.

“This is something that’s being used by white supremacy groups, conspiracy theorists, anti-government folks to widen their ranks and I think the more inaction, the more emboldened they feel,” said Shore.

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“Appropriating symbols of one of the worst genocides in human history to public health measures is not art. It’s stupidity. It’s ignorance. It’s hateful.”

In an effort to stem the tide of hatred, from tiki torches and Nazi salutes, to confederate flags and violence, like the video of a man wearing a ‘Proud White Christian Man’ t-shirt punching a counter-protestor, there have been calls for leaders to give police more power to investigate and charge hate crimes, but that would likely be something that needs to be decided by the Supreme Court.

“Walking around and giving Nazi salutes, having Nazi symbols on your shirt. How much further do we have to go before we can all agree that’s a symbol of hate?”