• Two motorcycle convoys heading to Ottawa, organizers of Rolling Barrage worry about confusion with Rolling Thunder.
  • Rolling Barrage aims to raise awareness about PTSD among military veterans.
  • Rolling Thunder’s origin linked to convoy occupation in Ottawa.
  • Ottawa police prepared for possible traffic delays during the events.
  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    On and off for the last seven years, the Rolling Barrage cross-country motorcycle ride has come to the National Capital Region to raise awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among military veterans.

    One year later, Casey launched the namesake ride, “for combat veterans and first responders, [to] specifically create peer support right across the country for those people and their families.”

    The origin of the other motorcycle group, Rolling Thunder, can be traced back to the truck convoy that occupied downtown Ottawa two winters ago.

    Sheard gained prominence among convoy supporters in 2022 after he appeared on a social media video stream calling for bikers to come to Ottawa’s National War Memorial for an event organized by Veterans 4 Freedom.

    At a press conference last month, Ottawa police Chief Eric Stubbs referred to this iteration of the Rolling Thunder convoy as a “protest.”

    “The Ottawa Police Service will monitor public safety and will be present to ensure the safe passage of motorcycles through the downtown core,” the media release read.


    I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • HiddenLayer5@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Probably dumb question, but… You can’t just delay yours if you’re worried about being mistaken for the other one? Probably safer for your people too in case they think you’re on their turf and decide to make this a battle.

    • blindsight@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      Too late to change, probably. Anyone with a job can’t just swap vacation time on a whim, for example. This isn’t a response to a particular action/event, it’s an annual event.

      That’s a plausible take. But maybe it’s really about using this as another mess of gaining more attention for their cause.

      They gave them a convenient reason to reach out to media since there’s a newsworthy story now; did any of us have heard about this if they didn’t work to get this message out? Very effective.