“I Visited the Anti-Covid Mandate Protests. Here’s What Happened.”

Words by Zoë Mills (she/they) 

Photos by Viola Bates (pronouns)

CW: brief mentions of paedophelia 

Since the anti-Covid mandate protests shut down Parliament grounds last February, groups of smaller protests have sprung up across the city to protest everything from vaccines, mandates, to the Prime Minister herself. In April, Unite. NZ, a leading organiser of February’s events, took to the streets for a 14-day series of protests across Wellington city. Each day had a new theme or demand relating to Covid-19—themes ranging from “misinformation,” to “police brutality,” to specific amendments acts. 

I wanted to understand why the protestors believe in what they do so strongly (and what their thoughts are on Chris Rock decking Will Smith at the Oscars). Most of all, I wanted to figure out: Can we truly separate politics and science?

When I arrived on day seven, the rally was in full swing. A large crowd had flocked to the roads outside of Government House, making their presence known with banners, an array of musicians, and even sausage sizzle. A handful of police watched quietly towards the back; I felt like I was at a festival instead of an anti-mandate rally.

The first protestor I spoke to was Sam, a self described “peace-loving hippy.” Sam had travelled from Manawatū to attend the rally. His main reason for being there was about legislation—“I’m here today for these draconian legislations that are going through without any consent from the people, when it's meant to be a democracy, you know, and they keep slipping these things in under the mat,” he tells me.

As he speaks, a soar of cheers yelling “FREEDOM!” interrupts him. “Freedom means that I don't have to abide by every single rule the Government lays down […] a lot of them don't really know what it means to live as a normal person,” he continues.

Sam says he doesn't trust the vaccine due to it not being tested for long enough. In particular, Sam felt it was unfair that his mother’s work required her to get vaccinated to keep her job. “My mum's a nurse, she knows her shit. She didn't want to get it, but she had to get it […] It's just so frustrating. Being treated like a child day in and day out, you know?”

I look around. The placards present ranged from bullet-point quotes from the Public Health Act, to photos of Jacinda Ardern. Since arriving 20 minutes ago, I’ve been told multiple times to “do my own research.” Where does Sam get his information from?

“It's the age of information and why there's information everywhere. And it's up to you to take bits of information and go with you.” It's a shared sentiment; Facebook, Google, and instant-messaging app Telegram appear to be the main sources of the crowd’s information.

While Sam was pretty indifferent on Dir. General Ashley Bloomfield’s resignation, he did have opinions on more pressing issues—could he beat Bloomfield in a boxing match?

“I don't know his history, he might be a secret taekwondo master, like, I've got no idea […] I would have gone for the shin.”

“He's a doctor. He knows his weak spots,” I add.

“Exactly! And like he could be a bad mofo behind closed doors. We don't know,” Sam says, laughing.

Surprisingly, a huge chunk of protestors at the rallies actually were vaccinated—largely due to their employers requiring that they do so. One protester, Alex, tells me that she’s always vaccinated her kids. Once a lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington, she now works as a free-press activist, her main cause being freeing Wiki-leaks founder Julian Assange. “I always vaccinate my kids,” Alex tells me. “I started doing a bit of research when they asked my daughter for an HPV vaccination a few years ago, but I've always been pro […] then I discovered about the nanotech that they use in the aluminium nanoparticles as an adjuvant to get those vaccines into the cells. And the problem with that is it's causing all manner of issues.”

This theory has been disproven. A few vaccines contain small amounts of aluminium salts. Aluminium salts work by holding the antigention at the injection site for longer, so it gives time for a strong immune response to begin. There is currently no evidence found that the salts cause any serious effects. As for nanotech, it's a common conspiracy theory. The lipid nanoparticles (liposomes) used in the mRNA vaccine are harmless. The liposomes act as “vehicles delivering the viral protein template,” which allows the vaccine to act more efficiently. 

Alex stands beside a poster she made, a bright blue banner with the words “DON’T EXTRADITE #ASSANGE” across the front. Clearly, Alex’s main mission, even though she’s here for the anti-mandate rally today, is freeing Julian Assange, who is often viewed as a symbol for free-speech and the free-press. “WikiLeaks is the only media company in the world, with, I think, it's about a 15-year record now of not a single document they've ever published that has been retracted,” she tells me.

And as for her thoughts on Chris Rock vs. Will Smith? “What a load of puppet show rubbish.” She lets out an exasperated sigh. “[I]t's basically distracting us when Pfizer has just released nine pages of our aftereffects from vaccines, and shown that most of the women that were pregnant in the trial actually lost their baby.” This claim has since been debunked by MedSafe, who confirmed last November that the Pzizer vaccine did not pose any safety concerns for pregnant women whatsoever.

I take my shot at asking Alex a question that would end our chat on a good note. What’s one thing that unites us? “We [both] have our future freedom from being enslaved by war criminals, and basically a tech-nocracy, and we have that in common, that we're on the same side—you actually haven't figured [that] out yet.”

The following day, the turnout was considerably smaller. Numbers dwindled, but the 20 or so protestors didn't let their lack of numbers lessen their enthusiasm. While a sausage sizzle wasn't present (to my disappointment), New Zealand flags hung over the Willis Street New World, and speeches were being made through a small P.A. system. Two policemen hung back from the crowd, unfazed. Today’s theme was misinformation but the theme felt lost in the number of other causes printed amongst signs.

The last protestor I spoke to was Kat, a grandmother from Palmerston North. “My grandchildren are living with fear and anxiety, and I don't understand why they are so afraid,” she tells me. She enthusiastically agrees to a chat and, although her sign is shaped like an axe, she’s easy to talk to. Kat used to work as a dairy farmer and now lives in Palmerston North, from where she travelled to be here.

Kat’s less concerned with pseudo-science and is more concerned with informed consent—she feels that the Government didn't give her enough of it. I ask her about her thoughts on misinformation. “I believe that's what the Government has been giving us [is disinformation] […] Disinformation is false information which is intended to mislead, especially propaganda issued by a Government organisation to a rival power or the media,” she explains to me. 

Kat didn't seem too fussed about the vaccine itself. In fact, she was actually planning on getting vaccinated when her mother fell ill amidst the pandemic: “Six months before my mum passed, I was not leaving the house […] I fully bought into it. And I was actually going to go and get vaccinated,” she tells me.

What was the turning point that made her change her mind? “They told me I had to.”

It's a common sentiment shared by the protestors—personal freedom is a big theme at all of the rallies but, unlike Alex, Kat is a bit more sceptical about some of the theories promoted by other protestors here. “I want to just go along and believe that, you know, they're sticking nanotechnology in our vaccines, and the vaccines are really bad for you, but in actual fact…” she trails off. It’s an answer I’m not expecting, and when I bring up Bloomfield’s resignation, she gives a sympathetic nod. “I don't blame him […] It has been a long, difficult two years, not just for us, but for them, too. So, good on him if that's what he wants to do.”

It’s a response that takes me by surprise—I wasn't expecting sympathy toward Bloomfield, particularly since I was standing near a man holding a badly-photoshopped image of him.

And was Kat team Will Smith or Chris Rock? She shakes her head concernedly. “I believe that [Hollywood] has one great big paedophilic ring. I believe there was a lot of satanic worship and rituals that happened, within the elite […] Yeah, buggers. I really don't care.”