Capture of Tools - GoFundMe edition
As most people now know, GoFundMe cancelled a fundraiser in support of peaceful protesters in Ottowa that had raised ~$10M. They did so at the request of the Canadian government, who called the protests an "occupation."
Almost immediately it was pointed out by many (notably, Elon Musk among them) that GoFundMe advertised a fundraiser for an actual violent occupation of a major US city. It had created an "autonomous zone" or "occupied zone" (by the protestor's own words) that was entirely without any sort of law enforcement. Crime was rampant within it, several shootings occured, and at least one murder. GoFundMe also hosts at least one fund raiser for legal fees for an "activist" for this group. They also have MANY fundraisers for Black Lives Matter causes, (over $3M for BLM Los Angeles alone) which had many incidence of violence over the last two years, burning down entire blocks of cities, causing multiple deaths, and over $1B in damage in the US.
By way of comparison, as of mid-day 2/5/2022, I can't find any accounts of notable violence during the Ottowa trucker protests. Despite a lot of hyperbole about "radicals," and an "occupation."
The difference between the two situations is obvious to anyone that's been paying any attention. The leftist extremists that have captured most modern institutions approve of CHAZ/CHOP and BLM, but despise the "Freedom Convoy." CHAZ and BLM are political allies of the extreme leftists, whereas the Convoy are political foes. The government can punish the demographics they despise, and the tech companies that have already been seized are happy to comply.
The worrisome part of all this is that GoFundMe isn't just a way to fund political activists. It's also the method that many working-class Americans use to pay for life-saving medical procedures. According to GoFundMe, one-third of all their fundraisers are for medical costs. They have a section specifically dedicated to helping people created medical fund raisers.
GoFundMe has now demonstrated that they will withhold fund-raising tools from anyone who speaks in opposition to the ruling party's dogma. They'll do so without reasonable justification, purely due to ideological opposition. This is a direct threat to the ability of the financially disadvantaged to pay for medical costs and procedures.
GoFundMe seems to be within their rights to do this. Perhaps one could say the these people were foolish to come to rely on a tool that could so easily be yanked away for something this important. But it's still morally abhorent. And it further demonstrates that the woke have no empathy and no principles. They only have tactics. Stripping away every tool for coordination that the demographic you hate has available is certainly an effective tactic, no matter how revolting it may be.