Canadian journalist Lauren Southern says citizens have one last chance to save their failing democracies and that personal experiences have shown how heavy-handed Western democracies can be.The 1995-born Millenial shared her story in a 20-minute speech to the Reclaiming Canada Conference in Victoria on Sunday.“I only got into the culture war because I grew up in Surrey, so I was dealing with mass immigration. They had just introduced social justice 12 courses to my high school. And I'll never forget them separating us by gender, by race, by sexuality,” she recalled.A white friend of hers from a “really horrific family” was placed among a group of alleged oppressors while Chinese friends from rich families were grouped with the “oppressed.”Southern, formerly with Rebel News, recalled when a popular publication alleged Jesus was trans. To prove the double-standard of leftist treatment of Christianity vs. Islam, she went to Muslim-dominated Luton, UK, to advertise a pride parade.“We set up our little stand and we have these lovely gorgeous pride legs with signs that said Allah is gay. Allah is trans. Allah is love. All of us, right? I thought it was a nice message,” she recalled.“Within 20 seconds, there was nearly a riot. We were surrounded by people spitting on us, screaming in Arabic. Within a minute the police trucks that showed up. … I was told that I would be arrested immediately if I didn't take down the stand. … They said we were inciting hatred.”Southern was arrested under the Terrorism Act, detained for 10 hours, told she was guilty of racism, and released to Calais, France with only her suitcase.Eight years ago, Southern went to Turkey to report on the mass migration crisis and human trafficking. Near the Bulgarian border, she and her colleagues were detained and had their footage confiscated. They were told they had trespassed on military territory, but could secure their release if they signed forms.Southern’s detained translator warned that the Canadian embassy would not help them and a signature could put them in jail for five years for espionage. They refused to sign, but thanks to some contacts in the military, they were released.The journalist married an Australian and hoped to move there, only to find the country had put her on a watch list usually reserved for dangerous criminals or terrorists.“If I quit politics and swore to never talk about it again, never go on television, if I shut down my YouTube channel and go silent, then I would be allowed into the country,” she recalled.Southern took the deal and was in Australia during COVID-19 lockdowns. A visit home took her to Vancouver via Los Angeles. On her return home, she was detained by the U.S. government.“They questioned me for eight hours, made me miss my flight and I was banned from the US or my political opinions, so I wasn't able to travel there,” she recalled.After “multiple attempts” Southern finally got back to Australia via Japan, only to be taken in a military truck to two weeks' detention in a camp.During COVID-19, Southern’s grandma in Canada was dying. The government told Southern she would only be allowed to see her if she could produce her death certificate.“This is like Soviet Russia stuff. You got to have connections if you want to get anywhere during COVID. I had a friend in government push through my documents and I was able to get home for the funeral,” she said.At the airport, the authorities demanded all of her hard drives and passwords. “I've never felt so violated in my life. But what was I going to say? I was a broken person. They’d broken me at that point. And I was able to get home.”Southern said she is going through “post-traumatic growth” and her trials were “cathartic” to cure her illusions. She said a dark future awaits but for this current “last chance” that offers a reprieve.“We still have a chance to use this wake up call where everyone has realized what our governments are and how precious our freedoms are, to turn it around,” she said.“This is where it comes all back to forgiveness. We have to forgive the people who acted in this way towards us, our fellow citizens.”
Canadian journalist Lauren Southern says citizens have one last chance to save their failing democracies and that personal experiences have shown how heavy-handed Western democracies can be.The 1995-born Millenial shared her story in a 20-minute speech to the Reclaiming Canada Conference in Victoria on Sunday.“I only got into the culture war because I grew up in Surrey, so I was dealing with mass immigration. They had just introduced social justice 12 courses to my high school. And I'll never forget them separating us by gender, by race, by sexuality,” she recalled.A white friend of hers from a “really horrific family” was placed among a group of alleged oppressors while Chinese friends from rich families were grouped with the “oppressed.”Southern, formerly with Rebel News, recalled when a popular publication alleged Jesus was trans. To prove the double-standard of leftist treatment of Christianity vs. Islam, she went to Muslim-dominated Luton, UK, to advertise a pride parade.“We set up our little stand and we have these lovely gorgeous pride legs with signs that said Allah is gay. Allah is trans. Allah is love. All of us, right? I thought it was a nice message,” she recalled.“Within 20 seconds, there was nearly a riot. We were surrounded by people spitting on us, screaming in Arabic. Within a minute the police trucks that showed up. … I was told that I would be arrested immediately if I didn't take down the stand. … They said we were inciting hatred.”Southern was arrested under the Terrorism Act, detained for 10 hours, told she was guilty of racism, and released to Calais, France with only her suitcase.Eight years ago, Southern went to Turkey to report on the mass migration crisis and human trafficking. Near the Bulgarian border, she and her colleagues were detained and had their footage confiscated. They were told they had trespassed on military territory, but could secure their release if they signed forms.Southern’s detained translator warned that the Canadian embassy would not help them and a signature could put them in jail for five years for espionage. They refused to sign, but thanks to some contacts in the military, they were released.The journalist married an Australian and hoped to move there, only to find the country had put her on a watch list usually reserved for dangerous criminals or terrorists.“If I quit politics and swore to never talk about it again, never go on television, if I shut down my YouTube channel and go silent, then I would be allowed into the country,” she recalled.Southern took the deal and was in Australia during COVID-19 lockdowns. A visit home took her to Vancouver via Los Angeles. On her return home, she was detained by the U.S. government.“They questioned me for eight hours, made me miss my flight and I was banned from the US or my political opinions, so I wasn't able to travel there,” she recalled.After “multiple attempts” Southern finally got back to Australia via Japan, only to be taken in a military truck to two weeks' detention in a camp.During COVID-19, Southern’s grandma in Canada was dying. The government told Southern she would only be allowed to see her if she could produce her death certificate.“This is like Soviet Russia stuff. You got to have connections if you want to get anywhere during COVID. I had a friend in government push through my documents and I was able to get home for the funeral,” she said.At the airport, the authorities demanded all of her hard drives and passwords. “I've never felt so violated in my life. But what was I going to say? I was a broken person. They’d broken me at that point. And I was able to get home.”Southern said she is going through “post-traumatic growth” and her trials were “cathartic” to cure her illusions. She said a dark future awaits but for this current “last chance” that offers a reprieve.“We still have a chance to use this wake up call where everyone has realized what our governments are and how precious our freedoms are, to turn it around,” she said.“This is where it comes all back to forgiveness. We have to forgive the people who acted in this way towards us, our fellow citizens.”
