The Queen of Canada

It can be very hard to be a Canadian.

September has arrived, and I can feel a change in the air. The weather is still sunny and bright, but cool air now circulates around my legs and I can feel it on my runs and trips to local markets, cafés and parks. I have begun a few classes, ended others, considered how to pay my bills while waiting for money to come in, and thought about what the next few months will bring.

Yes, it is hard to be a Canadian.

I am not going to give you a complete rundown of the life of the subject of this piece. You can click on the above link and get the news. But I could not resist thinking about this particular story. And I have something to say.

Romana Didulo was born in the Philippines in 1974, moving to Canada in 1990 and engaging in many failed businesses. There must have been a turn because she became involved with America's favourite conspiracy group, QAnon, given the title of Queen of the World by a David J. Carlson (one of the higher-ups of the group), eventually settling on just ruling over the Great White North. She claims to have extraterrestrial connections, founded the Canada 1st Party, joined the anti-migrant (nice to see an immigrant involved with this), anti-vaccine (just in time for Covid), and sovereign citizen movement (look that one up, folks), and exhibited cult-like behaviour and threatened local citizens and authorities as she travelled across the country in her own private RV (you just have to guess at the cost of the vehicle to imagine how many followers she still has). And on Wednesday, September 3rd, the abandoned school her group was invited to take over - invited, folks - was raided by the RCMP and she and a co-conspirator were arrested, with one of the charges being possession of a replica weapon.

Those are the basics, but I see so much more here. I see that she went to a very small town in Saskatchewan, the heart of the Prairies, called Richmound. At first, I thought that she and her followers were in Richmond, British Columbia, a rather nice area that includes:

the site of Vancouver International Airport. Known for its Asian influences, it’s home to the International Buddhist Temple, an elaborate complex resembling Beijing’s Forbidden City. Asian eateries and shops cluster in the Golden Village district

For Richmound, Saskatchewan, however, I found the following:

a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Enterprise No. 142 and Census Division No. 8. It is approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) northeast of Medicine Hat, Alberta. The economy is driven in large part by the oil and gas sector as well as agriculture...The village has a community hall, church, skating arena...a credit union and a general store. The K-12 School was closed in 2008, and students are now bussed to a neighbouring village.

Not really a resort town, but it might have made more sense to take over a building in the middle of nowhere and to keep a small populace in fear. Usually, people like her want attention and aim high. But she has decidedly aimed quite low. And I think I understand why.

This is what many people like to call the beginning of cuffing season. If you have never heard the term, it means the time of year when people become linked up in relationships that are more out of convenience than romance or even lust. It is another way to fend off the approaching cold and to have a body close enough to enjoy. I am listening to an analysis of the Didulo story and I hear nothing about her in a relationship or even more about her as a person. It covers her wish to clean the swamp in Ottawa (sound familiar?) and to avoid paying taxes to the government or even listening to local authorities.

In short, her life now is one of fear.

I am not fooled by little old ladies who are camera-ready and know that the press will run wild with their stories. I don't think that I have ever been impressed with such figures, running back through gangsters, politicians or other celebrities we overcelebrate. But I have to wonder why this particular woman has such a magnetic hold over what has been estimated to be over 60 to 70 thousand followers (I told you the number had to be big enough to cover the cost of that RV...and her release on bail).

I am going to be all over this story. I don't think that there is much else in the news that amuses or depresses me like this. Fear can be a real problem when you realize that there is no real plan for what the world throws at us. It is very tempting to look for patterns and to try to make sense of the insanity we see all around us. Romana Didulo is not someone I would call charismatic or special. I don't think she is the only one out there who espouses these views. She simply has the biggest bullhorn and the guts to spill her guts to whomever is willing to listen.

But it is going to be a very interesting ride for the next few months.

And I am going to be watching this show.

*

Thank you for reading!

If you liked this, you can add your Insights, Comment, leave a Heart, Tip, Pledge, or Subscribe. I will appreciate any support you have shown for my work.

You can find more poems, stories, and articles by Kendall Defoe on my Vocal profile. I complain, argue, provoke and create...just like everybody else.

Give it a look...