The U.S. isn’t the only place on Earth that’s had people protest COVID-19 restrictions perceived to be government overreach. A number of European nations have experienced protests from people who feel hemmed in by pandemic-fighting measures. Only, in one recent case, it’s a weird flash mob that vaguely looks like hip-hop dance troupe Jabbawockeez shuffling down a street.
The “anti-corona restrictions flash mob” found its way onto the Reddit r/PublicFreakout subreddit Tuesday, giving attention to this public display of conformity against conforming.
Judging from the Aust and Ruefa store names visible in the background (as well as the predominant use of German throughout the video), it’s likely from Germany or Austria, two neighboring nations that had a series of protests Dec. 19 and 20 that private security company Garda warned about.
Commenters on the subreddit noted the irony in people wearing masks to protest wearing masks.
“Masks and full body protection?” one commenter remarked. “Hey, I’m all for it, regardless of why you’re doing it.”
“Funny that this is what finally got them to wear a mask,” another observed.
The protest looked similar to one that the Fifty Shades of Whey Twitter account shared last week from Toronto.
That protest picked up on themes from the Central European protest shared on Reddit, with one person imagining them rising up against being “masked sheep” by “dressing in all white and wearing masks while walking in a semi uniform line at a slow pace in the same direction!”
Another shared what was claimed as a similar protest in Amsterdam.
