Like many others I watched Donald Trump’s so-called “liberation” speech with great interest. Getting through his mind numbing rhetoric and cavalcade of falsehoods was a feat in itself but important to stick through it, nevertheless. Afterward there was of course the usual analysis and reaction, but what absolutely astonished me was the response of the CBC reporter who attended the speech in person. With an ear-to-ear grin, she crowed about how Canada and Mexico had been left off the list of tariffed countries. In other words, we were escaping additional tariffs – this time.

Yikes. Agreed that we dodged a bullet, but we already have the massive tariffs he imposed last month, so it’s essential that we be extremely aware of something that seems to be eluding us here, and that’s the tendency to begin normalising this tariff situation. We absolutely must not; there’s nothing normal about what Trump is doing to us and Mexico and has now forced on many other parts of the world.

There’s a very famous scientific experiment that has repeatedly been proven to be true no matter the species and no matter the time or place. And that’s that if something is introduced very gradually, no matter how awful it is, we will eventually get used to it.

A frog placed in a pot of hot water will immediately jump out, but if you place him in room temperature water and very slowly turn up the heat, he will stay and die.

A much more extreme example is how Hitler gradually reduced the rights of Jews and other identifiable minorities, bit by inexorable bit, until they had lost absolutely everything, including their lives. The tendency of any species to normalise was part of the reason why he was able to get away with this process.

Because of this tendency, we have to be on guard, now more than ever. The will-he-won’t-he, to-ing and fro-ing, maybe-maybe-not, how-bad-will-it-be tariff puppetry has carried on for months now, amping up the fear and worry and creating sleepless nights and high blood pressure all over this country.

And now, all of a sudden, an escape! The tremendous sigh of relief that the tariffs weren’t worse is a prime example of the mindf**kery we have been subject to since last November. But in reality, nothing much has changed. Many people’s jobs, particularly in the auto, aluminum, steel and lumber industries are on the brink. There are 25% tariffs on anything falling outside of CUSMA (in the U.S. it’s known as USMCA). It’s vitally important to remember that the tariffs already being levied are terrible economic hits that will disrupt our economy and potentially devastate many people’s lives.

Was this an attempt at softening us up so that we will be more compliant once a new PM is in place? I believe so, because I don’t think that Trump has at all changed his mind about subsuming us and turning us into a colony to be exploited. We are still where we were.

It’s therefore vital that we keep forging ahead with plans to diversify, to remove interprovincial trade barriers, and above all to separate ourselves from the U.S. The continued boycott of their products, and especially the avoidance of such conglomerates as Amazon (Bezos), X (Musk), Etsy, eBay and others are crucial as we continue to carve our own path. CUSMA is dead, or will be soon. There’s no going back, and the politicians now trying to get our votes need to understand that without fail.

The mindf**king needs to stop.