Standing in a Park for Truth

Members of A Stand In The Park gathered in a stand in Canberra on Feb. 13, 2022 Supplied

The park, a place for hanging out and relaxing, can now be a stage to speak out and stand for one’s own truth, as well as re-establish community ties, according to one advocacy group.

The ‘A Stand In The Park’ group, which now has 100,000 members across 20 countries, was the brainchild of Brady Gunn, who, after coming face to face with the harsh government reactions during the strict lockdowns and vaccine mandates in Australia in 2020-21, decided there must be another way for people to register their voices other than violent or aggressive protests.

Gunn went to an anti-lockdown and vaccine mandate protest in the Olympic Park in Sydney and was shocked by the whole scenario.

“It was just a crazy protest,” he said. “The cops were chasing us around in circles. I’ve never been in a situation like that before,“ Gunn said. ”It was just very sobering. It really hit home hard that this is very real.”

NSW Police apprehend a man who was allegedly protesting on the edge of Victoria Park in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 21, 2021. Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

The 46-year-old Sydney local went home and thought that there probably was a whole different opportunity for people that were at that rally.

“As a whole, they didn’t really sort of connect with each other long-term, he said.

A Support Network Was Born

Gunn saw that as a missed opportunity.

“We'd be great resources for each other,” he said.

“It’s more about getting together, chatting online, meeting in person, being a support network through each other, having a physical energy exchange, getting a hug, and I’m feeling so alone… If anything happened, we could meet in the park.”

Brady Gunn, the founder of A Stand In The Park. Supplied

So he created A Stand in the Park, an advocacy group that unites people in parks all over the world every Sunday morning, 10-11 am local time and allows them to celebrate freedom, diversity, and fairness.

But Gunn notes that starting the group was down to strength and determination, with him facing three months of going to the park by himself every Sunday before the idea took off.

“I announced it every night… Nobody came. Next week, the same thing...” Gunn said. “And then finally two people came, and then another person came, and then another few people came.”

“There was no organizer. It was just every Sunday because we weren’t going to protest about really anything as such… We would all stand together for our cause no matter what, under one umbrella, which is wearing yellow… So that’s how it was born,” he said.

There are now nearly 600 groups participating in parks every Sunday morning across Australia, New Zealand, England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Canada, Malta, Germany, France, and the USA.

An Energetic Point For Truth

Asked if he is trying to convey a message to the government or the public, Gunn said it’s more about helping people make connections amid the harsh COVID-19 policies and “drawing your own line in the sand.”

“I disagree with what’s happening in the world right now, and I see through it, so I’m going to use my body, and I’m going to stand in that park as an energetic pinpoint,” he said. “I’m going to show people and myself and the government that I don’t agree.”

Advocacy groups and even celebrities have spoken out against the COVID lockdowns, including Australian NBA legend Andrew Bogut, who called for voting out the Victorian state government over its handling of the pandemic.

A large crowd gathers to protest lockdown restrictions, at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 23, 2020. Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Gunn, however, said all he tried to do was encourage people to stand up for what they believe in. He also hopes that the group will allow people to come together even if they have different points of view on COVID-19 vaccines, government policies, and other issues.

“We’ve all got different pasts, spiritualities, experiences, relationships, and religions, and we’re all different,” he said.

“We weren’t standing against lockdowns or against COVID or against the government or anything. We were standing for personal truth and for freedom, whatever that looks like for anyone, you decide.”

Helping People Find Community

Gunn said there are so many touching stories in the process of founding A Stand In the Park.

“They’re all as powerful each time that I hear them,” he said.  “I’ve many people sending me messages online or talking to me when they see me on Facebook, just crying, saying ‘I’m crying as I’m writing this...’”

One message Gunn said with The Epoch Times explained how after losing everything, including their house, job, kids and friends, the group was able to help them reconnect.

“ I lost my house; I lost my kids; I lost my job… I lost everything; I lost all my friends, but then I went to the park, and then I made all of these connections, and I reconnected, and I realized that I wasn’t alone… [I made] the best friends that I ever have. I’m just so thankful…’, ” the message read.

“So many stories like that… It’s just really, really big stories of what people have lost and the difference that they made,” Gunn said, noting that those stories always filled him with joy.