Bill Maher says on HBO's "Real Time" that the "Freedom Convoy" is about more than vaccines

Panelists included Vivek Ramaswamy, biotech entrepreneur and author of "Woke Inc: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam" and Marianne Williamson, former presidential candidate, political activist, blogger for Substack's "TRANSFORM with Marianne Williamson" and host of the Marianne Williamson Podcast.

"People understand that it's more than just a protest against the vaccine mandate," Maher said of the intended anti-authoritarian message of "Freedom Convoy.""

Ramaswamy couldn't agree more. "If you think this is about the vaccine mandate or white supremacy, you've missed the point," he said. "He's addressing the biggest threat to democracy itself, the rise of the managerial class," a combination of government, media and big business that "suppresses the will of the people.

Williamson wasn't quite as enthusiastic about the situation unfolding in Canada. "Protest is inherently disruptive. But when does disruption become harm?" she asked. She pointed out, however, that none of the truckers attacked the main building in Ottawa. "What I'm saying is that they're not using violence. In some ways, we see that this can be done without violence."

Maher criticized the classism that demeans truckers who transport goods to market, who are essential to the functioning of capitalism, and that some people have the privilege of working from home. He poked fun at the "we're all in the same boat" slogan promoted by the U.S. government. "No, we're not," he said, pointing out that it is elitist to be against those who cannot work from home.

Ramaswamy added that the current group of protesters "is also a group of people who have been excluded by the elites." He called on leaders to "listen" to the grievances of these people instead of threatening them.

In this context, Maher referred to earlier remarks by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who, when asked whether protesters should be tolerated, replied, "They take up space. " Maher shook his head. "Now you really sound like Hitler," he concluded.

The panelists agreed that fascism occurs when government and corporate interests are too close together. "We need more social distancing between capitalism and democracy," Ramaswamy said.

Another hot topic was the distribution of funds through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which kicks off in 2020. Maher showed a startling statistic from the New York Times that 72% of aid money ends up in households with incomes in the top 20%. The HBO host explained how this leads to unacceptable inequality and an inherent conflation of government and private enterprise.

Watch the clip of Maher and his panel discussing the PPP, and catch new episodes of Real Time with Bill Maher Fridays at 10:00pm on HBO.