If Ghana/USA in the World Cup had gone to a shootout, my quest to get new shorts would have probably landed me in the middle of the rioting. As it is, I left the Eaton's center around 3PM, and had the opportunity to see the police start closing in on both sides. People were waved south of Richmond, and north of Wellington, and some cars were turned around on King Street. Though I don't understand the reasoning for the last move.
It's very weird. I remember seeing a few stores set up with wooden walls and board in their windows to protect them, which as it turns out may have been very necessary.
The weekdays made much of the deeper security zone look like a ghost town, but oddly downtown TO seemed busier on the weekend. There seemed to be a a slightly smaller crowd around town and the Eaton center.
I'm disappointed in a lot of ways. First, that the extensive security measures utterly failed to prevent vandalism even as far south as King street. Also, the presence of any of the black clad anarchist vandals is pretty depressing. I'd like to there are less people around who thinks that, (Or doesn't care) showing up here and breaking windows somehow accomplishes anything of value.
I think protests would be more effective when they can speak to a specific cause and avoid being predictable like the G20 tour. The reception to the anti-prorogation protest really showed the value of those qualities when applied to peaceful demonstrations.
I hear yeah man. The anarchists have been labeled the "Black Bloc". Apperently the group has a record of doing this stuff.
ReplyDeleteA youtube video I watched (from a guy who apperently works near Bay street and King) recounted a conversation he had with one of them. He told the guy, "If you really want to impress me organize a general strike and shut down all of the libraries, the schools, the shopping malls, just shut the town down for a day. The anarchist replied that it was an impossible task. This led the man to conclude, the anarchists have no confidence in their own philosophy and are litterally charging head long, hoplessly, against symbols of authority.
Puts things into perspective when you figure out, the protesters are fine it's just a small group of assholes that are starting this. Also, these assholes don't want to actually accomplish anything.
- Tomm
What may be missing in this analysis is the fact that some people just like to riot and break things and are too stupid to even come up with a good reasoning for it.
ReplyDelete