Now it’s been a few weeks since the G20 Summit and Protests in Toronto, but I’m still at a loss for explanations. Normally I can understand things that I don’t agree with, but this certainly is not one of those times.
When the G20 was announced in Toronto, I didn’t understand. They started moving the G8 Summits to small towns, like Huntsville, to stop disrupting local economies, and ensure easier security. So why did they put this giant summit in the biggest city in the country?
Why did they spent a billion dollars on this? Wouldn’t security have been easier if they had just kept it in Huntsville? And wouldn’t there be less infrastructure development required?
I understand that big events help to raise money for the community, but how did this do it? The shut down the downtown core of Toronto for the summits. Toronto is responsible for 15% of Canada’s Economy, and that was severely disrupted since nobody was allowed to go in and spend money.
One thing that I do understand: people were angry. People took to the streets to demonstrate, peacefully, their concerns. Some where not happy with the costs of the summit, some wanted to raise awareness for different issues like poverty or climate change. Peaceful protest is one of the cornerstones of democracy, and many of the biggest movements of our time have been the result of a co-ordinated attempt to raise the profile of certain issues by caring people. Eventually the majority of people “get it” and change happens from there. It’s grassroots democracy at its best.
But what I don’t get is the violence. How can burning a car or smashing windows help anything? I read one anonymous member of the Black Bloc claiming that smashing the windows at The Bay helped people think about the colonial history of the HBC. I don’t know about you, but all that makes me think about is what a colossal dick that guy is. I don’t understand how people could do that to the beautiful city of Toronto. Any attempt to explain it as part of a movement is insane. The motivations behind it are violence and terror, nothing else.
Also, I don’t get the police. How could they allow one of their cars to be burned while arresting people for just walking through the designated protest areas? It just doesn’t make any sense to me. They were too strict on people who didn’t deserve it, and not strict enough on the people who did. I just don’t get it. It’s all very un-Canadian.
In February, we welcomed the world to Vancouver, and showed everyone our best. Now in June, we welcomed the world to Toronto, and showed a side of us that I didn’t think we have.
Until next time,
G
Tags: 17 posts, canada, politics, rights are right
