Toronto Protest

[Zerlina]

So there was a violent protest in my city- two police cars were set on fire, policemen were bombarded with golf balls and rocks, store windows were smashed and some were apparently set on fire. The biggest mall in the province was put on lockdown and then evacuated, several hospitals also went on lockdown. (I think this is the only thing like this that has ever happened here- we're normally a really peaceful city). The police have arrested over 400 people, and people have argued that they shouldn't have been arrested. Others are really angry because they've taken attention away from the majority of protesters who were peaceful.

Watching the footage and seeing the people who have been out on the street all night really makes it evident how angry people are.

I'm just curious as to what everyone's thoughts are on a situation like this- what extent should police and protesters have? The cause of public anger, etc


News Story:
http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-ca&from=customplayer_en-ca_news&fg=ca.msn.com&vid=cbcc2010-2606-2343-0033-153127885400

A Blog:
http://thestar.blogs.com/g20/

[A Forgotten Legend]

I would somehow find I way to go on vacation during that kind of thing. o.O

[X_marks_the_ed]

I don't know much about it, just going by the video, but if cars and people are being lit on fire, the authorities should have the right to kick some ***.

[Prpl_Mage]

Yeah we have this all the time. They calm down after a while. Too much police effort will make the next time worse.

[Archem]

Ed seems to have the right idea. What are they protesting, by the way?

[Grandy]

Police should just make a perimeter and warn 'you advance, you get arrested, stay over there and you can protest all you want'. They did this once where I live, it worked. I remember one time where the police actually went out and protected the protesters who were in the middle of the street from angry drivers.

[supasora]

Ed seems to have the right idea. What are they protesting, by the way?

something about the prime minister suspending parliament

[Zerlina]

No that was ages ago. There's lots of protests about different things, but mostly peaceful. The group that is setting things on fire claim to be anarchists, so I guess they're protesting the existence of mass government? They arrested people this morning and most seemed to be francophones which might indicate they were from out of the province. They ditched their clothes and weapons in bushes on a university campus, and then decided to stay in the residence, so the cops found them pretty easily.

[Prpl_Mage]

Anarchists?

Good luck with that.

[Grandy]

They ditched their clothes and weapons in bushes on a university campus, and then decided to stay in the residence, so the cops found them pretty easily.

 I choose to read that as in they walked around the capus naked in order not to get attention.

[zuhane]

I almost thought this was football-related... I was gonna say!

[Cerebus]

They arrested people this morning and most seemed to be francophones

And by francophones, I suppose you mean quebecers, eh? If that's the case, then I'll hate my nation even more.

About polices and all, well, I agree with

if cars and people are being lit on fire, the authorities should have the right to kick some ***.

Too bad for those who weren't being stupid, but it's hard to tell who's peaceful or not when you're in a croud of people throwing stones, setting things on fire and all. And to be fair, I'm pretty sure some of them "peaceful" guys actually took the opportunity to break a few things.

Still pretty sad to see peaceful protests being all f*cked up because of a few stupid people. Especially if most of them are from Québec...

[Daetyrnis]

They were protesting the G20 Summit.  Toronto was the host city this time, and a great deal of money was spent on it.  A LOT of people were really pissed off about the G20 itself, as well as how Toronto dealt with hosting it.  Most of the protesters were peaceful though.

I live in a suburb near Toronto and commute there frequently, I was there Friday night and the next morning, actually.  My brother lives right on the Queen / Spadina intersection, which was where cops kept a bunch of people penned in, later arresting people and such.  I also know some people who were part of the (peaceful) protesting.  I haven't been following the news with much vigilance, but I do have a lot of first-hand and second-hand reports.

I think the police handled it very well.  It seems like they chose to use sheer numbers to keep things under control as opposed to weaponry.  The media has been blowing stuff WAY out of proportion (as usual).  Protests always attract violent mob idiots, but they are the minority.

[Zerlina]

Most important issue being protested- closing of the Eaton Centre (really big mall):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXIE2uOdnkQ

[X_marks_the_ed]

"Why do you exclude the population?"



You mean you and that kid molesting the glass?