G20: Weekend 1

Still following the story here in Toronto, but I wanted to quickly post something since I actually have an audience. Clearly, there have been shocking events in Toronto this weekend, and we'll be some time in sorting out the actions of police and protestors.

So quickly, I was at the large peaceful protest Saturday, and have many images. After the protest I returned home and was shocked at events downtown; I had no idea how events unfolded at the time. I saw many police officers head south around 3:15pm, and I walked a little way after them, but as I came in sight of Queen St., heading south on University, there was a line of officers, so I figured if there was action, it was south at the fence. I was pretty beat already, and the subway had been shut down, so I started a long walk north. I spent a little more time at Queen's Park, watching the different groups celebrate a successful event, and then headed a mile north to where the subway was running.

I'll try for something more thoughtful later, but my impression, after watching footage continually for the last two days, is that there are questions to be answered both yesterday and today. Yesterday, despite the presence of hundreds of officers downtown, they don't seem to have done much to stop violence as it occurred. As cars burned, police WERE in the area. And there were plenty available after the protest had passed, at least from my perspective. People are suggesting the police wanted some media-friendly images to help justify the massive security budget, and I don't find that suggestion too out there. I do think the Queen's Park action around 7:30 made sense-- there weren't very many legitimate protestors there by then.

Sunday, I saw nothing but peaceful protest, both at the Eastern Holding centre, and particularly at Queen & Spadina in the evening. I don't see the justification for holding them in place for hours in the rain, what protestors were present were peaceful, the rest were bystanders. There were 20,000 police in the City, and the hundreds of police outnumbered the protests by a huge margin. With a budget their size, and no traffic, I find it hard to believe any logistical issues couldn't be overcome.

I'm furious at the vandals/anarchists. Complete bullshit fellas. And like I said Friday, the ultimate blame goes to Harper. Why Toronto in June? There were a million remote locations where this could have been held, without the need for such security and where anarchists would have found it hard to disrupt anything. But the jerks who vandalized Queen and Yonge streets have totally undermined the massive criticism Harper would have faced had protests stayed peaceful. They might have even increased his support. And for what? A few broken windows? How much damage does the presence of Conservatives in office do to progressive movements over the next few years?