G20 Weekend: Harper's Vengeance Upon Toronto?

[dewline]

Given everything that's happened in Toronto this past weekend...was Harper's drafting of the city as a host for the G-20 summit a form of revenge for Torontonians' refusal to vote New Conservative?

Opinions, please?

Comments

[radargrrl.livejournal.com]

If they didn't before, I suspect they won't now.

[tartysuz.livejournal.com]

I think they thought they were doing Toronto a favour, but it's backfired horribly. The Tories' numbers nosedived as the fake lake and more serious implications of the G8/G20 came in view, compounded by the unpopularity of the HST in Ontario and BC.

[steve-roby.livejournal.com]

Something along those lines had occurred to me, yeah.

[jcoville.livejournal.com]

My Opinion. When the 8 and 20 richest countries get together, they are talking about how to get richer. Their primary way of doing this is taking money away from the middle class and poor.

I've been at protests like this. Yes there are shit disturbers, mainly the anarchists that go and throw stuff at the cops and try to start a riot. They are typically a very, very tiny part of the crowd.

Also the police get really gun-ho about intimidating protesters. They make sure they are out in full force with body armor, billy sticks, trucks for arresting large numbers of protesters, among other things. Until you've seen this up close, you've no idea how insulting and infuriating this is. Nobody there is breaking any laws, has any desire to break any laws, but the police are already assuming you are and are an itchy trigger finger away from beating you up an arresting you. In short, it gets your back up and while you had no intention of doing anything prior to the event, you're now eager to chuck a rock at them just because. This is known and it's done on purpose.

%99.99 of the people there are peaceful and just want to march and shout and let their feelings be known. The politicians absolutely do not want that to happen. They want violence in order to A) discredit the protesters and B) get the media talking about something other the content of those meetings. Also so that they don't talk about what the protesters are saying, less their views gain wider acceptance.

In the past the have just outright attacked protesters and then lied to the media and said they started it. Other times it's been police offers out of uniform in the crowd that started throwing stuff to give the police an excuse to attack the protesters (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAfzUOx53Rg&NR=1). I don't know what it was this time, but I don't automatically blame the protesters.

In short, everything is happening pretty much as it's supposed to. I suspect the "lawlessness" of the protesters also helps Harper politically among people who watch TV and get scared and want a tough law and order type guy in charge.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

In this suspicion, I think you are Far From Alone. One particular case in point, if I've read the author of these postings correctly...

http://justinbeach.blogspot.com/2010/06/g-20-summit-fails-government-police-and.html

http://justinbeach.blogspot.com/2010/06/black-block-very-convenient-for.html

And before I forget...

[dewline.livejournal.com]

...good to "hear" from you again, Jamie. It's been too bloody long.

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

And Ontario (through the secondary effects of screwing with the main city) because it exists.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Probably not. Long-memory grudges can certainly work both ways.

[m-danson.livejournal.com]

Hi. It was nice meeting you at the writers group the last few weeks.