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G20 and the Voice of Dissent
Jun. 28th, 2010 12:45 pmI know I shouldn't expect more of cops, but I'm disappointed with Chief Bill Blair, a usually intelligent man who has reverted to type and aligned himself with the interests of only the minority.
On Metro Morning this morning, he was practically weeping, until the host commented, "You sound shocked." He affirmed this, saying he had never expected to see what he saw on the streets.
Excuse me? The violence that took place (and it was minor compared to demonstrations in, say, Paris) was precisely what has been expected for last several months. Even the tactics of the Black Bloc were predicted. So why Mr. Blair's "shock?" There was nothing surprising, and therefore no excuse to silence legitimate non-violent protesters.
The G20 charter includes provision for peaceful opposing voices. A week ago, Queen's Park was being touted as the free-speech zone. In fact, broadcasting equipment was promised for beaming the messages into the convention centre for the delegates. Well, by the middle of last week, police were already informing groups that they could not even set up information tables in the park. By Saturday at 6:30, they were pushing all people out of the zone completely.
In his press conference that evening, Bill Blair said that there is no free-speech zone in Queen's Park because "...all of Canada is a free-speech zone." He described the group of troublemakers as "small." By Sunday, arrests were becoming indiscriminate. Today, the police chief is "shocked" by what he saw. In the interview this morning, he kept repeating the phrase "criminal conspiracy" in conjunction with the arrest numbers: over 900. Obviously, all who were arrested were conspirators.
The fact that "G20 protester" is now synonymous with "violent yahoo" in the public imagination is a result of this slippage. It makes no difference that Blair kept saying that his role this weekend was to facilitate free speech; the actions of the police (and whoever else behind the scenes) resulted in a slur campaign. I cannot say how much of this was by design.
As a host country, we had an obligation to make sure the voices of protesters was heard. All the tactics of the Black Bloc were known in advance. Why was there, for instance, not a protected stage in Queen's Park from which speeches were being made constantly and being beamed into the summit? Do you think that crowd would have allowed Black Bloccers to disrupt those speeches?
In the end, Stephen Harper has had his revenge on Toronto for not voting for him.
On Metro Morning this morning, he was practically weeping, until the host commented, "You sound shocked." He affirmed this, saying he had never expected to see what he saw on the streets.
Excuse me? The violence that took place (and it was minor compared to demonstrations in, say, Paris) was precisely what has been expected for last several months. Even the tactics of the Black Bloc were predicted. So why Mr. Blair's "shock?" There was nothing surprising, and therefore no excuse to silence legitimate non-violent protesters.
The G20 charter includes provision for peaceful opposing voices. A week ago, Queen's Park was being touted as the free-speech zone. In fact, broadcasting equipment was promised for beaming the messages into the convention centre for the delegates. Well, by the middle of last week, police were already informing groups that they could not even set up information tables in the park. By Saturday at 6:30, they were pushing all people out of the zone completely.
In his press conference that evening, Bill Blair said that there is no free-speech zone in Queen's Park because "...all of Canada is a free-speech zone." He described the group of troublemakers as "small." By Sunday, arrests were becoming indiscriminate. Today, the police chief is "shocked" by what he saw. In the interview this morning, he kept repeating the phrase "criminal conspiracy" in conjunction with the arrest numbers: over 900. Obviously, all who were arrested were conspirators.
The fact that "G20 protester" is now synonymous with "violent yahoo" in the public imagination is a result of this slippage. It makes no difference that Blair kept saying that his role this weekend was to facilitate free speech; the actions of the police (and whoever else behind the scenes) resulted in a slur campaign. I cannot say how much of this was by design.
As a host country, we had an obligation to make sure the voices of protesters was heard. All the tactics of the Black Bloc were known in advance. Why was there, for instance, not a protected stage in Queen's Park from which speeches were being made constantly and being beamed into the summit? Do you think that crowd would have allowed Black Bloccers to disrupt those speeches?
In the end, Stephen Harper has had his revenge on Toronto for not voting for him.
