As I write this, I can hear the helicopters circling in the sky. In the distance, you can make out the sound of sirens. And at one point, I could hear the chanting.
The last few days it hasn’t felt like the Toronto I know and love, where I’ve made my home. The security fence went up, and the city I know disappeared.
I may live in Toronto, but for this weekend, I feel like I’m visiting somewhere else. The amount of police is jarring and almost scary. Being stopped for motorcades has become the norm. Stores in my neighbourhood have closed for the weekend, even boarding up their windows in the hopes that their businesses will still be standing upon their return Monday morning.
I understand why we have the increased police presence. I understand the reason for the fence, for the hundreds — maybe thousands of police officers from other jurisdictions. I understand why stores have shut their business this weekend, why we are getting road and transit closures with no notice. But it doesn’t make any of it any easier to swallow.
I don’t side with the protesters, but I don’t side with the cops either. A big part of me thinks if the protesters didn’t protest, then we wouldn’t have needed the fence, the police, what everyone seems to be so up in arms about. The protesters claim police brutality, while the police claim they are just doing their jobs. Who to believe?
I was supposed to be at the Rogers Centre Friday night, welcoming back Roy Halladay. Instead, he and the Phillies demolished the Blue Jays in Philadelphia as I watched on television. I wanted to go watch the World Cup at a great bar this morning for the experience. Instead, we watched it in our home. I wanted to enjoy my long weekend, instead I’m stuck watching riot coverage on television.
I wonder what the fallout will be after all of this. Will I ever go back to loving the Toronto I knew before this weekend? Or will the reports to come forever taint how I feel about my city, my politicians, my fellow Torontonians?
Footnote: Just as I finished writing this post, the protesters have begun to destroy property. Thus far, a cop car has been destroyed, the Starbucks at Queen and John was destroyed (and none of the patrons were allowed to leave before the protesters broke windows), banks, media vans, and so much more. This is ridiculous and I am a little scared.
i believe that the violent protesters aren’t really from Toronto and are people who go from G20 to G20 to wreck havoc. I think for the most part, Torontians are just not that violent. I believe in peaceful protests. The way things are I believe the police should be able to use force to stop the damage. Those protesters don’t have to pay for their damage. It is irresponsible.
It is sad that the city has to go into “lockdown.” It is okay to disagree; it isn’t okay to destroy.
You may want to write again on Monday when the fear subsides and hindsight is clear.
As for me, I want to hijack your small platform to say this: A lot of things happened this weekend that may or may not reflect the values a reasonable person would hold dear. Violent protest in the name of anarchy? Peaceful protest in the name of political change? $1-billion spent on security that either prevented a far worse spectacle or failed miserably at protecting innocent local store owners/managers/workers from being vandalized (just because the happen to have a multinational corporation’s sign on the front)? Protection of the elite at the expense of the safety and civil liberties of everyone else? Overreaction of the police because of frustration with persistent peaceful protest? There are dozens of other actions/ideas here. What we all need to do over the next few weeks is reflect on what we saw and how it reflects what we believe. And then in the manner you best see fit, DO SOMETHING.
I hope, should I be able to shake myself from the ennui of modern life, make a few decisions about what I want to do to better reflect the values I hold dear. I would encourage anyone who reads this to do the same.
I think the one thing I heard this weekend (and I wish I remember who said it) was that protest is ultimately futile. Action is necessary. Make harder decisions in your own life. And especially: vote. Insist on better ideas and debate and action than the bankrupt political rhetoric of left vs. right that we are subjected to now.