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From Torontoist:

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From Torontoist:

Bon Cop, Bad Cop. A great video showing some, ahem, experienced protest leaders strongly suggesting that some supposed fellow protesters drop their rocks and cease being violent… until they figure out that the “protesters” in question are most likely police provocateurs trying to rile things up and create a riot. There isn’t any firm evidence at this point that the three “bad guys” were really cops, but check out the video – it’s pretty clear that they were when you see the pathetic “takedown” performed by the uniformed police once the ruse was up.

Personally I’m not surprised – I’ve been a witness to a couple of “riots” in my day and every single time the police were the aggressors.

I’ve been thinking about

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seeing all the riot cops last night, and about the (several) experiences I’ve had in my life of “riots” – plus the many more stories I’ve heard from friends and others in my circle. And – as I’ve felt for ages but not expressed in so many words – I have grave misgivings about the situation. Notwithstanding my past as a political theory student and very minor-league activist, I think I’m a bit of a poster boy for “non-radical” in most ways. I now work in Big Industry. I own things, I pay taxes. I enjoy considering a purchase of a new car for the first time in my life in a couple of months. Also – I live in a community, I try my best (and succeed to some extent) to contribute to my community and society in various ways. I have an ever-deepening commitment to urban living.

Time was when I was exactly who the cops were “serving and protecting”. When people like me were precisely who was enfranchised by our society to the exclusion of many, if not most, others. But now, for me, I don’t feel that included. I don’t think they represent me. I don’t feel that they in any way reflect my values or wishes as a citizen. And if they can’t even represent me – well, there’s a fundamental problem there. And, thinking back to Quebec City, it’s obvious that many, many people are in the same boat as I am. Poster kids for “doing pretty well” and completely nonplussed by the government and its institutions – indeed, convinced that they are actively undermining my values and those of my friends and community.

Last night was

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the big party for St-Jean, aka Fete nationale, in Parc Maisonneuve, and today is a (very lovely) holiday here in Montreal. Traditionally there have been big problems associated with this event, but reports are that last night was calm. I was sitting in a window on St-Laurent with some friends and I was amazed by the numbers of riot cops, who, as one should expect by now, seemed to have started the fracas mentioned in the last part of the above-linked story. Funny sight of the night: riot cops in full gear driving up the Main in rented vans. It looked like a family vacation from hell.

A couple of weeks ago

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, Tom Tomorrow’s This Modern World was about the OAS/FTAA Summit, being held in Quebec City in a couple of weeks. Large protests are expected, and Federal, provincial, and local forces have been in a frenzy preparing for the huge event.

One of the tactics being employed to [keep the peace | stifle public debate] is to build a huge fence surrounding the core of Quebec City – you can see Blinky the Dog standing by the fence in the cartoon. On Saturday, the Gazette published more info about the fence and the other so-called security measures being taken.

But not so fast. A Montreal-based lawyer has gone to court to bring the fence down, calling it a violation of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms – specifically, that it limits the ability of law-abiding citizens to freely assemble. I’m with him – and more to the point, I think that if the organizers had gone out of their way to accomodate and work with the protesters, a great deal of the potential for trouble could have been avoided. Alas, I think it’s too late now. And, yet again, the maxim that “the police cause riots” will be proven true in Quebec.

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