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This incident inevitably brings up the whole question of protest as a political act. What is it people who demonstrate want to acheive? What is the point of protesting? Who are you protesting to? The government? The media? Corporations? Who? And why do protests take on the same script all the time? Why are they so predictable? 1). Crowd marches 2) small group (and possibly undercover cops) break windows 3) cops smash heads, and arrest people who weren't breaking windows 4). media lies about what happened 5) general public cheers on police 6) new laws created to 'deal with' future protests. 7). The event that was demonstrated against continues anyway.
What is being achieved?
If the APC wanted to actually stop the Olympics from happening, they should have done that 9 years ago. This is a case of the horse having already left the barn.
Cops do analysis and learn from each demonstration, and slowly become more effective at controlling crowds. Protesters don't learn anything and repeat the same thing each time, and act all outraged over police response and media coverage, as if they never anticipated it.
Opening ceremony -
Probably the wrong thread for this, but I just have to say that IF WE EVER PUT WAYNE GRETZKY IN THE BACK OF A PICKUP TRUCK AT A MAJOR PUBLIC SPECTACLE AGAIN I AM GOING TO RENOUNCE MY CITIZENSHIP.
[some of the opening ceremony was spine-tingling wonderfull]
I'm so confused.
Anti-olympics violence, China ... GOOD! Political violence, Iran ... GOOD! Anti-olympics violence, Canada ... VERY BAD!
Funny, not even the CBC is as interested why Canadians are against the Olympics as they were the Chinese. And I listened to that nightly program that airs on CBC with two women, so obsessed with Iran, and I didn't hear them interview a single Canadian from the pro-democracy, anti-olympic establishment, movement.
So much political hypocrisy, so little time ...
Seeing how there are opportunities in Canada to protest and publicise your message without violence then yes, anti-Olympics violence is "bad".
Trying to compare the situation here to that in China or Iran is silly.
A Tale of Two Vancouvers
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/02/13-6
"The rational, principled resistance of activists protesting against the Winter Olympics, chimes with Canadian public opinion.
I think the ruling elite have, in the form of these olympics, provided a circus for the mindless with money that should be paying for badly needed social services, paying to bring justice to all the people of Canada, and paying what's needed to save us from the consequences of ecological collapse.
I don't particularly feel concerned about the Bay and the Toronto Dominion Bank having to deal with broken windows.
I do feel a little concerned that some poor working class person found their car damaged by protestors on Saturday morning.
I am deeply disturbed that some poor old guy who started objecting to the protestors was knocked to the ground by a strapping young man dressed in black, and masked. Whether it was an agent provocateur or a testosterone-intoxicated protestor, it was an act of arrogant disregard for a fellow human being who had every right to be an “asshole” without being beaten up for it.
I once knew real anarchists. They could barely agree to organize anything. They were really poor too. They weren't strapping either.
These guys were "strapping" young men, completely clad in black, able to carry out a boat load of vandalism in a short time, and then disappear before being caught.
Despite their claims to be protestors of something, they were nothing of the kind. They were Agent Provacateur's put in place by the Securatti to smear the reputation of the real Olympic protesters who were peaceful.
These events involving a bunch of threads including this one, contain a similiar theme. I summarized this in my latest post http://www.rabble.ca/babble/national-news/torture-canada-part-2#comment-...
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/rabble-staff/2010/02/has-vanoc-gun-nuts
You knew shit.
Just want to point out that this ronald reagan asshole started this thread by repeating media lies and suggested that he was going to shoot protesters with guns. I guess that babble policy has become more of a lofty ideal these days.
Breaking windows of two of the sponsors the Olympics is not violence. Please stop your middle-class blubbering. No one is coming for you, your riches are safe. Anyone who pretends that the window smashing was anything but specifically directed at property of the Olympic sponsors is just lying.
Why doesn't everyone stop repeating the "anarchist" bullshit. In case people don't know, the media has been painting everyone who is smashy at protests as "anarchists" since Emma Goldman. It was part of an American plan to kick people like Goldman, Alexander Berkman and other "foreign born" anarchists out of the US while discrediting anarchism.
The Council of Canadians just posted a detailed account of what happened Saturday before, during and after the Heart Attack protest.
2010 Heart Attack: Vancouver Olympics Opening DayHe adds this detail that I've yet to see elsewhere: "Early on an apparent agent provocateur moved into the crowd, pushing and taunting marchers before darting to the sidewalk, at times stopping to talk with police before running forward to taunt the crowd again." This piece and a number of other blogs on the protest and photos can be found on the new "issue" page: http://rabble.ca/issues/olympics
Good find - thank you Kim!
It might not be violence but I don't think it accomplished anything useful. Yay, they made someone claim insurance, that'll show them.
I agree with Le T. As soon as Ronald R lover opened this post and threatened violence against protestors, with guns, it was time to lock his account.
The time is now.
The goal was to disrupt business as usual. Do you think that police sanctioned marches "show them"? What about voting? Writing your MP? Multimillion dollar lawsuit that take 10 years to resolve? How is it that you suggest that people "show them"?
Thanks Le T and Stargazer for your comments. I'm closing this.
Please continue in this thread, about protests at the olympics.