I attended the rally in Toronto yesterday and came away early with these observations. If you're going to hold a rally, best make sure that you are on time, ready and have real clout in preparedness. Organizers were 1/2 hour late and people were scattered all over trying to figure out if this is the place to be. For all it was worth, a bad assembly just makes for good criticism from the other side.
There was a guy draped in a marijuana flag smack dab in the centre of the stairs openly smoking a spliff. Looked to me like he was a plant aiming to discredit what elections fraud is all about. As well, a big tall guy with face acne of a drug user and baggy coat that looked like a Robert DeNiro street urchin sat down strategically for the photo ops and buggered off after that.
I'm getting the picture that protests in Toronto are being co-opted by the anonymous group and slandering the image of people concerned about political matters beyond those of fighting cops on the street, street people begging and drug use in public. I'd marched in the first Occupy Toronto and when we got to the park, some grown men climbed trees and started toking up. If you want your kids to know about community action, how do you explain complete idiocy like that? I definitely would support getting a cop to enforce open drug use at any time. I would do tell people to butt out when smoking in the street, so don't get all holy on me about marijuana.
Lastly, the lol in the comments section of the Star and Globe is an indication of the anonymous group who lulz (make fun) of political issues for the hell of it. They aren't anarchists but right wing. And are likely responsible for the NDP voting hacking, and hacking of the Toronto Star when the budget came in. Why didn't they pick on the Globe or the Post?
So, when you see these creepy plants in protests, don't assume they're there in support. They were there to cause trouble during the G20 and ever since.
Why do you think the media focussed on the police brutality of some occupy protesters from the day before. A diversion from paying attention to the Election march.
I should have stayed home yesterday, but at least I got some real understanding of the scenery behind the raggamuffins messing with online chatter, their motivations and causes for public apathy.