Looking for Trouble - the G20 Summit
The increasing police presence in Toronto for the G20 Summit indicates that the police are expecting violent protests to begin shortly.
I work downtown Toronto and over the last two days have seen busloads of police in riot gear (some of them extremely handsome), fashionable in black, bullet proof vests, riot head gear climbing out of burgundy vans and huge buses. I was outside of our building and viewed some more police riding big black horses, also wearing fashionable black and riot head gear, slowly cruising down Bay Street. Toronto has never seen anything like it. My friend took a photo. It’s all really very exciting!
Usually Canadians are a passive lot. Our leaders can do anything to us and there is barely a whimper in response. The most recent betrayal has been the launch of higher taxes, the HST, coming to us soon. We are one of the highest taxed nations in the world. Does anybody protest about that? No. We’re too tired. The liberal government was forced to drop this one on us because they had to somehow pay for the expense accounts of the government dinners, trips and vacations to the sunny south. The HST is the way to pay for these government pleasures. One would not expect Canadians to protest or even to get violent. We’re all too exhausted from working five days a week, with only three weeks of vacation a year. Why all the police? As a nation, we are definitely NOT as politicized as they are in Europe and elsewhere. We’re…. too tired.
Anyways, back to the increasing police presence in Toronto, I don’t think other international cities have this much police presence in place before their G20 summits. We have sound bombs, snipers, water cannons, guns and god knows what else.
There have been two meek and mild protests already in the city, a small group of people, their bodies slicked down with vegetable oil, protesting the oil spill and then the gay community’s protest, a colorful little demonstration where they were surrounded by police in bicycles, wheel to wheel. That little protest would not get violent anyway because they were all meeting up for a divine dinner and cocktails, somewhere else, later on.
The American government has warned their citizens to stay away from Toronto, millions of police are all geared up for violence, stores are closing, many employees have been told to not work for Thursday and Friday. The LCBO (our local liquor stores in the downtown area are closing and boarding up. Someone knows something. Something’s up. A couple of people told me that wealthy anarchists from foreign countries are flying in to start things up.
Thought I’d post this photo of the sleek black horses and their police officers, riding down Bay Street looking for G20 trouble.
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Increasing Police Presence in the Toronto G20 Summit
Posted by WorkingShirt on 6/23/10 • Categorized as Commentary,News
Looking for Trouble - the G20 Summit
The increasing police presence in Toronto for the G20 Summit indicates that the police are expecting violent protests to begin shortly.
I work downtown Toronto and over the last two days have seen busloads of police in riot gear (some of them extremely handsome), fashionable in black, bullet proof vests, riot head gear climbing out of burgundy vans and huge buses. I was outside of our building and viewed some more police riding big black horses, also wearing fashionable black and riot head gear, slowly cruising down Bay Street. Toronto has never seen anything like it. My friend took a photo. It’s all really very exciting!
Usually Canadians are a passive lot. Our leaders can do anything to us and there is barely a whimper in response. The most recent betrayal has been the launch of higher taxes, the HST, coming to us soon. We are one of the highest taxed nations in the world. Does anybody protest about that? No. We’re too tired. The liberal government was forced to drop this one on us because they had to somehow pay for the expense accounts of the government dinners, trips and vacations to the sunny south. The HST is the way to pay for these government pleasures. One would not expect Canadians to protest or even to get violent. We’re all too exhausted from working five days a week, with only three weeks of vacation a year. Why all the police? As a nation, we are definitely NOT as politicized as they are in Europe and elsewhere. We’re…. too tired.
Anyways, back to the increasing police presence in Toronto, I don’t think other international cities have this much police presence in place before their G20 summits. We have sound bombs, snipers, water cannons, guns and god knows what else.
There have been two meek and mild protests already in the city, a small group of people, their bodies slicked down with vegetable oil, protesting the oil spill and then the gay community’s protest, a colorful little demonstration where they were surrounded by police in bicycles, wheel to wheel. That little protest would not get violent anyway because they were all meeting up for a divine dinner and cocktails, somewhere else, later on.
The American government has warned their citizens to stay away from Toronto, millions of police are all geared up for violence, stores are closing, many employees have been told to not work for Thursday and Friday. The LCBO (our local liquor stores in the downtown area are closing and boarding up. Someone knows something. Something’s up. A couple of people told me that wealthy anarchists from foreign countries are flying in to start things up.
Thought I’d post this photo of the sleek black horses and their police officers, riding down Bay Street looking for G20 trouble.
Related Posts
Tagged as: G20 Summit, police presence in Toronto