From vimeo description:
I attended the peaceful protest march in response to the G20 on June 26, 2010 in Toronto, Ontario and continued with the peaceful protest into the night. The movement was huge, powerful and filled with amazing energy. The messages were strong and creatively expressed through signs, music, dance, poetry and pure solidarity. However, I was saddened by the media's shallowness of coverage and obsessive focus on the acts of vandalism by a small group to the complete exclusion of the peaceful majority who carried a strong and extremely important message to the world, so I decided to share another perspective with the footage and images that I captured during the weekend. I purposely left out the broken windows and damaged police cars that I encountered along the way because they do not represent anything that the majority were protesting or experiencing. There was a horrible disservice committed against democracy during the weekend by the mainstream media, by oversized and overreaching security presence, and by the unjustifiable fear that was instilled in the minds of the public by the government. These courageous protesters should be applauded for being actively engaged in their democracy and seeking justice for the marginalized. They are the ones who are truly looking out for us, for our children and for future generations.
13 Comments
theali*promote
siftbotSelf promoting this video and sending it back into the queue for one more try; last queued Thursday, July 1st, 2010 7:10am PDT - promote requested by original submitter theali.
Boise_LibThanks, theali.
Our media are whores for the corporations that control our world.
theali*promote
siftbotSelf promoting this video and sending it back into the queue for one more try; last queued Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 7:32am PDT - promote requested by original submitter theali.
gharkgood work
Jinxsays...I want peacefully protest that kid. in the face. with my fists.
Like, it started out ok and I love the sentiment and all, but it just went ON and then the post rock whale singing or whatever was really too much and I vomited all over my keyboard.
thealilol, no man, this is good. I like how he tries to get the audience involved as well. This kid is a poet and has leadership skills, pay attention to how he gets them involved. It's not a broadcast, but a conversation.
>> ^Jinx:
I want peacefully protest that kid. in the face. with my fists.
Like, it started out ok and I love the sentiment and all, but it just went ON and then the post rock whale singing or whatever was really too much and I vomited all over my keyboard.
chilaxe"[Protesters] are the ones who are truly looking out for us, for our children and for future generations."
G20 protesting hasn't actually accomplished anything, has it?
The costs, on the other hand, are pretty large. Tens of billions of dollars? That could have saved millions of lives in poor countries, or could have been invested in next-generation solar power research.
peggedbeafuck those hippies. if they had ALL gotten up and smashed shit, joined in the black bloc.. that really would have SAID something.
you're right to protest is a sham, expressing your dissent how the oppressors tell you you are allowed to express dissent changes nothing for future generations.. NOTHING. nothing changes without direct action, without disrupting business as usual and these lazy, self righteous hippies aren't changing shit.
on the other hand, that black bloc reminds people that they really are so sick of the status quo they do want to blow up military recruiting centers and smash cops cars with baseball bats, oh canada!
mentality>> ^peggedbea:
fuck those hippies. if they had ALL gotten up and smashed shit, joined in the black bloc.. that really would have SAID something.
you're right to protest is a sham, expressing your dissent how the oppressors tell you you are allowed to express dissent changes nothing for future generations.. NOTHING. nothing changes without direct action, without disrupting business as usual and these lazy, self righteous hippies aren't changing shit.
on the other hand, that black bloc reminds people that they really are so sick of the status quo they do want to blow up military recruiting centers and smash cops cars with baseball bats, oh canada!
What kind of message does smashing shit send besides a general cry of discontent? What kind of constructive criticism or insight on the inequities of modern times does burning a police car provide? What positive change does it engender, what good does it do for the rest of humanity?
Societal problems are multifaceted and complex. Simply destroying something is not a solution. The world needs thinkers, not a bigger lynch mob. Fuck your senseless violence; It brings nothing but chaos and terror.
peggedbeait's anything but senseless. the operative word is DIRECT action. and the ethic is that no person or personal (there's difference between personal and private property) property is destroyed. the targets are clear, financial institutions, multi national corporations, the police, the military. the state. not people or their belongings.
the message is also clear, it's written in spray paint on the sides of barricades. the insight and societal critique is quite clear and easily accessible. there are libraries and warehouses full of the literature, and houses and collectives full of the living message and the people sharing their visions and stories.
what kind of message of does a bunch of stinky kids sitting in a circle send? "we don't like what you're doing, but you said we have to stay here, so ok!" that's not at all productive, and will never change anything. after 3 generations of peaceful sit-in style protests, what the fuck has changed?
this kid did it get right though, the media narrative is designed so that you don't see the message, all you see is "senseless" violence. so the anarchists look like a lynch mob.
i think the black bloc has the target wrong, the media should be the first thing we throw bricks at.
gwiz665Get a job.
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