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Edition no. 68 August 1 2010 |
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Anarchists achieve their goal of violence and lawlessness |
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The G20 Summit: Not worth the effort |
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By Thomas Terrio |
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Once again, the G20 Summit has proven to be worth more trouble, social unrest and disturbance, than what it was originally designed for, to bring the largest economies together within a common framework, to resolve critical issues and settle socio-economic problems on a global scale. It’s not only tiresome, but frustrating, to see the results of so many taxpayer dollars wasted away in these difficult economic times for what simply appears to be nothing more than a photo opportunity for world leaders. The Toronto G20 cost Canadian taxpayers a billion dollars in security and policing alone. Downtown Toronto was turned into a mini police state and in the end a battleground for radical groups competing for the attention of world leaders and the media. More than 900 people were arrested, many innocent, civil liberties put into question, journalists detained and threatened, and private property destroyed. And what was achieved, a mess that will linger on in the courts for years to come. In my view, most Torontonians, the smart ones, kept clear of the so-called security zones over the weekend. The police had clear targets, the Black clothed radicals whose faces were covered and who initiated the violence. How many of these individuals were there? No one is sure, but it was most probably less than fifty. The groups who said they were demonstrating peacefully perhaps should have chosen another day to do so. The idea people are free to do whatever they please whenever they want is a complete falsehood. There are better ways to challenge the system, if challenging the system is what you do. How easy it would have been for the police to arrest those troublemakers dressed in black, if everyone else would have stayed home that day, rather than choose to demonstrate and act as cover for those anarchists, who have nothing more in mind than to destroy what we here in Canada are attempting to build. This exercise in democracy has its weaknesses. The law is only as good as the people enforcing it. Yes, the police overreacted in several cases outlined in the media. Yes, the detention centre was uncomfortable; and yes, there are limits to Canada’s democracy. Without a doubt, Amnesty International and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association both have legitimate concerns. Let’s agree, the whole situation was out of control. The G20 Summit was not worth the time, the effort, or the cost. Furthermore, if leaders must meet on a regular basis, shouldn't every country participating share the bill? In the end, the only individuals who succeeded at the G20 Summit in Toronto were the people without principles and the ones with nothing more to achieve than lawlessness, violence and political disorder—the anarchists. |
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Every anarchist is a baffled dictator. Mussolini |
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Anarchism is founded on the observation that since few men are wise enough to rule themselves, even fewer are wise enough to rule others. |
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Afterthoughts |
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