I have to start this off with something I think is important.
If you're not going to read this whole thing, you can fuck off and not bother to respond 'cause you'll likely make a cunt of yourself if you do.
There is a detention centre in our city.
There is a DETENTION CENTRE in our city.
THERE IS A FUCKING DETENTION CENTRE IN OUR CITY.
DETENTION.
FUCK.
CENTRE.
IN A FILM STUDIO.
I don't know about you, but I think there's something so ugly about that fact.
I know if we want to be all literal, YES, there are MANY detention centres in our city. We usually call them prisons.
This isn't one of those.
This is a temporary holding pen for people deemed unsafe for the streets during the G20 summit. It feels like they put it in a film studio to make the brutality and hideousness of the situation as metaphoric and awful as possible.
I have to make a few things clear.
I'm a human being, and as such I'm a swirling mass of contradictions. Probably more than most.
I am not a protester.
I am not particularly informed or passionate about any political issues, and almost especially not the G20. I vote whenever it occurs to me, which is still probably more consistently than most people. I do try and vote my conscience, and be as informed in my decisions as possible, but usually I can't be bothered. As far as I'm concerned, my world doesn't change much day to day no matter who's in charge.
I hate people.
As a whole, I hate people. I think most human beings are so selfish, ignorant, and/or casually hateful that I sometimes wish the whole world had a neck I could wring. On the other hand, when I meet the precious few people who make it all worthwhile, I try to love and care for them as much as I possibly can.
I hate protesters.
I tend to think most of them are just followers and uninformed idiots trying to feel empowered for once in their lives. I think the rest of them are...
I have to start this off with something I think is important.
If you're not going to read this whole thing, you can fuck off and not bother to respond 'cause you'll likely make a cunt of yourself if you do.
There is a detention centre in our city.
There is a DETENTION CENTRE in our city.
THERE IS A FUCKING DETENTION CENTRE IN OUR CITY.
DETENTION.
FUCK.
CENTRE.
IN A FILM STUDIO.
I don't know about you, but I think there's something so ugly about that fact.
I know if we want to be all literal, YES, there are MANY detention centres in our city. We usually call them prisons.
This isn't one of those.
This is a temporary holding pen for people deemed unsafe for the streets during the G20 summit. It feels like they put it in a film studio to make the brutality and hideousness of the situation as metaphoric and awful as possible.
I have to make a few things clear.
I'm a human being, and as such I'm a swirling mass of contradictions. Probably more than most.
I am not a protester.
I am not particularly informed or passionate about any political issues, and almost especially not the G20. I vote whenever it occurs to me, which is still probably more consistently than most people. I do try and vote my conscience, and be as informed in my decisions as possible, but usually I can't be bothered. As far as I'm concerned, my world doesn't change much day to day no matter who's in charge.
I hate people.
As a whole, I hate people. I think most human beings are so selfish, ignorant, and/or casually hateful that I sometimes wish the whole world had a neck I could wring. On the other hand, when I meet the precious few people who make it all worthwhile, I try to love and care for them as much as I possibly can.
I hate protesters.
I tend to think most of them are just followers and uninformed idiots trying to feel empowered for once in their lives. I think the rest of them are just as lying and manipulative as the people they're against. At the very least, they're all overly simplistic about issues that are a lot bigger than can be handled overnight.
When I heard the G20 summit was coming to town and people were planning to protest, I scoffed. I didn't care. I mean, obviously the G20 is a pile of bullshit and a billion dollars in security for a meeting of the assholes in charge gets my goat, but I don't think gathering with a bunch of like-minded people and shouting catchy slogans is going to make them piss on us any less.
However, as word and footage of the ensuing violence hit the news Saturday, I felt like a cunt. I felt like a total asshole.
I felt like I'd failed my city.
To make it clear, I'm not big on national pride, or municipal pride, or any kind of pride really. I can really hate Canada and Toronto sometimes, but overall it's pretty petty bullshit compared to all the things I love and tend to take for granted about them. The point is, I'm not one to go around saying "My city this, my city that."
It takes the shit hitting the fan to really make you feel a part of city. Something bigger than yourself.
Back when I was hearing all the bullshit people were saying about the Tamil protests last summer I said "Fuck it. I'm seeing it for myself." I was there on two separate occasions. The most affecting was seeing them marching, neat as can be, right down Yonge Street onto Queen.
It was a powerful experience. I didn't have to know about the issue to get it. I could see it in the face of every person passing by. These people cared so much that they had to do something about it, no matter how impotent it may be.
It was the first and only time I actually felt like I was a part of the city. Something truly larger than myself.
It happened again, and I missed it.
I was at work. Later on I was at the Phoenix drinking.
I feel like an asshole to not have even seen any of it. I feel like a total fucking prat for knowing the opportunity was there, and completely failing to comprehend that fact.
I don't give a fuck who was right or who was wrong, I should have been there so I could see and judge for myself.
Now all I can do is sift through the various bullshit being fed to us now that it's pretty much over.
I have more to say about it all, but it feels like it doesn't matter 'cause I didn't see any of it for myself.
My boss and I took a couple of laps around the detention centre tonight, and I ACTUALLY felt sick to my stomach, but it's not enough.
I fucked up.
I guess I'll go see the wreckage tomorrow.
Maybe take some pictures.
If you're not going to read this whole thing, you can fuck off and not bother to respond 'cause you'll likely make a cunt of yourself if you do.
There is a detention centre in our city.
There is a DETENTION CENTRE in our city.
THERE IS A FUCKING DETENTION CENTRE IN OUR CITY.
DETENTION.
FUCK.
CENTRE.
IN A FILM STUDIO.
I don't know about you, but I think there's something so ugly about that fact.
I know if we want to be all literal, YES, there are MANY detention centres in our city. We usually call them prisons.
This isn't one of those.
This is a temporary holding pen for people deemed unsafe for the streets during the G20 summit. It feels like they put it in a film studio to make the brutality and hideousness of the situation as metaphoric and awful as possible.
I have to make a few things clear.
I'm a human being, and as such I'm a swirling mass of contradictions. Probably more than most.
I am not a protester.
I am not particularly informed or passionate about any political issues, and almost especially not the G20. I vote whenever it occurs to me, which is still probably more consistently than most people. I do try and vote my conscience, and be as informed in my decisions as possible, but usually I can't be bothered. As far as I'm concerned, my world doesn't change much day to day no matter who's in charge.
I hate people.
As a whole, I hate people. I think most human beings are so selfish, ignorant, and/or casually hateful that I sometimes wish the whole world had a neck I could wring. On the other hand, when I meet the precious few people who make it all worthwhile, I try to love and care for them as much as I possibly can.
I hate protesters.
I tend to think most of them are just followers and uninformed idiots trying to feel empowered for once in their lives. I think the rest of them are...