This weekend, June 25-27, my city, Toronto, really became the centre of the universe. And I’m not sure if either of us will ever be the same.
I was supposed to attend the Toronto Poetry Slam on Saturday, as a reporter for News 4 You, and it would also have been a wonderful opportunity to catch up with some people I haven’t seen in far too long. I even wrote a somewhat out-of-character spoken word piece which I would have had fun performing, and I think the audience would have appreciated on some level.
However, early Saturday afternoon, the intersection of Queen and Spadina turned into a war zone. This is certainly closer to the Drake Hotel, where the slam took place, than to the intersection of Yonge and College, where there was also violent protest. Part of me wanted to go attempt to be a peacemaker, part of me wanted to cover it as a news story, part of me wanted to protest systemic poverty.
All of me stayed home. I will cover the slam another time. Valid protest is always available and a necessity in a democratic society. And I will always be a strong force for peace. But on Saturday, I stayed at home, horrified by the chaotic images portrayed on television for all the world to see.
Right now, the only one of my poems I would like to perform is the ironically titled, “Toronto The Good.”
Can anybody tell me that something useful, something meaningful, something positive, something which affects the real world, day-to-day life of Torontonians, was actually accomplished this weekend?
The loss of focus from real protest and real policing is something which will affect our city and our country for a long time.
Sadly the loss of our title of “Toronto the Good” may be permanent.
PTJC
As of Monday June 28th, 700 people remain detained. Judy Rebick addresses the Gathering at the Toronto Police Headquarters
According to Naomi Klein, Toronto Police we’re caught with their hands in the G20 Cookie Jar.
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June 29, 2010 at 8:20 am
potatobenevolence
I think ‘Toronto the Good’ still stands.
The level of frustration at the state of the world, i.e. inequality, creates violence from impotence. People can feel powerless, I know I do. I wonder who voted for Stephen Harper. More so the second time around after he showed us what kind of policy he thinks is important e.g. renege equal rights for same sex couples, more military spending and his daft idea of the ‘traditional’ family, whatever that is.
I’m sorry if people were hurt over the weekend, but that is the nature of protest, or rather that is what can happen when the ‘mob’ mentality kicks in.
What I found more alienating were the images of police lines on familiar streets, a reminder that we are not truly free to do and go where we want. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as it jarred the illusion of freedom in me. It makes people more awake so to speak, to what is really going on.
July 2, 2010 at 8:03 pm
WanderingPenguin
Interesting.
I have been outraged for the past week by the egregious behaviour of the “security forces” in Toronto last weekend, but I had not thought about the possible positive aspects of it. You may indeed be right that it “jarred the illusion of freedom” out of all of us. It may very well have spurred people who would otherwise be fence-sitters into action against the evil factions that brought us to this point. If it has awakened a sleeping giant in the people of Toronto and Canada then perhaps it may well have served a grander purpose after all. I sure hope that it does in the long term because the close-up view at the moment is still pretty ugly.
I appreciated your point of view, though. Here’s hoping!
June 29, 2010 at 8:34 am
J Peachy
The truth about the G20 is slowly being unravelled. And like an onion, everytime you peel a layer one begins to weep. I’m not the one to shed a tear for just nothing, but when its forced upon me, that is when I get angry. I embrace anger as a fuel for inspiration and to make a change.
My challenge is to recreate it in ways that could never be interpreted as aggression. There is no need to reward a medium that can be so destructive.
jp
June 30, 2010 at 2:37 pm
pjtconn
Toronto the Good
by
PJTC
How many decent, lovely women
Pretty as first spring flowers
Promising young men, innocent bystanders
Wayward young offenders making mistakes
They cannot erase, ever forsake
Will it have to take
How much more yet still
For the powers-that-be to admit
Houston we have big problems
And whom shall solve them
Toronto the Good, ideals endangered
Violence repeals such grand reputation
This land is our land
We stand for the entirety
In some sublime undefined synecdoche
War unrefined unites us in
Dark starless nights of tragedy
Stark days after of mourning
Shovels pouring new earth plant
Broken seeds that can’t grow
Lives fade like Autumn leaves
Bodies laid to eternal rest
Those left behind never know
But where do we go
From here in our grief
To belief in the feeling
Of forgiving and grace, the
Place of healing and wholeness
As we redress sin and
Let the good guys win
July 2, 2010 at 3:15 pm
PrairieBird
GREAT blog – thank you so much for writing & posting it. By chance, I had just had another article sent to me by someone attacking Rebick & Klein. It was, imo, utter crap, but will share the link, so you might leave a comment there if you wish. I really appreciate your posting their excellent speeches here. And, btw, I do think your poem is still valid & still wonderful. Thnks!
The anti-RebickKlein article.
http://toronto.mediacoop.ca/blog/oshipeya/4012#comment-5197
July 2, 2010 at 3:54 pm
pjtconn
Thank you so much for your kind words about my blog and poem! The wonderful postings are the province and property of J Peachy, so I can’t take credit.