This isn’t what my democracy looks like: A FaceBook message from Jessica Lemieux
Thursday, July 8th, 2010Jessica Lemieux is an activist and Oxfam campaigner who oftentimes makes a great deal of sense. She lives in Toronto, where, much to my pride (because I know her!!) she took the streets in peaceful protest during last week’s anti-G20 actions. A few days later, she posted the following on Facebook. It is reposted here with her permission.
Hi All,
As many of you may have heard on June 25-27th the G20 was held in Toronto. The summit, while a platform for some of the world leaders to discuss world finances, is also a platform for civil society to express their concerns. I participated in those protests on Thursday, Friday and some of Saturday.
How the summit protests played out where both discouraging, disappointing and frustrating for many reasons. Not limited to the actions of individuals who choose violent direct action that had little to do with the majority of activists, the police actions leading up to and in particularly following the riots on Saturday are of serious concern. From my point of view I respect the role that police, OPP and RCMP play in our society. Yet I know police forces hold a monopoly of force granted to them by society and thus requires a greater duty of review, restraint and reflection. This independent review is simply not happening and must happen. There is an internal police review but I don’t see this as enough.
The reasons the review must happen are diverse and complicated but from my experience the intimidation tactics leading up to and in the protest I were involved in, the questions arising from the way in which the rioters were handled, the arbitrary arrests on June 28th and the dreadful conditions of the detention center are a good start. Activism, protest and questioning are integral to a functioning and healthy democracy. The women and men who have fought so hard for civil human rights changed our society for the better and that tradition needs to be respected. Please see the many stories, accounts and discussions of people involved in the protests:
http://g20stories.wordpress.com/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/g8-g20/newsfeed/?feedID=109967350509338783&page=24
What I am seeking is if you feel compelled, as I hope you do, to take action. It can take many forms – writing your representative demanding a independent review, organizing a demonstration in your city demanding the federal government review their decisions around the G20 security or use your creativity to express your thoughts on this past weekend. Most importantly perhaps would be to start a discussion about what was decided at the G20 (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/g8-g20/economy/).
The decisions of the G20 leaders are like a canoe placed in a lake, the waves then ripples are far reaching and will affect us and the most vulnerable in our society. This is why I took to the streets during the G20 because our voices are not part of those discussions and that isn’t part of what my democracy looks like.
Sincerely,
Jess
