Postscript to a ProtestSince I wrote my previous blog entry the student protests in Quebec have expanded and changed their focus. The draconian laws of the Jean Charest government which are seen as a threat to people's fundamental rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has seen support for the student lead protests broaden. It has brought a widely representative group to the streets. On the anniversary of the 100th day of street demonstrations there were thousands and not tens of thousands of citizens filling the streets of Montreal and other cities in the province. The nightly protests and arrests continue.
It has become clear that Bill 78 has not achieved it's goal of ending the protests through threats. Court challenges of these ill conceived laws, which the police are wisely not enforcing, have begun. This process will take a long time. It is a political solution that will solve the "problem".
Below is an interesting video which can help explain what is going on. Those in the video are not wild eyed radicals seeking violent confrontation with the police. The demonstrations have been overwhelming peaceful. You might not believe this if you just listened to the nightly news with it's fascination for the antics of the Black Bloc, an anarchist group that seeks out violent confrontation. They show up at every demonstration. They are a sideshow, a minority whose methods feed the media's focus on the sensational.
Those who speak on this video are calm, thoughtful citizens, who feel disenfranchised and now threatened by their government. They deserve to be listen to.
The nightly pots and pans student protests continue. They are no all students.
Here is the interesting text that goes with the video.
2 Comments:
Ever wonder who the media is writing for? I realize if they can add some excitement to the news, they make money and keep their jobs... and then there are the political pressures to lie, exaggerate, or just plain BS the public. We have FOX NEWS that most of us call FAUX news. Scientists could spend a lifetime looking for the grains of truth in the stuff they put on the air.
It's ironic, Philip -- and heartening -- that, of all the provinces in Canada, Quebec stands most firmly behind the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
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