Canada's Violent Protestors Prove Nothing

Not sure when it was that we as people were made to believe that violence will ever be the answer to anything in life. Whenever it was, someone needs to retrace those steps and correct this entry. Violence does nothing but force those who were willing and able to not only hear valid concerns but correct them, to do no more than dismiss those who may have a legitimate claim. It makes people close off any chance of reconciliation or compromise because one knows that you can never negotiate with anyone who refuse to respect another as they would wish others to respect them. You must be willing to approach the negotiating table with more than a big stick and a loud voice, in order to get your concerns addressed; the best method is to approach with the degree of respect that you would wish in return.

"Police made more than 400 arrests after black-clad demonstrators broke off from a crowd of peaceful protesters at the global economic summit and went on a rampage in downtown Toronto that lasted into the early morning hours, authorities said Sunday." "The roving band of protesters torched four police cruisers and shattered shop windows with baseball bats and hammers for blocks, including at police headquarters, then shed some of their black clothes, revealing other garments, and continued their rampage." "The vandalism occurred just blocks from where U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders were meeting and staying."

"What we saw yesterday is a bunch of thugs that pretend to have a difference of opinion with policies and instead choose violence to express those so-called differences of opinion," Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief spokesman Dimitri Soudas said Sunday." (Gillies, Rob; 6/27/2010, Associated Press, Police arrest more than 400 at Toronto summit, Retrieved from news@yahoo.com).

The peaceful protestors were right to voice their concerns in the manner that they did and should not be held responsible for those who choose to act more like "hyper-active hoodlums" instead of those with a cause. The sad part about this event is that those who say that they should be listened to caused more of a problem than they were willing to solve. The damages that they caused did not advance the cause of that for which they were demonstrating but may have caused a larger divide than was once there. The people for whom they pretended to speak for are the same people that will now have to repair the damages to their shops and help pay for those police vehicles. There is nothing noble about hiding behind a cause to commit vandalism or pretending to be an upright citizen when you are nothing more than a petty criminal. Violence should always be the last resort means to an end but never the end all.