writes Rob Breakenridge,
it’s disheartening to see so many defending the Toronto police crackdown on G20 protesters.
Defenders of the police response put the blame for all of the above on the actions of violent protesters. It’s unclear why an under-reaction justifies an overreaction — it merely compounds the original error and leaves us with the worst of both worlds: smashed windows and violated freedoms.
Just ask Linda Gibbons, the peaceful pro-life grandmother who has spent the last 500 days — and approximately half of the last 15 years — in prison. Her “crime” is having protested within 20 metres of a Toronto abortion clinic. Her “protest” involves asking women approaching the clinic if they wish to talk to someone. Those who say no are left alone.
Conservatives should reconsider their support for the actions of Toronto police. It was clownish and clueless anti-capitalists this time, but it’s easy to imagine a similar fate befalling a rally of gun owners or pro-lifers. What will the objection be then?
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PS: Linda Gibbons will spend more time in jail than Karla Homulka.
Feel safer now?
