Not knowing exactly what all is going on in Toronto, much of what I hear in the news reminds me strongly of "The Battle in Seattle" back in 1999. Similar situations. World economic conference at which many people are not happy with the way things are being handled. In Seattle, there were some 40,000 peaceful, well organized protesters marching and demonstrating around the Convention Center and the hotels where the delegates were staying. Many labor unions participated, and they stressed the idea of keeping the protest civil and preventing them from turning into anything violent or nasty.

But—

There was a group of goons, many of whom were from out of state (one group proclaiming themselves to be "anarchists" from eastern Oregon), who were not all that interested in the issues. They wanted mayhem. And instead of concentrating their attention to the Convention Center where the meetings were being held, they roamed all over the downtown area, smashing store windows, looting, and setting fires in Dumpsters.

And, of course, the goons got all the media attention, and what the peaceful protesters were protesting about got lost in all the noise, smoke, broken glass, and pillaging.

Was it, perhaps, the whole purpose of the no more than 200-odd people wreaking mayhem to draw attention away from the issues being raised by the peaceful, well-disciplined protesters?

I sort of wonder if something similar might not be what's going on in Toronto.

Don Firth