The violence in Halifax, where protesters launched ball bearings at police during a meeting of G-7 finance ministers, is a wake-up call for Calgary, says Mayor Dave Bronconnier.
No kidding. When only a few hundred protesters show up, and 30 to 40 of those participate in hard-core attacks on police, you get a hint of what could happen here during the G-8 next week.
In downtown Calgary, there has been an ostrich attitude among some residents and business people, a sense that not much can happen in quiet Calgary.
That assessment could still turn out to be right -- let's hope so -- but the signs are not promising.
"Halifax is really a wake-up call to let Calgarians know that even in Halifax, it only took a couple of hundred people," says Bronconnier. "These groups were well-prepared, with a number of changes of clothes and gas masks.
"They even attacked a couple of reporters. Generally, protesters want media to be there to get their message out, but if Halifax is any example, that may not be true anymore."
Some members of the media still work happily at their jobs, however, giving every break to violent protesters.
For instance, a CBC Internet story on Monday was headlined: "Police defend action at G-7 meeting in N.S."
It wasn't worthwhile, apparently, to ask the protesters to defend launching ball bearings from slingshots.
Those are potentially lethal weapons. The police responded with stun guns and tear gas, which are not pleasant but rarely kill people.
As always, though, the protesters said police overreacted to a few "minor incidents."
It's amazing that some people still buy this, when it couldn't be more obvious that the whole game is to provoke a police response that makes the authorities look bad on television.
During private briefings on the G-8, Calgary aldermen were shown a tape of a police officer beating a protester during the Seattle demonstrations.
Except that it wasn't a policeman. The uniform was fake, and the whole thing was staged by those who wanted to get the tape on television to discredit police.
Such tactics are acceptable, violent radicals will insist, because the real violence is perpetrated by G-8 leaders.
They say they're working for democracy -- although only they can define it, and the rest of us are misguided if we imagine that we have it.
These sophistries justify anything the violent radicals choose to do.
The authorities have the difficult task of controlling them while allowing peaceful protest, and still guarding against international terrorism.
So the resources of the city -- not to mention the military and the federal government -- will be focused on our little patch of real estate. This is expensive and disruptive, but we're stuck with it.
Here's the best solution I've heard for the next meeting of G-8 leaders: hold it on a U.S. aircraft carrier somewhere in the ocean.
Protection would be relatively easy, the target could move and it would be fun to see how far violent radicals can swim with ball bearings in their pockets.
Call 235-7236 or e-mail dbraid@nucleus.com
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