# I'm going to Quebec City! I might get my head bashed in! HELLO **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 20, 2001, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622 "2001-04-20T02:12:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2001, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/21 "2001-04-22T04:24:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > > . . . has just told me that the air outside smells clean enough for ust to leave, so that`s what we`ll do. further bulletins as opportunity permits… Sounds a lot like Sudbury on a summer inversion. ---
**Author:** ![donnie\_rotten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/71e660/32.png) [@donnie\_rotten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donnie_rotten)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2001, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/22 "2001-04-22T08:03:20Z")
Anyone catching CNN’s coverage of the Summit of the Americas? Gee, I wonder why a “news” network owned by AOL and Time-Warner would be going out of their way to depict anyone opposed to the FTAA as a card-carrying, Communist terrorist? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2001, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/23 "2001-04-22T09:11:35Z")
The CBC has good coverage from a variety of physical and political positions both inside and outside the conference. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2001, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/24 "2001-04-22T09:28:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muffin \* > \*\*Matt, wear a formal dress suit, and keep clean shaven with short hair. Just trust me on this. Take care. \*\* Nah… Matt should do a Robert Smith or Bauhaus look and be as sullen and withdrawn as possible… _duh-rhoool_ ---
**Author:** ![Alonist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Alonist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alonist)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2001, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/25 "2001-04-22T12:30:25Z")
The Houston Chronicle actually covered the protests on the front page Saturday- top of the page, too! Today no pictures, just a story, concentrating on Bush’s remarks. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2001, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/26 "2001-04-22T20:38:40Z")
Hi, I’m back in Mtl (and way tired…) Last night after I left the cafe we walked down and saw a huge bonfire in a street corner near our hotel… there were a bunch of kids dancing around it, clustering peacefully and singing… i saw two people go into an abandoned building and smash windows (outward!) but everybody screamed at them to cut it out and eventually they just got bored and left… Two of the people I was with decided to stay at the bar by the cafe and hang out for a while… but when they came back to the hotel the police were teargassing and arresting. they got teargassed (no masks) and were almost prevented from going into the hotel until they made it clear they were guests. i was kind of freaked when I heard that. anyway, we left around noon today and now I’m able to be with you all now. I’m ashamed of the violence that a few morons took it upon themselves to commit. that is so not helpful. but I also feel the police reaction was out of all proportion. Teargassing a busy commercial neighbourhood completely indiscriminately to break up a largely peaceful gathering, where there are people who have nothing to do with the protest at all, is simply not on. The vast majority of kids that I talked to in the downtown area had been tear-gassed. Judging from the figures the media has given me, nowhere near that proportion of riot cops/security personnel could claim to have been attacked or threatened by protesters/agitators. I know there are differences of opinion on the nature of the police reaction, but this is my own perception in relation to the number of violent people I saw and the nature of the kinds of actions that I witnessed and participated in. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2001, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/27 "2001-04-22T21:01:21Z")
matt - glad to hear you made it back safely. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2001, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/28 "2001-04-22T21:08:00Z")
matt - glad to hear you made it back safely. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2001, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/29 "2001-04-22T21:27:04Z")
Glad to hear you made it safely through another rite of passage. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2001, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/30 "2001-04-22T22:35:29Z")
Something for your consideration… a confrontation that happened around 2 or 3 yesterday. ```auto | | |cccccccccccc| |============|__ | \__ | p pp\__ | p p ppppppp\_ __| p p pp*ppppppp\__ c ppp*ppppp* p ppp\ ___________________ c pp pp pp*pppppp p ppp p pp p pp p __c p p pp p pp *p pp p p pp p p p | P p ppppp *p pp p pp p p pp p p | pp p p p p **Côte d'Abraham** | P p pp pp p pp p p pp p pp ppp | p * ppppp p ppp p p | P * p pppp p ppp ppp p | p p p p pp p ppp pp p | _ **matt_mcl** _______________________ | pp p pp p| | p pp*p p| | p pp| | p *pp p p| | p ppp pppp| | **Dufferin-** | | **Montmorency** | | **Autoroute** | ``` KEY: c: line of police. =: fence. p: peaceful protesters, chanting slogans, banging drums, staying put. P: protesters throwing rocks and objects at the police. Total number: around five. \*: places where tear-gas canisters landed. Not only were the police firing tear gas at people who were NOT attacking them at all, but they were firing canisters directly into crowds at protesters, which it says right on the canister (I saw some spent ones) you are not supposed to do because you can kill someone. Later in the evening my father witnessed police on the top of the mountain firing canisters into the air, indiscriminately down into the lower city where there were peaceful protesters and uninvolved civilians about. I’m not impressed. Anyway… thanks for your kind words! It’s good to be back in town. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2001, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/31 "2001-04-22T22:53:04Z")
Just wanted to add my “Welcome back” and “Glad you’re okay” to this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Silo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Silo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/32 "2001-04-23T02:01:29Z")
Interesting to get a different perspective on the whole scenerio. Good reporting, Matt. Glad your back and safe. Sounds like the police got trigger happy dispersing the TG canisters. Not very cool. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/33 "2001-04-23T02:27:05Z")
Kara matt\_mcl, Mi ghojas char vi revenis negravevundite… Me certe sentas honton pri mia kanadaneco. ☹ Chi-tiu nebezonita respondo certe estas hontajho en historio: chu ghi chefe estos rakonita kiel kanada hostorio au korporacia historio estas afero, kiun decidas …historio. La rigardanto de chi-tiu afero tra la reto eksciigis min pri multaj alternativaj komunikiloj, pri kiun mi ne sciis antanue. Shajnas, ke la laboro de la korporaciaj komunikiloj pri opiniigi chiujn kredi ke malkonsento estas nur la afero de frenezuloj kaj stultuloj… ne funkciis en mi. 🙂 (Mi esperas, ke vi komprenos chi-tiun mesaghon.) Dear matt\_mcl I’m glad to hear that you survived. It certainly was a shameful overreaction on the part of the police and the summit organizers. Watching this whole thing across the net has opened my eyes to a lot of alternative media and opinions that I would not have encountered otherwise. I guess the efforts of the mainstream media to associate ‘protest’ only with ‘out-of-touch loony bomb-throwing radicalism’ hasn’t worked in my case… ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/34 "2001-04-23T02:36:54Z")
Hej sunspaco, mi tre bone komprenis vin! Kaj dankon pro la amikeca mesagho!! 🙂 Kaj ne hontu pri via kanadeco! Mi ne shatas priskribi aferojn kiel ne-kanada; sed shajnas al mi, ke vendi la landon al usono estas malpli kanadeca ol manifestacii kontrau la sama… ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/35 "2001-04-23T03:21:20Z")
Ho, mi ne sentas honton pri la plejparto de protestantoj (chefe pro la protestantoj kiuj rompis vendejojn kaj autojn de aliaj homoj. Kaj mi ne cheestis–nur la cheestantoj vere scias la aferon, sed eble ecx ne ili). Mi sentas honton pri la agoj de la policistoj kaj iliaj planistoj… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/36 "2001-04-23T04:03:59Z")
mi komprenas Sunspaco, mi nur intencis ke kiel kanadano, vi pli similas al la bonuloj en la strato ol al la fiuloj malantau la bariloj! Do ne hontu, kara, sed solidarecu! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/37 "2001-04-23T13:22:03Z")
Hey, Matt—I was thinbking of you as I watched the news reports this weekend. I don;t know what you look like or your realy name, of course . . . Some questions: 1. This is an issue I have not been keeping up with (so sue me—there are only so many issues a gal CAN keep up with!). So explain, please, exactly what and why were you protesting? 2. What did the protest accomplish? Anything at all? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/38 "2001-04-23T13:24:04Z")
P.S. OK, so it’s Monday morning . . . I’m too tired and cranky to spell more than one or two words correctly per post . . . ---
**Author:** ![Gregor\_Samsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@Gregor\_Samsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gregor_Samsa)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/39 "2001-04-23T19:06:45Z")
Glad to see you made it back in one piece, matt. Canada’s starting to run short on left-wing bleeding-heart liberals (small “l”) - we can’t afford to lose any more. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622/40 "2001-04-24T05:20:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*1) This is an issue I have not been keeping up with (so sue me—there are only so many issues a gal CAN keep up with!). So explain, please, exactly what and why were you protesting? \*\* Hi Eve. We were protesting the Summit of the Americas, a meeting in Quebec City to discuss the future Free Trade Area of the Americas, basically NAFTA on steroids for the whole hemisphere (except Cuba - they’re nasty). For stuff on the FTAA, please see [http://www.ndpontrade.parl.gc.ca](http://www.ndpontrade.parl.gc.ca) for my party’s perspective. > [@](#): > > \*\*2) What did the protest accomplish? Anything at all? \*\* Well, we made our voices heard and we made it impossible to deny that broad-based popular opposition exists to the FTAA. We did not shut down the summit, as some groups had been intending to, unless you count that hour or so on Friday that they had to lock everyone in their hotels and conference centres because (get this) _the police had used too much tear gas_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-going-to-quebec-city-i-might-get-my-head-bashed-in-hello/62622.md?page=3)