# The Toronto G20 Summit **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 26, 2010, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580 "2010-06-26T09:01:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/61 "2010-06-27T15:30:58Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > That’s tin-foil hat conspiracy nonsense. It’s the conclusion I came to based on the evidence I saw. Can you explain why twenty-five vans full of six to seven police officers each (for a total of 150-175 men in riot gear) sat motionless in their vans 10-50 yards from a group of about 100 violent black-clad anarchists attacking $30,000 worth of property? They didn’t even open the doors until after the black bloc dispersed. Honestly, I’m not closed to other explanations. I could maybe even buy that they were afraid a mass arrest would provoke further violence. But if they’d at least been standing there _watching_ rather than hiding in their vans, they could at least have heard the real protesters’ disapproval and shouts of anger at the anarchists; they might have realized that arrests could even be **welcomed**. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/62 "2010-06-27T15:32:22Z")
> [@Baffle](#): > > …but I couldn’t help but think of him when watching the police force march on behalf of the wealthy. What a load of absolute bunk. The police were acting on behalf of the common man. They were doing a tough job - and did it remarkably well, showing very unusual restraint as these things go - on behalf of me and other ordinary, peaceful Canadians. You’re a goddamned idiot if you think the police were acting “on behalf of the wealthy.” They were responding with admirable professionalism to gangs of outright criminals. > [@](#): > > The police ensured they’d destroy a visible target right where there was a huge group of peaceful protesters as an excuse to attack them. That’s total bullshit, and you’re a liar and a fool. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/63 "2010-06-27T15:41:08Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > What a load of absolute bunk. The police were acting on behalf of the common man. They were doing a tough job - and did it remarkably well, showing very unusual restraint as these things go - on behalf of me and other ordinary, peaceful Canadians. > > You’re a goddamned idiot if you think the police were acting “on behalf of the wealthy.” They were responding with admirable professionalism to gangs of outright criminals. > That’s total bullshit, and you’re a liar and a fool. I’m not really sure how to respond to this; I know my post makes a few serious accusations which I expect will be controversial. For the most part I agree with you – 99% of the police work I saw was professional and courteous and efficient. But I can’t forget the smirk on the officer who jumped out of the line with his shield to start a stampede. I can’t forget the image of a woman falling in the middle of a horse-spurred stampede. And I can’t forget standing mere feet from a bunch of crazed anarchists, smashing wantonly, watching the police hide. But these anarchists need legitimate protesters to hide amongst. And if our government’s policies actually benefited the workers, there would have been a lot fewer people out there. ---
**Author:** ![bashere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@bashere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bashere)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/64 "2010-06-27T15:42:48Z")
> [@](#): > > I agree with your points, but I wonder, why do you have this disdain? Most of the people I met yesterday were intelligent and articulate, and while some of them have wacky views that don’t hold up to scrutiny (you know which beliefs, they’re the ones **Leaffan** thinks we all hold) most of them are protesting for very legitimate, sensible and rational reasons. My disdain isn’t universal by any means, and it is frequently an ad homenim; the protesters themselves are too often filled with a self rightegousness they don’t deserve. A lot of the points being made were good ones. And. I’ve encountered too many protesters with simple solutions to complex problems. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/65 "2010-06-27T15:43:57Z")
> [@Baffle](#): > > anger over how the working class is taxed to bail out the banks > [@Baffle](#): > > You wonder why we’re unemployed? Perhaps it has something to do with the leaders we’re protesting. You know, those ones who are fleecing the workers (that’s you and me, by the way) to pay the bankers (that’s people who didn’t earn it, who lost their money making stupid decisions) In total, how many Canadian tax dollars have been paid to Canadian banks or Canadian financial institutions? What is Harper’s economic position that he is pressing on the USA, and what is Obama’s position? What benefit is there to Canadians in shutting down a conference in which Harper is trying to press change on the USA to bring the USA more in line with Canada’s economic interests? ---
**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:** [June 27, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/66 "2010-06-27T15:48:25Z")
> [@Baffle](#): > > It’s the conclusion I came to based on the evidence I saw. Can you explain why twenty-five vans full of six to seven police officers each (for a total of 150-175 men in riot gear) sat motionless in their vans 10-50 yards from a group of about 100 violent black-clad anarchists attacking $30,000 worth of property? They didn’t even open the doors until after the black bloc dispersed. Avoidance of the street fight that the anarchists wanted to have. Avoidance of personal physical injury to police and anarchists. In other words, the police were doing their job – trying to keep the peace. $30,000 of government property is trivial when compared against personal injury, or when compared against nearly a billion dollars for security. The police instead waited to arrest the anarchists when the anarchists were partially disbanded and removing their black clothing – thus the raid on Queen’s Park Circle. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/67 "2010-06-27T15:48:51Z")
Baffle? Dead serious question. You were marching for a reason. The Black Bloc was, essentially, marching for nihilism, correct? What do you think the police should have done, once the Black Bloc square formed? My personal assessment involves the words ‘water cannon’ or ‘firefighting foam grenade’ or possibly just ‘dye packets’. But I’m a supporter of peaceable protest, and an opponent of violent, as violent protest nullifies speech. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/68 "2010-06-27T15:50:20Z")
> [@Baffle](#): > > Yes, and that’s how the agreements get made. These leaders just meet to discuss… well, we’re not sure on that actually. The agreements have already been made. If you don’t understand what they’re meeting to discuss, how can you say that you’re actually protesting anything? If _you_ don’t even know what you’re protesting, why do you think non-protesters would have any idea what the protest is about, let alone support the movement? All you accomplished, and likely all you wanted to accomplish, was demonstrating that you’re “a person who cares.” People who really care learn economics, get into politics, get into journalism, or otherwise do something that actually produces an effect. People who feel the need to demonstrate that they care are either in it for the party or think that by “proving” that they care, they don’t have to do any actual work to get things changed. It’s a cop out. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/69 "2010-06-27T15:53:28Z")
> [@Baffle](#): > > … > You wonder why we’re unemployed? Perhaps it has something to do with the leaders we’re protesting. You know, those ones who are fleecing the workers (that’s you and me, by the way) to pay the bankers (that’s people who didn’t earn it, who lost their money making stupid decisions) or the construction workers (because we don’t want to actually fix the problem, we just want to subsidize one visible industry to make it look like we are) or the police (because the rest of us are angry for some reason)… Don’t fucking talk to me about being unemployed. I spent 10 months last year unemployed, and it sucked like you wouldn’t believe. I looked full-time for work. I applied for 3, 4, 5 jobs a week for which I was imminently qualified and couldn’t even get an interview. I’m a college graduate and couldn’t even get a job stocking shelves at Wal-Mart. I know all about unemployment. Breaking store windows and torching police cars is no way of finding suitable employment. You know what you do? You do what I did and follow every single lead to the end for months and months until you finally find work. It may not be the most glamorous of work, but you find something, you start at the bottom and you work, and you earn your pay and you stop blaming the politicians and the bankers and everyone else you can think of. The economic melt down of last year is slowly subsiding, and like you, I hope that the global financial institutions learned something. None of this was Canada’s fault. None of our banks had to be bailed out and we came through this probably better than any G8 country. We’re all about to pay an additional 8% tax on items that weren’t previously subject to the PST. I’m completely not happy with that. I haven’t voted Liberal at the provincial level ever, and I’m not about to again this time. THAT is how you protest. THAT is how you tell politicians you’re not happy with policy. I’m willing to bet that most scum-sucking protesters don’t even vote. Only 52.8% of Ontarians voted in the last provincial election, and it’s not much different at the federal level. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/70 "2010-06-27T15:56:04Z")
> [@Baffle](#): > > Most of your news reports are accurate and good, but I have to call this into question. There was no “leader of the protesters” in those crowds; the real march ended around 2:30 and the leaders left; anyone who remained was just part of an uncontrolled mob. I was simply reporting what I was hearing and seeing on TV. The reporter on the cellphone was talking about “the leader of the protestors” so I reported that. If it wasn’t that way; well, it wasn’t that way. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/71 "2010-06-27T16:07:23Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > In total, how many Canadian tax dollars have been paid to Canadian banks or Canadian financial institutions? Leaders is plural, strangely enough. Why focus on one country when we’re protesting twenty? I’m sure I don’t need to provide cites of banks being bailed out. > [@Muffin](#): > > What is Harper’s economic position that he is pressing on the USA, and what is Obama’s position? Harper’s position is not in line with Harper’s actions. Fiscal austerity programs and billion dollar security budgets are not compatible. Trying to reform the federal budget without the (proposed but shot down) bank tax, while ensuring the continued existence of our essential services, is impossible. > [@Muffin](#): > > What benefit is there to Canadians in shutting down a conference in which Harper is trying to press change on the USA to bring the USA more in line with Canada’s economic interests? “Canada’s economic interests” are not “workers’ economic interests.” We’re still out of a job. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/72 "2010-06-27T16:19:56Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Don’t fucking talk to me about being unemployed. I spent 10 months last year unemployed, and it sucked like you wouldn’t believe. I looked full-time for work. I applied for 3, 4, 5 jobs a week for which I was imminently qualified and couldn’t even get an interview. I’m a college graduate and couldn’t even get a job stocking shelves at Wal-Mart. I know all about unemployment. May I ask what field you’re in? I too have spent a long time unemployed (since March 2009 I’ve only worked part time at minimum wage, or at temp work) and I’m still pushing my resumes on everyone, everywhere. > [@Leaffan](#): > > Breaking store windows and torching police cars is no way of finding suitable employment. You know what you do? You do what I did and follow every single lead to the end for months and months until you finally find work. It may not be the most glamorous of work, but you find something, you start at the bottom and you work, and you earn your pay and you stop blaming the politicians and the bankers and everyone else you can think of. The economic melt down of last year is slowly subsiding, and like you, I hope that the global financial institutions learned something. None of this was Canada’s fault. None of our banks had to be bailed out and we came through this probably better than any G8 country. We did come through probably better than any G8 country – but no thanks to Stephen Harper. He simply couldn’t remove the regulations fast enough. I want to make sure they stay in place. > [@Leaffan](#): > > We’re all about to pay an additional 8% tax on items that weren’t previously subject to the PST. I’m completely not happy with that. I haven’t voted Liberal at the provincial level ever, and I’m not about to again this time. THAT is how you protest. THAT is how you tell politicians you’re not happy with policy. I’m willing to bet that most scum-sucking protesters don’t even vote. Only 52.8% of Ontarians voted in the last provincial election, and it’s not much different at the federal level. I’ve voted in every election I’ve been eligible to vote in; however, though I am a GTA native I lived in Calgary for three years (been back home one year now) and missed the last election here. As for the federal government, I’d love to tell Mr. Harper I’m unhappy with him. I was one of the lucky few who had the option to vote directly against the man, fruitless as it was. 64% of our voters voted against his party last election, but he’s pushed his policies on this country anyway, and he is a very savvy politician to do this successfully. I can only hope that these protests and the general wave of disenchantment I’ve experienced as a result of this conference will spur the Liberal party to do something other than acquiesce to Conservative policies for fear of an election. Not that it matters; without a real leader the election result won’t change much. PS. How can you tell the difference between a scum-sucking protester and a regular one? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/73 "2010-06-27T16:21:52Z")
> [@Baffle](#): > > I’m not really sure how to respond to this; I know my post makes a few serious accusations which I expect will be controversial. The police “march in support of the rich” is not an accusation, it’s a stupidity. “They deliberately let cars burn so they could attack peaceful protesters” is a lie that is contradicted by every media outlet on every part of the political spectrum and by countless eyewitnesses, and by the 20 or so personal acquaintaces I have who were there, some of whom are pretty die-hard social activists and would be the first to be on the cops’ case if they had been out to attack peaceful protesters. > [@](#): > > But these anarchists need legitimate protesters to hide amongst. And if our government’s policies actually benefited the workers, there would have been a lot fewer people out there. Speaking **as one of the workers** , my primary concern is peace and quiet. Nothing’s going to help me keep my job or help anyone else find a job that involves wrecking property or throwing bricks at cops. What I’d like is for the police to keep the peace as best they can and prevent personal injury while keeping property damage to a dull roar. And by all accounts this was one of the best performances by a police force in the history of these things. You know what’s funny? A week ago I thought the security budget was a wasteful disgrace. **But now, as we can see, it might well have been justified.** Sure enough, violent fools showed up. Sure enough, there have been weapons busts aplenty. And the police have managed to keep it from devolving into slaughter. I’m impressed so far, though who knows what today will bring. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/74 "2010-06-27T16:28:27Z")
> [@Baffle](#): > > . . . if our government’s policies actually benefited the workers, there would have been a lot fewer people out there. Oh, there were _huge_ crowds, simply huge. :rolleyes: Right. In an area with a population of at least five _million_ within a 20-minute drive, what were there five, six thousand protesters? And even that piddling number were there only because of the NDP-union deal of ‘you wash my back, and I’ll wash yours’. Maybe there were a thousand non-NDP, non-CUPE lackeys there. Do you actually _believe_ what you write? ---
**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:** [June 27, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/75 "2010-06-27T16:32:05Z")
> [@Baffle](#): > > I’m sure I don’t need to provide cites of banks being bailed out. Yes, you do. Please provide cites of Canadian tax dollars being used to bail out Canadian banks or Canadian financial instutitions. Of course you know you can not provide such a cite, for Canada’s banks and financial institutions came through the international financial collapse without relying on a government bail out. Presently, Canada is trying to persuade the USA to take an economic approach that is more in line with Canada. If you think that doing so is not in your best interests, then protest. If you think that it is in your best interests to have Canadian representatives at the very highest levels meet with their international counterparts to try to promote Canada’s successful economic approach, then think twice before trying to disrupt such a conference. If you want a job, keep hitting the bricks and improving your qualifications until you find one – we have a good economy with strong employment, along with excellent availability for education and training to assist in finding better employment. If you want greater involvement in political decision making, get involved by speaking or working with your politicians – voting is a good start, but it takes a lot more than that if you want to make a real difference. Pretending that we live in a police state and that the politicians that we elect are deliberately acting against our interests is facile. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/76 "2010-06-27T16:41:34Z")
> [@Baffle](#): > > May I ask what field you’re in? I too have spent a long time unemployed (since March 2009 I’ve only worked part time at minimum wage, or at temp work) and I’m still pushing my resumes on everyone, everywhere… I was employed in high-tech manufacturing. There’s this little company down the street called Nortel; perhaps you’ve heard of them? I didn’t work for Nortel, but the global recession and them simultaneously going bankrupt flooded the market in my area (West Ottawa) with thousands of unemployed, high-tech workers. I’m now working for a crown corporation and drive 160 kms to work each day - one way. For the many years that I believed government workers had it easy, I am now swallowing my words. The people with whom I work are some of the hardest working, ethical people I’ve met. You sound like a good guy **Baffle** , and I wish you all the best in finding suitable employment. I started looking outside my geographical area, and started looking at completely different industries. What work are you looking for? ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/77 "2010-06-27T16:44:35Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > :rolleyes: > > And while I’m at it, fuck those punks. and they don’t need Guantanamo, they need a special new kind of prison: a hybrid Super-Max prison and McDonald’s Training Center. Teach these douchebags how to be useful. And if they fuck up an order or mopping duty in the slightest, taze the fuck out of them. Or just throw them in a cell with a gallery chamber above it where the people who were the victims of their vandalism can piss on them. Such restraint! Why the fuck don’t they just shoot them? ---
**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:** [June 27, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/78 "2010-06-27T16:49:33Z")
> [@Baffle](#): > > PS. How can you tell the difference between a scum-sucking protester and a regular one? In the context of the G20 protests, a protester makes arrangements with the police and does not confront the police, for the protester recognizes that the police are there to keep the peace so that both protests and the conference can proceed without incident. A scum sucking protester, however, is one who confronts the police, causing harm to individuals and to property, and obsfucating the airing of the positions of non-scum sucking protesters. Seeing as you are so critical of the police, precisely what did you do to stop the mayhem and damage being caused by the anarchists? Did you stand in front of a black block march and physically stop the anarchists? Did you make a citizen’s arrest of any anarchists who were causing property damage? Of course you didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/79 "2010-06-27T16:53:33Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The police “march in support of the rich” is not an accusation, it’s a stupidity. Can you find someone who wasn’t wealthy that had their property attacked in these protests? Even the vast majority of anarchists aren’t out for pure mayhem – they’re trying to make a political point, reprehensible as it may be. > [@RickJay](#): > > “They deliberately let cars burn so they could attack peaceful protesters” is a lie that is contradicted by every media outlet on every part of the political spectrum and by countless eyewitnesses, and by the 20 or so personal acquaintaces I have who were there, some of whom are pretty die-hard social activists and would be the first to be on the cops’ case if they had been out to attack peaceful protesters. I don’t know where your friends were. I only reported what I saw, and drew my conclusions from that. I explained how my conclusions were tenative and open to change – but nobody has advanced a secondary explanation yet. Was it just a mistake? It’s a seriously questionable one. The police knew the anarchists were coming, left a van in their path, stayed in their (tucked away around the corner) vans until the anarchists dispersed, and then stampeded the crowd. The stampeding has been reported on the news – at least in passing – when the chief of police was questioned about it at his press conference at 9:15 last night. > [@RickJay](#): > > Speaking **as one of the workers** , my primary concern is peace and quiet. Nothing’s going to help me keep my job or help anyone else find a job that involves wrecking property or throwing bricks at cops. What I’d like is for the police to keep the peace as best they can and prevent personal injury while keeping property damage to a dull roar. And by all accounts this was one of the best performances by a police force in the history of these things. Yes, it could have been worse. But it could have been better. There was a serious lack of concern, by the police, for the safety of the peaceful protesters. > [@RickJay](#): > > You know what’s funny? A week ago I thought the security budget was a wasteful disgrace. **But now, as we can see, it might well have been justified.** Sure enough, violent fools showed up. Sure enough, there have been weapons busts aplenty. And the police have managed to keep it from devolving into slaughter. I’m impressed so far, though who knows what today will bring. The security cost still remains a wasteful disgrace – not because _it_ was unnecessary, but because _hosting the summit in Toronto_ was unnecessary. Had a reasonable location been chosen, the security cost would also be far more reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580/80 "2010-06-27T16:59:26Z")
FWIW, regardless of if I agree with what the protesters are protesting, I have a very good friend who lives less than a block from where most of the fires, destruction of private and government property, screaming, yelling and air cannons were. He’s not a politician, he’s not a government official, he has nothing to do with this or any summit (in fact, he’s a photographer who takes pictures of naked ladies). He was _DELIGHTED_ when the police began clearing all protesters out of the area (which is what **Baffle** is talking about) so that the man could actually get some sleep. Yes, yes, the poor down trodden unemployed, blah, blah, blah. Dude has an actual job that he needed to get up for and having a bunch of douche-bags screaming and ‘peacefully protesting’ right outside his window isn’t particular helpful in that regard. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-toronto-g20-summit/544580.md?page=5)