How could the protest possibly help? In order to help you need to be sitting at a table with actual plans. Nobody has a clue what any of these protesters are actually proposing. Why wait for the G20 or other political conference to show up? If 100,000 people hit the street with a message which is clear you don't need the G20 to be there. Attacking what is mostly democratically elected national representatives having a meeting together accomplishes nothing. It is good that nations are working together. In the end trying to get close to highly protected individuals and cause problems seems to be the goal more than the message. If the goal was a message there would be documents, flyers, a website, and no need to try and get near world leaders.
Oxfam Canada is planning a "People's Summit" as part of the protest. That's all the information I have about it, but I assume other organizations will be represented there each with their own documents, flyers, websites, etc. This is not one protest put on by one organization, but multiple protests converging on one location.
There are benefits to the decentralized protest. An exchange of ideas and information occurs that might not be possible at a more centralized event. For example, I had no clue about the horrendous human rights situation in Burma until I attended a protest a few years ago where an organization fighting for change there was present.
The leaders of the 20 most powerful governments in the world will be in our city for a few days. Some people will be there protesting one government in particular. Some will be there protesting the G20 itself or what it represents. Different people will have different visions and priorities, and they might not always be compatible with everyone else out there.
"Also to suggest that these people are protesting 'for other people in other countries who can't' is pretty egotistical to say the least."
I tend to agree somewhat with this comment. Though some no doubt want to make a difference, I keep hearing that a lot of people just jump on this bangwagon and pat themselves on the back for acting like they care but in the end, they go shopping afterwards and buy coffee at SB.
There are also people who have friends and family in those "other countries" who have a vested interest in seeing some change. Think Sri Lankan Tamils, Falun Gong members, etc., etc.
Let's not paint everyone with the same brush here. Sure there might be a few anarchists or egotistical univeristy students, but there will also be people who've dedicated their whole lives to fighting for a cause they believe in - people who plan these events for months, get the word out, and try to keep everything from getting out of control.
I'll probably end up at this protest. For me, it's a chance to stand up for freedom of assembly and expression in the face of what has historically been a heavy-handed and overblown response to anti-Globalization protests. Police usage of violence, etc. has been largely disproportionate during these events, which leaves me with the impression that they're more interested in suppressing dissent rather than upholding the law. This should not and cannot be tolerated in a modern liberal democracy.
then gauge peoples reactions, see if they're upset I'm protesting anything for whatever reason, then we'll see how much all those patriotic cheering people actually know what they're cheering about.
