Take the power back: 2010 shaping up to be a Canadian riot
Welcome to 2010: Shit's about to hit the fan. This year will be a defining year for people living in the colonized territories of so-called “Canada.” This will be the year the comfortable, neutral, liberal, middle ground evaporates and we all choose which side we are on.
Do we support our corrupt colonial governments, or indigenous peoples fighting for their land? Do we support workers struggling for better conditions, or the bosses who get rich on their backs? Do we want to preserve what is left of the natural world, or shall we keep clear-cutting and paving in the name of “progress?”
You will need to answer these questions this year because the lines are drawn. It's time to pick sides and fight. Literally. As the whole world shifts its attention to Canada, as we host several international events, the clash of ideas will lead to clashes in the streets.
For several years now the writing has been on the wall: “RIOT 2010.” This tiny phrase has become a rallying cry for resistance movements across North America and beyond. It goes without saying that social war will intensify. But “Canada” will be ground zero in this struggle. Our streets will be the battlefield that the war for the future is fought over.
“Canada” will host the 2010 Olympics in February on stolen native land. These games are an assault on us by the world's elite. Seven billion dollars of Canadian tax dollars will fund this two-week party for the rich while thousands are made homeless, the environment is trampled on, and our rights and freedoms taken away in the name of security.
Resistance to these games has been fierce including mass demonstrations, sabotage, arson, blockades, the taking of squats, disruption of public events, etc. Unlike 2008 when the mainstream media glamorized and inflated the resistance to Beijing's games, this time around they are silencing the resistance movement.
In June, the riots will move from Vancouver to Ontario as Huntsville will be hosting the G8 summit, followed by Toronto hosting the G20 summit June 26-27. G8 and G20 summits have always been met with rage throughout the world. These summits are where a few dozen tyrants representing the richest nations and corporations of the world decide the fates of the rest of us. They set the agenda, and make decisions that help contribute to the deaths of millions of people. This past September the G20 met in Pittsburgh where thousands of well-organized anarchists and locals crashed their party.
After these three events there will also be a North American leaders summit at which the three North American heads of state will meet in Canada to decide how to further integrate the three countries in order to maximize profits for their corporate masters.
The police, heroic protectors of private property and the ruling class, and enforcers of the status quo, will be doing just that. The police will become militarized and the military will turn their guns inward at Canadian citizens engaged in resistance movements. There will be state repression of political activity, free speech will be curtailed, and the media will be censored in order to preserve the illusion of “Canada” being a free, peaceful society. But they will fail.
This year will shatter the stereotypes of Canada. We will show the world some truth. The world will learn about the genocide of residential schools, the rampant poverty and gap between the have and have-not's, the destruction of the Earth carried out by Canadian corporations, and the fascist nature of our government. But the world will also see the strength and resilience of our movements. The world will see that we are not afraid to confront our government, fight the police, and disrupt the social order. It will be evident that resistance to capitalism and colonialism is alive and well in “Canada.”
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
Do we support our corrupt colonial governments, or indigenous peoples fighting for their land? Do we support workers struggling for better conditions, or the bosses who get rich on their backs? Do we want to preserve what is left of the natural world, or shall we keep clear-cutting and paving in the name of “progress?”
You will need to answer these questions this year because the lines are drawn. It's time to pick sides and fight. Literally. As the whole world shifts its attention to Canada, as we host several international events, the clash of ideas will lead to clashes in the streets.
For several years now the writing has been on the wall: “RIOT 2010.” This tiny phrase has become a rallying cry for resistance movements across North America and beyond. It goes without saying that social war will intensify. But “Canada” will be ground zero in this struggle. Our streets will be the battlefield that the war for the future is fought over.
“Canada” will host the 2010 Olympics in February on stolen native land. These games are an assault on us by the world's elite. Seven billion dollars of Canadian tax dollars will fund this two-week party for the rich while thousands are made homeless, the environment is trampled on, and our rights and freedoms taken away in the name of security.
Resistance to these games has been fierce including mass demonstrations, sabotage, arson, blockades, the taking of squats, disruption of public events, etc. Unlike 2008 when the mainstream media glamorized and inflated the resistance to Beijing's games, this time around they are silencing the resistance movement.
In June, the riots will move from Vancouver to Ontario as Huntsville will be hosting the G8 summit, followed by Toronto hosting the G20 summit June 26-27. G8 and G20 summits have always been met with rage throughout the world. These summits are where a few dozen tyrants representing the richest nations and corporations of the world decide the fates of the rest of us. They set the agenda, and make decisions that help contribute to the deaths of millions of people. This past September the G20 met in Pittsburgh where thousands of well-organized anarchists and locals crashed their party.
After these three events there will also be a North American leaders summit at which the three North American heads of state will meet in Canada to decide how to further integrate the three countries in order to maximize profits for their corporate masters.
The police, heroic protectors of private property and the ruling class, and enforcers of the status quo, will be doing just that. The police will become militarized and the military will turn their guns inward at Canadian citizens engaged in resistance movements. There will be state repression of political activity, free speech will be curtailed, and the media will be censored in order to preserve the illusion of “Canada” being a free, peaceful society. But they will fail.
This year will shatter the stereotypes of Canada. We will show the world some truth. The world will learn about the genocide of residential schools, the rampant poverty and gap between the have and have-not's, the destruction of the Earth carried out by Canadian corporations, and the fascist nature of our government. But the world will also see the strength and resilience of our movements. The world will see that we are not afraid to confront our government, fight the police, and disrupt the social order. It will be evident that resistance to capitalism and colonialism is alive and well in “Canada.”
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
