Weblog
04/20/01 09:53 PM: Turn on the TV. Visit
Turn on the TV. Visit your favorite Internet news source. What do you see tonight? You see protesters in Quebec City “violently clashing with police.” This statement has been used to classify basically anyone who came to Quebec City to protest, as the picture shown here was captioned on CNN, as “Protesters violently clashing with Police.”
First of all, let me get something straight. I do not condone violent protests of this kind. However, with that being stated, I feel that the only way to really affect change would have to be through non-violent measures. The mainstream media does not make a point to tell you that the 100 or so people causing all the problems on the news pale in comparison to the tens of thousands of those who are not “violently clashing with police.” Let me quote Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, “I welcome those who have come to Quebec City to make known their views on how best to advance the social and economic interest of our fellow citizens. But violence and provocation is unacceptable in a democracy.” I have to agree with him on this. By provoking violence with the Police, those “activists”, will only attract negative attention from the media, who will classify all of the protesters as radicals who have nothing good to say.
I believe that the Free Trade Area of the Americas should NOT be negociated in secret, and that President Bush should not have Fast-Track approval to negociate treaties. God knows, I don’t want him to have the sole power to negociate something for the country. If the Agreement isn’t going to let corporations exploit the environment and third world countries, and if it isn’t going to be objectable, why is it being negociated in secret? Why haven’t drafts been made public?
These are important questions, and the non-violent protesters in Quebec City, and around the world have the right to ask those questions.
