Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Protests

     I actually watched the news today. This was a big accomplishment for me. I generally find the news to be extremely dull. What caught my attention and interest was a protest that was happening in Ottawa. I want to start out saying that I fully endorse a persons right to protest, especially when they are not being adequately represented by their government. This protest, however, did not make a lot of sense to me. Congolese Canadians were protesting infront of the Congolese Embassy. They felt that the recent election in the Congo was unjust and corrupt. They were protesting that Canada should interfere on behalf of the people living in Congo in order to secure a fair democracy. What I had a particular problem with is that they were not protesting peacefully, as is enshrined in their very right to protest. Police were present at the protest to protect the peoples of Ottawa, both protesters and bystanders. The protesters showed violence towards these cops by both verbally harassing them and throwing things. Canada vocally promotes freedoms for its people, however there is no excuse for harming another in the name of change. They are fighting for the rights of people in Congo while violating the rights of their fellow Canadians. It doesn't make any sense.
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2 comments:

  1. Ms. CatJanuary 1, 2012 at 12:54 PM

    The right to protest, what that means and what that should look like is never very clear. There are so many issues and so many sides. Protests are not always 'pretty'. In fact, yes, we have a right to peaceful protest, but we gained that right out of a history of violent protest since before it became a right, ALL protests involved some kind of violence on the side of the protesters or the government. I think if you study poli sci at university you will find a lot more things that don't make sense! But that are very interesting!

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  2. shenelle :)January 30, 2012 at 10:30 PM

    I hope so but in the case that i was descibing it was just stupid! Why get violent here? If people in Canada feel as passionately about this issue as is portayed in the media then they need to appeal to people that can actually make a difference! It is instances like this that Canadian law enforcement are looked on so negatively. People around the world may have seen footage of the protest and will potentially look badly on the cops that were only trying to do their jobs protecting others that were trying to do their jobs... oh well

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