Protest organizers accused of ‘revisionist history’
Re: “The sweet solace of polarization, Part 2,” Oct. 17, page 20.
While the protest organizers may have believed they did a “good job of respecting the rights of others,” and that “honking was controlled,” I’m afraid that’s revisionist history. The protest included honking at all hours and protesters setting off fireworks at night for about a week-and-a-half, until a large counter-protest was organized where local residents expressed their experience of feeling unsafe in their own neighbourhood.
People live close to the protest site, including folks who had just moved into subsidized housing in a new building that I worked on. It’s only after that protest, and the escalating confrontations with locals, that the honking was restricted.
I don’t know what the path forward is here, but pretending this was all done in a polite, civil and thoughtful way probably isn’t it. Moving forward to “love” without apologies denies the very real work of repair that’s required—and incomplete.
—Matthew Froese (online comment)
(Graphic by Betty Avery)
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