As a result of yesterday mornings' rampage by the kids who call themselves anarcists many British Columbians who were sympathetic to the Olympic Resistance's message are now off the fence and firmly on the side of the government, VANOC, and the corporate sponsors. The real losers are all the thousands of legitamate political types who've worked tirelessly for years to oppose the 2010 Olympics for real reasons. For sure there are times when violence must be resorted to. This isn't one of them. Lay down in the streets if you want to stop traffic. Chain yourself in a circle, chant and beat the drums. The people of the world will listen, they were in fact before this meaningless little bit of buffonery tarred all the resistance with bad vibes.
Decades ago in the 70's, before family and farming took my attention, i was active in the Vancouver yippie scene. The yippies used theater and music to gain a foothold in the pschye of the broader population. Painted faces, drummers, dancing and singing would erupt at intersections throughout the city. Normal everyday citizens would get out of their gridlocked cars and dance through the streets with their long haired hippy brethern. The air filled with excitement, the yippies passed out joints, flags waved, consciousneses were raised. There were confrntations between the cops and the yippies, a few turned violent when police riot squads charged and yippies resisted, but mostly the cops and the kids co-existed and the carnivals that appeared unannounced disappeared leaving only an inner message of liberation beind.
The yippies faded from the scene by the mid-late 70's as the back-to-the-land movement drew many of the people out of the cities and into rural areas. Today we see a different type of urban guerilla, there's lots less methphor, a lot less carnival, face paint has been replaced by black masks, theater by violence.
Peaceful protest sours as 'criminal element' takes over streets
Some 200 anti-Games protesters, some clad in black and wearing masks, stopped traffic Saturday morning in downtown Vancouver. Violence erupted after a small faction of the group began vandalizing storefronts and nearby cars and buses. Seven people were arrested.
