Former U. S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush spoke this morning at the Surrey Regional Economic Summit held at the Sheraton Guildford Hotel in Surrey, British Columbia. 
Previously, Amnesty International had announced that Canada should arrest President Bush for war crimes when he came to Surrey. As a result, some of the Greater Vancouver "Occupiers" arrived to demonstrate against Bush's appearance. The location is five minutes from my house, so I ventured up to take a few pictures.
There were plenty of police on site, just to make sure that no one thought about rushing into the hotel and upsetting the conference, chaired by Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts and attended by BC Premier Christy Clark.
Over the years, the police have gotten smarter about controlling crowds wanting to convey a message. Although lined up in front of the Sheraton, they didn't object to demonstrators taking over the westbound traffic lane and provided flaggers to slow the traffic going eastbound.
Years ago, stepping off the curb might have resulted in action with the baton. Today, the demonstrators and the police stood pretty much next to each other, each content to let the other fulfill their mission.
"Over the years, the police have gotten smarter about controlling crowds wanting to convey a message."
ReplyDeleteReally? I just do not believe this. I am guessing they've been told to hang back in the era of cell phones that process film, that is all. They still want to break heads, see Oakland.
So, why doesn't Canada have the stones to arrest Bush? That is something I can't figure out; maybe Canadian politicians understand Canadians don't really respond to a populist vibe.... Maybe there is
your answer. You should put this question to Jay. I would be curious to hear his response. Indeed, why doesn't Canada arrest Bush?
John Lennon (You put this up on Facebook): "When it gets down to having to use violence then you are playing the systems games. The establishment irritates you, pull your beard and flick your face to make you fight, because once they have you violent then they know how to handle you.“ Please remember that, Occupy Wall-Streeters, and God speed from Taiwan!
I wrote this before the Oakland attack and then realized that police are still hired for aggressiveness. Yet the police do have a better plan today than in the 60's when they brought out clubs and tear gas at minor provocations and sometimes unnecessarily escalated situations.
ReplyDeleteIn Greater Vancouver the police have two approaches to crowd control. Vancouver police use "Meet and Greet", where they circulate in small groups throughout the crowd trying to diffuse any problems. The RCMP in Surrey use a linear approach, where they draw a "line in the sand" and show demonstrators how far they can go. In the Bush protest, the police lined up in front of the Sheraton, but allowed the protestors to use the street, which they would have prohibited in the past.
Arrest Bush? There was no warrant for his arrest. We have a Conservative federal government; a conservative BC government; and a conservative Surrey municipal government. However, it's annoying that he can still go around the country raking in fat fees for giving photo-ops to self-serving politicians and their friends.