The city's heart

[sabotabby]

Z. posted this article, which is only one of many that I want to quote for truth a whole bunch of times. It helps that Shawn Micallaf strikes me as one of those people who loves Toronto rather than simply existing in it.

I think for me the crushing despair of last weekend was somewhat mitigated, believe it or not, by being in the protests, because there was a real sense of community (not to mention a high school reunion). I was only afraid—or processing what I saw at all—when I wasn't among friends. And then I worried about what would happen on the walk to the subway, or inside the subway, or whether I'd be harassed while running errands, and how many of my friends were arrested after I left. People who didn't go at all seem a bit more traumatized. Or perhaps it's a different sort of trauma.

And damned if I don't love this city still. I had three conversations with neighbours today within the space of a few hours: a recovering drug addict and single mom, a playwright and filmmaker who just opened a trendy little design shop, and the pagan woman who rides around with her cat on a bike (I've been looking for an excuse to strike up a conversation with this woman, because she looks like she leads an interesting life, plus she rides around with a cat on a bike. But then she approached me today to ask about sewing needles, so I didn't even need to be socially awkward about it. Yay!). The east end is starting to feel like home, after two years of living here. And then I remember that "Torontanamo," the detention centre where they kept my friends in cages, is just down the street.

I wonder if we'll come out changed from this. Probably not. One of the things I like about Toronto is its ability to cheerfully shrug off whatever small calamity just happened, sell some t-shirts ("I survived the blackout!" "No, I don't have SARS." "Fuck the G20."), and move on with a "where were you when?" every so often. But I don't think the cameras, or the sound cannon, or the attitude that the people are the enemy, are really a new development so much of an amplification of existing tensions, and so I don't think they'll go away. I like to think that the intervention of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Amnesty International, and the general public outcry will nip the nascent police state in the bud, but with the election looming (and the fact that out of my urban lefty bubble, I'm aware of just how much we're hated), I don't have much faith.

Comments

[lovableatheist.livejournal.com]

It's weird, but this past weekend has made me like (love?) Toronto almost as much as any other place I've ever lived. I've gotten to the point that I defend the city when I hear people trash talking it, something I never really did for Ottawa. Seeing my adopted city turned into a police state hurt more than seeing a few cars burn in its streets and I look forward to spending at least another 4-5 years here before facing the almost inevitable task of finding a job somewhere else.

[sabotabby]

I, conversely, was forced to defend Ottawa yesterday. Some of my kids were saying, "Why didn't they hold it in Ottawa? There's nothing there! They could totally trash it and no one would care!"

[lovableatheist.livejournal.com]

Ha! Ha! Your kids sound awesome!

[sabotabby]

They really are. I'm sad because neither of these two are taking my class next year, and they are both highly entertaining.

[smhwpf.livejournal.com]

I've never been to Toronto - but from all the descriptions I've seen from you and various other Torontians I know, it sounds like a fantastic city - the sort of place I'd love to live in. Also, somehow every Torontian I meet, either IRL or online, seems to be totally cool. Like they put cool in the water supply. (Though maybe it's just the circles I move in. I'm sure you have your fair share of assholes too...)

But yeah, stuff like what's been happening for the G20 must come like a punch in the gut. Maybe there'll be a backlash, one can hope. Sometimes the point can come when the forces of authority just start to look so ridiculous that enough people stop buying their line. One can hope.

[sabotabby]

We have a lot of assholes, and it's mostly the neighbourhoods where I've lived and worked, and the circles I move in. But there's something incredibly civilized about it. It reminds me of moving from my very small elementary school, with close-minded kids who'd known each other since kindergarten, to a huge and fairly anonymous high school, where there was some of everyone and you could find your niche.

I'm heartened by the fact that most of the people I've talked to, even at work, are pissed off at how the police handled it.

[lienne.livejournal.com]

Heartbreak heartbreak heartbreak.

It broke our trust. Exactly. I, the most naive idealist you will ever actually meet, am now frightened of Toronto police officers. Because people wearing that uniform took ordinary citizens just like me and locked them in a hellhole where they were insulted and degraded and had to beg for food and water and medical treatment.

I don't know if we will come out changed from this, but I know I will.

[sabotabby]

Maybe that's not such a bad thing, though.

[lienne.livejournal.com]

It feels pretty fucking bad from over here.

It would be nice to live in a city where shit like that did not happen.

[shelestel.livejournal.com]

Ever think of coming to Jerusalem? Oh, wait, you said did not</i< happen.

[esizzle.livejournal.com]

Might also be a mitigating factor that i have no ability or patience to take anything seriously!

anyway, it's not over yet.. there's a protest tomorow!

[sabotabby]

This is true. Your lack of earnest leftishness is a lifesaver.

See you tomorrow. Possibly in steampunk attire since there's a photoshoot at 12 and I might not have time to change.

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

I live in Toronto from choice. I've been lucky enough to see quite a lot of the world. I've lived in Ottawa, London, Liverpool, Durham and Melbourne and a few places besides. I've spent extended spells working or otherwise in Chicago, New York, Montreal, Auckland, Vancouver, Seattle and a whole bunch of smaller places. Vancouver is about the only one I'd seriously consider moving to.

I am staying but I don't know whether we can shrug off the G20. I don't know that there is a public outcry. I think if there were Miller and McGuinty would not be so quick to line up behind the police. The press has done a decent job, post facto, of calling out the TPS' more outrageous lies but I think the underlying narrative is still "protesters get what they deserve". The TPS has always enjoyed undue power in Toronto. I'm not sure showing them how much they can get away with will improve things.

[sabotabby]

Yeah, I think much of the confidence from decent sorts of people online comes from not understanding how backward much of the city's population is.

...I'd live in Montréal if I could speak French and if I could find work there. I vastly prefer it to Vancouver. I'd live in Chicago, New York, and especially Seattle if all three didn't have the misfortune to be in America.

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

I'd live in Seattle or the Bay Area if they weren't in the US. Chicago is way too conservative for me. I spent most of my time there for a year plus frequent trips over a nine year period. I like the galleries and the opera and stuff but the people are typical mid-Westerners; deeply conservative for the most part.

I could do Berlin if I spoke German I think. Montreal, I don't know. I think to really enjoy Montreal you have to be francophone, not just speak French. It's more about culture and acceptance than mere linguistic skills. As an anglo-Canadian you are still just a "mongrel, half breed bastard" to quote a rather lovely francophone girl I used to go drinking with!

[seanmonster.livejournal.com]

I'd say come to Louisville, but it has the misfortune of being in America and Kentucky.