Posted on 04/07/2003 1:44:48 PM PDT by knighthawk
TORONTO - It was about a week ago that I heard another breathless interview with a young anti-war protester who was expounding upon what has come to be the mantra about the diversity of the modern peace movement in this country.
"It's not just students," this young woman trilled, as though the political left had the exclusive patent on the great Canadian mosaic as surely as they do in the normal scheme on protest, "it's grandmothers, too!"
Guess what?
Yesterday, on an unseasonably cold and miserable day featuring thick sleet that alternated with ice pellets, in the midst of an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, people filled the huge square at Toronto City Hall at a Rally for America, the first in the Ontario capital of these unusual gatherings that are now springing up in cities across the country.
It was the first in the Ontario capital of these unusual gatherings that are now springing up in cities across the country.
And among the crowd -- such estimates are a mug's game, but my own guess is that there were certainly several thousands, and any turnout was remarkable in the dual circumstances of plague and storm -- were students and grandmothers, unionists and Bay Street lawyers, capitalist pigs and their running dogs, and faces black, white and Asian.
The purpose of the rally, organized by a handful of ordinary but well-connected (even to the federal Liberal party) Torontonians over the past 10 days, was apolitical and neither for or against the U.S.-led war in Iraq, but rather to simply offer a forum for those offended by the tone of virulent anti-Americanism coming out of official Ottawa to make their voices heard.
But what also emerged, this in the bosom of a province that routinely elects federal Liberals in their dozens and dozens, was a decidedly political streak that, whatever else it was, was noticeably contemptuous of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, his ministers and his government.
This was evident everywhere, particularly in the homemade signs -- one two-headed creation read "Liberal Scuds: Smarmy Chrétien; Blabby Parrish, Dopey Dhaliwal" on one side, "Chrétien's the Moron" on the other; "Damn Liberals: I Hate the Bastards" read another placard; "Regime Change in Baghdad and Ottawa" a third -- and in the spontaneous and protracted booing of two Toronto-area Liberal Members of Parliament, Dennis Mills and Albina Guarnieri, whose America-friendly remarks did them no good at all and were drowned out.
So vigorous were these catcalls that one of the podium guests, the much-loved Toronto Argonauts coach and former star player Pinball Clemons, who had earlier delivered a lovely speech in which he said "I choose to be Canadian and a friend of America" both, was moved to grab the microphone again and plead for the crowd to be more respectful.
There were politicians aplenty to be found -- among the speakers, Ontario Premier Ernie Eves and Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper, who ended his remarks on a perfect, pithy cry of "God Bless America, God Save the Queen, the Maple Leaf Forever," and among those on the sidelines, former Ontario premier Mike Harris -- and even a mini-controversy sparked by one.
This was a press release sent out yesterday by Mr. Eves's office, and later repudiated by the Premier, that equated the Canadian government position with cowardice.
Frankly, it is impressive that someone in Mr. Eves's employ believes he has been able to determine that the Chrétien government has a single position, let alone so confidently that he could equate it with anything more concrete than quicksilver.
But for all that this kerfuffle grabbed the attention on local newscasts last night -- the curse of the right-leaning, in this country, is that for every step forward, they determinedly take one self-immolating step back -- the day properly belonged to what one man, Ian Rankin, described rather wonderingly as he scanned the faces around him as a crowd of "serious, hard-core, middle-class people."
It is not easy, ever, to get such folks out to demonstrate. Hell, it isn't easy to get them out, period, unless it's to a meeting or their child's hockey game.
Protest is in the main a tool of the left-of-centre, and they are good at it: When an anti-poverty group rallies, for instance, they have well-established allies upon whom they call -- anti-racists; anti-globalization types; the highly organized trade and teacher unions; the Marxists; the anarchists (who for all their purported loathing of organization are madly keen on mob activities and reliable fixtures); the New Democrats with their effective, tried-and-true network.
And protests are almost inevitably against something, whether a particular government or one of its bills or as is the case more often now, the war in Iraq. Just as most of those who write letters to newspapers are usually moved to do so because they are strongly opposed to something that was written, so are most of those moved to pick up a sign furiously anti- some policy or leader.
Even yesterday, the protesters for were outfoxed by the protesters against: The Toronto Peace Camp members, who have been at the square for now 19 days, stayed in place yesterday, with one young fellow, 15-year-old Justin Lathangue, bravely going bare-chested: On his back, in grease paint, was written, "Freeze 4 Peace." As he said, with an impeccable ear for the sound bite even at his tender age, "I'll take anything but war."
Still, there they were, the self-described hard core of the middle class, waving the flag(s) -- American and Canadian both -- and chanting, albeit somewhat uncomfortably, such slogans as "USA! USA! USA!" and even singing, with endearing self-consciousness, the few words they knew of God Bless America.
Freda Karengel and Lenore Ivers, both of nearby Thornhill, were handing out the little flags; as Mrs. Ivers said succinctly, "We both feel very, very strongly that the government made a very large mistake in their decision not to do anything. Well, actually, they did do something [by allowing 31 Canadian soldiers and some Canadian ships to participate] but they aren't fessing up to it." Murray Brown drove in from Dundalk -- he was the man with the aforementioned two-headed sign. Tommy Lenathen, a former vice-president of a Canadian Union of Public Employees local, finished his midnight shift as a foreman with the city works department and then hung around to wait for the rally to start. "I wanted to show some support for these folks," he said, meaning Americans. "They're always getting a kick in the head." I saw a famous criminal lawyer I know, now 65, who had never before in his life been at a protest. The same was true for Richard Baker, attending his first demo. "It took me 59 years," he said with a grin.
Does this mean anything beyond what it was? Will the bitter discontent with Ottawa ever become something else? Will any of it materialize at the ballot box? I haven't a clue, to be honest.
But of all the speeches, the finest came from a young woman named Erica Basnicki, who was there on stage with her mom and her brother.
The Basnickis lost their dad and husband, Ken, at the World Trade Center on 9/11. Ms. Basnicki is a journalism student at Ryerson University, and a real pistol, a beautiful, fierce girl.
Her tribute to the Americans she has met since her father's death, reprinted in its entirety elsewhere in this paper, was smart and gritty. Here, I will quote only a little. "My dad is not here in body," she said, "but he's here in spirit. And knowing my dad, if he could send a message to the people of the United States today, he would say, 'Thank you for looking after my family for me.' "
And that, on the day that the middle-class hard core had a rally and people actually came, was more than enough.
cblatchford@nationalpost.com
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.