The Toronto Anti-War Rally, Or "Canada Out Of Canada"

Rallies against, well, war in general it seems, were held around the world over the weekend to mark the third anniversary of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Here in Toronto, the protesters gathered across University Avenue from the U.S. Consulate. Estimates on the number of protesters vary depending on the source. The Canadian Press and Toronto Police give a figure of around 1,000, while wsws.org (the World Socialist Web Site) claims 25,000. Let's put it this way: I was there. There may have even been 2,000, but 25k is so utterly ridiculous I have to laugh. Unfortunately the organizers of the event, the Toronto Coalition To Stop The War, seem to have had a website outage problem, but I'm sure they'll be more realistic when they get their site back up...


This is the sight that greeted us as we made our way south on University to the site of the protest. Lots and lots of cops. Cops on bikes, cops walking, riot cops, horse cops; you name it, they were there. In the foreground, you can see the flags of Iraq and Palestine fluttering in the cold wind.

Here's the lone American Guy. He stood there defending all things Yankee to any and all who would listen. I think he was serious.




I had all kinds of looks like this from the cops while I took their pictures. Haha, it's good to be free.









Freedom for us to do whatever includes freedom for them to video us doing it, apparently... That's the Video Services Unit in the background. Smile for the camera!

One of my favourite posters. And there were a lot that were humourous in one way or another... See if you find this one funny, too!




Here are some shots of the aftermath. The crowd had marched off up University Avenue, and it seems some people forgot their signs.




A few more signs lying about. There were quite a few piles like this. I guess the wind was too cold to carry them. A real pity, because I'm sure that the 23,000 marchers that joined after we left could have used these...

I like this one. One of the best overall sentiments I saw all day.







I laughed and laughed at this. Canada out of Canada. But let's not fight about it...






Granola down! Medic! One of the funniest things you can see on the road after an anti-war protest. That includes cops and hippies.








After the protesters had moved off to the north, along with all the other cops, we were left virtually alone with Toronto's Finest Riot Outfit. Don't they look fine in their ski masks?

So, after all this cynicism (fun, though, wasn't it?!), let's be serious for just one second. The people at this rally were against war, totally and utterly, in all its forms. Having done my homework before going off to their rally, I know roughly where they stand. I just can't figure out why. The seems to be no thought beyond "No War". Is Iraq the same situation as Afghanistan? Iran? Where does Haiti fit in? (For that matter, where does Quebec fit in?!!) What would these people have been saying if the year was 1939? I invite you all to peruse the literature of these anti-war groups to see if it makes sense to you. Start with the links at the top of this post. I am not pro-war. I am also not anti-war if the circumstances call for it. All I ask is that people educate themselves before choosing their position; to be honest, I saw little to no evidence of that at the Saturday rally. Ouch.