Been in Montreal for the past few days, and it has been awesome - hot summery weather, GREAT food, and super friendly folks everywhere! Got into the thick of it yesterday, as I attended a good old fashioned Student UPRISING protest against tuition hikes. Good for them, sticking it to the man (or in this case, Jean Charest's provincial government). The protest was the culmination of a weeklong general strike for a lot of university students (who knew students could strike?!!)... It was well organized, well attended, and most importantly, well behaved. Which is refreshing, given the riot a couple weeks ago during Anti-Police Brutality day, which ironically then ended in police brutality.
I'd write more, but let's face it, you're all just here to see the topless protester…
Alright, it's time to go eat obscene amounts of smoked meat. A la prochaine, mes amis!
Update - May 10, 2010 - While I was generally supportive of the idea of fighting unilateral decisions on tuition hikes, I have to say that after a month of prolonged protests that have often ended in unruly behaviour, violence, and smoke bomb campaigns along the Metro lines, I no longer have much sympathy for this movement. Access to education is an issue that is of utmost importance to society, but resorting to violence and (smoke) bombing of public transit lines instead of rationally debating the attempts at compromise is certainly not bargaining in good faith. For the majority of students out there who are protesting within their legal means, good on you. But the few organizers of the aforementioned unfortunate (illegal) tactics is giving the entire student body a bad name. End rant.
I'd write more, but let's face it, you're all just here to see the topless protester…
Alright, it's time to go eat obscene amounts of smoked meat. A la prochaine, mes amis!
Update - May 10, 2010 - While I was generally supportive of the idea of fighting unilateral decisions on tuition hikes, I have to say that after a month of prolonged protests that have often ended in unruly behaviour, violence, and smoke bomb campaigns along the Metro lines, I no longer have much sympathy for this movement. Access to education is an issue that is of utmost importance to society, but resorting to violence and (smoke) bombing of public transit lines instead of rationally debating the attempts at compromise is certainly not bargaining in good faith. For the majority of students out there who are protesting within their legal means, good on you. But the few organizers of the aforementioned unfortunate (illegal) tactics is giving the entire student body a bad name. End rant.
Hey, nice shots. I was wondering if you happened to get the topless girl's name, cuz I'd like to interview her for my own blog.
ReplyDeleteSorry, unfortunately, I didn't stick around to catch her name. Good luck tracking her down though.
ReplyDeleteIm sure her parents are real proud.
ReplyDelete