What Were They Thinking?

When Halifax city council made the decision to evict the ‘Occupy Halifax’ protesters from Victoria Park, what were they thinking? Oh wait, I don’t mean that it was a bad idea. This is one of the rare occasions when I fully support a decision made by Peter Kelly and friends.

I wonder what they were thinking however, after they made the decision. Were they imagining the ‘worst-case’ scenario; cars burning, serious injuries amongst protestors and police, dozens of arrests, windows smashed and businesses looted in Halifax’s historical shopping district?

Did even one of them dare to imagine that no one would be seriously hurt, only a few arrests would take place and other than a bit of landscaping torn up, there would be no property damage at all?

In what had to be a perfect example for police departments everywhere, the Halifax Police force, seeking to confront the protestors before they had entrenched themselves back into the heart of Halifax’s downtown business and shopping district, chose the middle of a severe wind and rain storm to make their move. That strategy saved time, money, perhaps lives and definitely property.

There is no question that any advance warning to the protestors, in the form of a notice, would have resulted in a Saturday afternoon free-for-all with their numbers gorged by the inclusion of the usual suspects who live for that sort of thing (Surely, I am not the only one who notices the same faces in so many of Halifax’s protests – no matter what the subject matter).

All in all, this was a text book ending to a sad situation. The original ‘Occupy Halifax’ protest was well supported and probably would have ended in a week or so as the occupants saw their message splashed all over the media. Sadly, it was hi-jacked by street slime and unions, who are themselves corporations making money off the backs of workers, usually with little in return.

As in every other city and town around the world, Halifax’s city council said enough is enough and made the tough, proper decision to end it.

What surprises me, although it probably shouldn’t, is the amount of back stabbing from certain councilors (the usual suspects here too), who along with his detractors, are now trying to turn the decision into a bad move by Mayor Peter Kelly. Even worse, the Nova Scotia provincial government, who has no business commenting, decided to step in with their opinion, suggesting that negotiations would have won the day. I would advise them to sit at their little desks and watch the news over the coming weeks as city after city deals with this issue. It will be interesting to see how many have as little collateral damage as we did here in Halifax.

As for the whiner’s other main complaint; the police making their move on Remembrance Day; I don’t know about you, but since one of the things we commemorate on that day is the liberation of occupied cities by our brave troops, perhaps it was the perfect day for this to happen.

Daniel L Little 
www.daniellittle.com