Big rigs helping anti-vax protesters avoid crackdown

It wasn’t too long ago that another

“peaceful protest,” the march during the G20 meetings in Toronto, was met with thousands of police officers, many in riot gear, unlawful detentions and use of force, and questionable tactics such as kettling. Laws were changed before the meetings to make simply being nearby an offence.

The difference in how the police are treating the anti-health protesters is quite stark. No new laws. No arrests. No detentions. No kettling.

The difference, of course, is the use of multi-tonned vehicles with tinted windows.

Their sheer size makes the protest seem much larger than it really is. One hundred big rigs takes the same street space as tens of thousands of marchers. And police leave them alone, whereas marchers are often treated quite violently.

The message to groups of any ilk looking to get attention to their cause? Use vehicles!

Politicians and police still call it a peaceful protest, it looks much bigger than it really is, and you can snarl a city for weeks, without any repercussions.

Mike Sullivan, Stratford, Ont.