I’m going to admit
it: after six weeks of the dumpster fire that is Hamilton politics
since Pride, I’m starting to get a little shagged out. The drama
continues this week, with Hamilton achieving the dubious distinction
of having
the highest rate of reported hate crimes in Canada. The Mayor
was unavailable for comment… which of course sparked a wave of
derision on Twitter.
Following that, the
CBC ran a story on one
of three separate complaints to the OIPRD regarding the police
response — or rather, lack of one — to the attack on Pride. They
mayor’s office released yet another boilerplate statement “Hamilton
for All“, presumably not understanding that “all”
is increasingly seen to include Nazis and Fascists.
The debate and discussion around Pride Hamilton continues, with an LGBTQ+ community debrief scheduled for Wednesday night to help people process the attack on Pride and its aftermath, as well as discuss goals for going forward; because of that the event is a private one for LGBTQ+ people in general (and their allies who were present at Pride) and is being billed as a safe space… insofar as any space is safe for our community these days. One of the things we keep hearing from LGBTQ+ people in the Hamilton is a sense of fear and isolation that has developed because of the attacks on Pride and the ongoing failure — I would go so far as to say refusal — of the police and city hall to address the continued flood of hate crimes in the city of Hamilton. This is what makes community events like debriefs so important as a tool of connection and healing; while attending a rally can be empowering, marching around and waving signs isn’t the complete package when it comes to dealing with trauma.
Earlier this week, I
posted that Cedar Hopperton, the Hamilton-area activist who’d had
their parole revoked as revenge for a blistering critique of the
Hamilton Police Service’s shameful display of spite and incompetence
at Hamilton Pride, was released from jail. While the details are
still not public knowledge, a CBC story seemed to imply that their
release was on a
“credited time” technicality and not, as one would
hope, because anyone in the judicial system has a commitment to
actual justice.
I’m sorry, was that cynical?
I’m feeling cynical this morning, and it’s not just the hangover from one too many Dark and Stormies to beat the heat last night. (This blog’s name isn’t just being cute: I drink and I tend to write best in the early mornings while the house is still asleep; you do the math.) The reason I’m feeling cynical is that yesterday “Helmet Guy” Chris Vanderweide made bail on two charges of assault for his role in the attack on Hamilton Pride.
Just a quick unscheduled post to keep everyone updated – yesterday afternoon it was announced that Cedar Hopperton, the Hamilton anarchist and trans activist who was unjustly arrest and incarceration for the “parole violation” of exercising their free speech, was released from jail
There have been no further updates on the details and reasons about why this happy event came to be (the Tower, a Hamilton anarchist organizing space, has promised an update on its Facebook page, but as of this morning none has yet been posted.) The CBC article on this implies there was a “credited time” issue with Hopperton’s incarceration.
While is is obviously very welcome news for the LGBTQ+, trans, anarchist and anti-fascist communities in Hamilton (and also for Cedar themself), let there be no mistake: This isn’t over. At the very least the city and the police have a lot of questions to answer about why violent fascist hate groups are being allowed to use public space, why the HPS feels it can withdraw public protection on a whim, and the generally disastrous handling of the entire situation from day one.
Cedar Hopperton is free. However that came about, one less ongoing injustice can only be a good thing. But there’s a lot more work to be done, however much the mayor and the police might want this all to go away.
There are the Pride Defenders facing charges — those must be dropped. There must be an independent review of police conduct around Pride. There must be a review of the city’s conduct. Mayor Eisenberger must name and denounce the fascist hate groups who helped attack the Pride event. There must be transparency in LGBTQ+/city relations, not just closed-door meetings with handpicked “advisors.” And police must finally take action and arrest the violent homophobes and so-called “religious preachers” who attacked people in Hamilton and Toronto… and who are reportedly planning on doing it again at London Ontario’s Pride celebrations this week.
On Saturday, July
13th my partner and I woke up at seven in the morning, dressed
carefully for the heat, packed sunscreen and filled our water
bottles, and headed out on a drive to Hamilton’s City Hall to
participate in the “Hamilton
For Who?” rally in support of the city’s embattled LGBTQ+
community.
My partner and I went to the rally, met up with friends, listened to music, bought t-shirts, drank water, danced and generally had a good time, as protests go. We also flipped off the violently islamo- and homophobic “Yellow Vest” hate-group which was forced out of the City Hall courtyard by the presence of both the rally and the weekend-long “Camp Chaos Gayz” occupation; making it the first Saturday in months that the Yellow-Vesters haven’t had a city-sanctioned presence at City Hall… which was one of the things the rally had been intended to achieve. We followed up the demonstration with a visit to the Art Gallery of Hamilton with some friends, then an early breakfast-for-dinner date at a diner and drove home in the long summer evening, footsore and sunburnt and feeling very good about the day.
At roughly the same moment I had gotten out bed that morning, Willem Van Spronsen was shot to death by police officers during his attack on the privately-owned and -operated prison for migrants called the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma Washington.
