In Part
I of this post, I gave a detailed reportback (as the activists
parlance puts it) on the No Hate In the Hammer rally at
Hamilton City Hall last Saturday, August 10th 2019. In this part I’m
going to do some analysis of both the rally and its position within
the larger crisis in Hamilton.
To start with, a quick
update: Six days after the rally and its violent, chaotic climax (or
nadir, if you prefer) there’s been a lot of ongoing discussion in the
community following last Saturday’s rally. Unfortunately, very
little of that discussion has been optimistic. There was a
suggestion, early in the week, that since so many people supporting
the “No Hate” crowd have kids, that perhaps a kid’s area
should be created at the counter-protest; one person even volunteered
to host a “Drag Queen Story Hour”, which I consider an
absolutely charming idea.
Sadly, though, the discussion quickly morphed from creating a child-friendly space to whether it would be a child-safe space… which then shifted to whether City Hall can be considered a safe place to bring children at all. And in light of previous threats and attacks against counter-protesters’ children, the fact that a disturbed white supremacist drove a bus up onto the curb to intimidate protesters, and the utter failure (or perhaps refusal) of the Hamilton Police Service to cordon off or contain the Yellow Vesters, I’m sorry to say that the general consensus is that no, the forecourt of City Hall is not currently a safe environment for children.
Continue reading “No Hate In the Hammer Reportback, Part II”