401 Blockade
I've arrived safely in London. I left Ottawa around 8pm hoping to get ahead of the blockade. It's a good thing I left Economics early, apparently blockades started before midnight:
Protesters launching a National Aboriginal Day of Action blockaded one of the country's main thoroughfares last night, beginning a "campaign of economic disruption" hours earlier than threats had indicated.
A blockade of Highway 401 between highways 37 and 41 went up in both directions around 11:30 p.m., Ontario Provincial Police Sergeant Kristine Ray said last night. Traffic was being rerouted to the north.
Around 9:15 p.m., a rail line was also blocked and a fire ignited in the middle of a county road near Deseronto, Ont.
I drove the 401 right around this time and didn't see any of what is reported above.
While I support anyone's right to protest I think we are looking at this issue all wrong.
Not only do blockades just continue the stereotype of the "angry Indian" this militant-type behaviour "targeting" roads just give a poor reflection on all Aboriginals, even though this is a militant extremist group conducting this blockade of the 401.
Do any of these protests, blockades really get Canadians to think about land claim issues? Most people I spoke with today were simply fed up with the whole situation.
Billions upon billions of dollars go our country's Aboriginals, certainly more than what our American counter-parts do, and somehow our Aboriginals have the highest suicide, infant mortality, poverty and substance abuses than any other group in Canada. Do Aboriginals/Native Americans living in the USA face the same issues?
Does this group have problems? Yes. Should they receive help from Canadians because of the whole, we took their land and that nasty residential school experience. Absolutely. But. When does it stop? It's been years of time and billions of dollars have been spent, and our nation's Aboriginals are probably worse off!
So where's the problem? How can it be resolved?
Today is the Aboriginal Day of Action and many Canadians aren't too optimistic of it actually achieving anything
Continuing the cycle of victimhood and violence is not how to solve the injustices of the past.
So what is to be done? Not an easy answer, but will a few extremists acting like domestic terrorists, it certainly does nothing for helping their cause.
Protesters launching a National Aboriginal Day of Action blockaded one of the country's main thoroughfares last night, beginning a "campaign of economic disruption" hours earlier than threats had indicated.
A blockade of Highway 401 between highways 37 and 41 went up in both directions around 11:30 p.m., Ontario Provincial Police Sergeant Kristine Ray said last night. Traffic was being rerouted to the north.
Around 9:15 p.m., a rail line was also blocked and a fire ignited in the middle of a county road near Deseronto, Ont.
I drove the 401 right around this time and didn't see any of what is reported above.
While I support anyone's right to protest I think we are looking at this issue all wrong.
Not only do blockades just continue the stereotype of the "angry Indian" this militant-type behaviour "targeting" roads just give a poor reflection on all Aboriginals, even though this is a militant extremist group conducting this blockade of the 401.
Do any of these protests, blockades really get Canadians to think about land claim issues? Most people I spoke with today were simply fed up with the whole situation.
Billions upon billions of dollars go our country's Aboriginals, certainly more than what our American counter-parts do, and somehow our Aboriginals have the highest suicide, infant mortality, poverty and substance abuses than any other group in Canada. Do Aboriginals/Native Americans living in the USA face the same issues?
Does this group have problems? Yes. Should they receive help from Canadians because of the whole, we took their land and that nasty residential school experience. Absolutely. But. When does it stop? It's been years of time and billions of dollars have been spent, and our nation's Aboriginals are probably worse off!
So where's the problem? How can it be resolved?
Today is the Aboriginal Day of Action and many Canadians aren't too optimistic of it actually achieving anything
Continuing the cycle of victimhood and violence is not how to solve the injustices of the past.
So what is to be done? Not an easy answer, but will a few extremists acting like domestic terrorists, it certainly does nothing for helping their cause.
posted by Spitfire at 1:42 AM
5 Comments:
I suggest we start a counter blockade. Find out which roads lead to the reserves. Bulldoze ditches across these roads. Deep ditches...
Will these blockades make anyone care about land claims? No and aboriginals know it. What blockases will do is make people angry that they can't get to their cottage on time; which is the ultimate goal, because if people are angry it will force the government to speed the snail like land claims process.
Anon, you would be arrested so fast your head would spin.
Do you think this explains anything about why the conditions on reserves suck?
http://www.taxpayer.com/main/news.php?news_id=368
For complete details of these protest check out
http://www.caledoniawakeupcall.com
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