Fuck You, Peter Kelly.
Hey Peter Kelly,
Fuck you.
I realize some of the other mayors were kicking out the Occupy protesters. That’s kind of too bad, really.
But you, not content with being your usual, harbour-swimmin’, mediocre self - you decided to get all Machiavellian on those kids.
So you marched your skinny white ass downstairs, entered one of the common folk tents and started wheeling and dealing. You and the protesters came to an agreement - they’ll leave the main square in Halifax while the Remembrance Day services were going on, and they could come back some days later. Everyone’s happy. Those Occupiers even brought a wreath to the ceremony, how sweet.
But you snuck away from the service to, I assume, whisper secretively into an awkwardly big walkie talkie. You told the police to give the protesters, now camping a few blocks away, notice that they have to vacate the square. That was 12pm. By 2pm, you had several dozen police officers tearing down tents and arresting the damn hippies. What for? Obstruction of justice, of course. Because some of the protesters sat on their tents when your officers tried to take them away.
Let’s break this down real quick - the bylaw states that folks can’t camp out from dusk-til-dawn. You sent your police after them, mid-afternoon. So, while they may have infringed the by-law previously, they were well within their (municipal) rights to be there (nevermind freedom of assembly and speech.)
But no, you apparently thought it prudent to send in riot cops to remove protesters who were breaking a by-law that nobody actually gives a shit about. Totally worth it.
And y’know what, Kelly? You arrested my friend. He’s also a journalist.
Miles Howe sailed aboard the Canada Boat to Gaza. He wasn’t arrested by the Greek or Israeli authorities. He tried to enter Gaza. Wasn’t arrested by the Palestinians or captured by Hamas. He has a wealth of experience in non-violent resistance.
But you, Mistah Kelly, finally got him.
Listen, I’m not telling you how to feel about the Occupy protests. That’s irrelevant. I’d just as soon defend a manifestation of supply-side economists or libertarians.
But here’s where you fucked up;
- You arrested a journalist. You don’t arrest journalists. Journalists are supposed to be metrics of freedom in a society. Arresting them is insulting.
- You don’t send in riot police to arrest peaceful protesters.
- You don’t lie to your own citizens.
- You don’t ignore freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and freedom to be in public spaces simply because you don’t like the sight of them.
So, Mister Mayor, you can probably go get stuffed. I won’t promise you that the peasants will revolt or that you’ll be swept out of office by populist fervor. That’s not up to me.
I will, however, take the opportunity to visit you next time I’m in Halifax. I will proceed to roll up a newspaper, smack you on the nose and say “BAD MAYOR. BAD. BAD. BAD. BAD MAYOR.”
