Émilie Breton, Anna Kruzynski, Magaly Pirotte and Rachel Sarrasin. Published in Le Devoir, August 24th, 2010.
As members of the Research Group on Collective Autonomy, we join our voices to those who are speaking out against unprecedented State violence and police repression in the wake of the G20 Summit held in Toronto in June. This violence has affected our friends, our colleagues, our comrades, our partners, our communities. In the same vein, we wish to denounce the misinformed and sensationalist discourses that have been emerging in the media.
Repressive forces deliberately targeted those dressed in black. The media, also seemingly concerned with anarchist dress-codes, broadcast, over and over, images of supposed “young thugs” and focused their analyses on the now famous Black Bloc tactics. This kind of media coverage gives the impression that the acts in the streets of Toronto were void of political content and that anarchists are scary individuals who should be placed behind bars for the protection of all.