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Lorna Mills and Sally McKay
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For a report on last Friday's critical mass in New York City, read this excellent blog post by Stillweride (thanks Rico). Recent events in NYC remind us of the inherent friction between police (historically hired by the state) and common people (historically a threatening faction that those in state control command police to keep in line). The cops have been picking on New York's critical mass ever since the protests there in August. When the cops pick on you, it's not fun. Toronto's critical mass ride has had its share of problems with police as well. For some reason the utterly utopic mandate of the event ("it's just a bike ride") gets under the skin of police-people who seem to want to eradicate (and criminalize) unpredictable behaviour of any kind. It's fair to say, in Toronto anyhow, that simply being a visible minority may more often than not put you on the cop's abornmality radar. It's all inordinately frustrating.
If you are at all interested in the civics of police control, you will very much enjoy Min Sook-Lee's amazing documentary, Hogtown. I just got to see it at the Toronto's most excellent Hot Docs festival. Min Sook-Lee is smart smart smart. She got a film crew into the Police Services Board right at the point when the new mayor of Toronto, David Miller, was elected in November of 2003. It was clear that there was tumult brewing, and indeed the chaos hit just in time for her cameras. The story is about a city council divided between those who want police accountability, and those who want to give cops free reign. In a short space of time there was a smear campaign, exposure of endemic police corruption, unrest about racial profiling, yelling matches about helicopters, blatant disregard for the democratic process, and heroic feats of courage and determination. I have huge respect for Alan Heisey (who I posted about earlier) and councillors Pam McConnell and John Filion who all stuck to their guns despite extraordinary stress levels and the infuriating, babyish behaviour of colleagues such as councillors Case Ootes, Rob Ford, and Giorgio Mammoliti. Even if you aren't involved in local politics, you will find the film to be a nail-biter and a shocking reveal of some elected officials' tenous grasp of democratic principles. The cameras catch everything, from back-room whisperings to full-fledged shouting matches in the council chambers. See it if you get the chance!