On Nov. 11th, several of us thought it was important to take a stand on the issue of the deserving dead versus the undeserving dead, and in a non antagonist way to raise the issue of remembering the victims of imperialism and colonialism, not just those sent over to assist the great powers to colonize and plunder the world. Given the delicate nature of this task it was decided that we would take a non confrontational approach that would start dialogue on the way in which remembrance day glorifys those who die for the sake of profit while conveniently forgetting -or vilifying people in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan who are killed for colonialist plunder.
We made a banner that stated FASCISM STILL EXISTS……REMEMBERING ISNT ENOUGH……..refering to the illegal wars of plunder and anglo american consolidation of world resources, and were joined by two Afghan Canadians who had a banner that stated WE REMEMBER OPERATION MEDUSA 512 AFGHANIS KILLED BY CANADIAN MILITARY. Both groups stood at a reasonable distance from the ceremony and while some people were not cool others took pictures and gave the thumbs up. The tone of the event was non confrontational and peaceful.
After hanging out with our banners for twenty minutes members of Toronto Police attacked us and stole our banners, twisting peoples fingers in the process, as well as acting in a heavyhanded manner. This incident and the continued use of force by Toronto police inflamed Peoples passion and introduced the element of confrontation and violence to the event, as protestors refused to allow the police to trample all over their rights and denied banner used their voices to demand justice. At this point the police magically vanished as a crowd of people yelling racist insults attacked us and a scuffle followed.
Ironically these brave racists saved most of there hate and venom for our Afghani comrades, exposing themselves for what they are with comments such as “go back to your fucken country” and other verbal insults they showed the mob mentality they have and the racial hatred that lies beneath this. We were then physically removed by police, even though it was obvious that they were the ones who turned a peaceful silent action into a shitshow. We heard that later some occupiers showed up and stuff but needless to say we were not there.
Yesterday I posted a write up by a friend of what happened and though I may have worded some stuff differently I feel that some of the issues and sentiments are to the point. The war in Afghanistan is an illegal occupation, as well as Canada’s involvement in Haiti. Poor Children are recruited by the military here to perpetrate atrocities abroad and commit murder plunder and rape, only to be tossed aside later when they are too fucked up and no longer useful to the capitalist machinery. As sad as that is when they are carrying out these acts at the behest of the rich they are playing the role of colonizers and to have military services in there honor, further promoting the war machinery that has harmed them, to forget there victims and vilify those who resist occupation and die defending themselves against those who are sent to steal there land is hypocritical at best.
Furthermore it is clear to any who look that many people in a colonizer nation will be open to many ideas except those that directly threaten the colonialist system, and the blatant racist attacks incited by the police who introduced the element of violence and confrontation to a somewhat non confrontational situation demonstrates the role that the state plays in a physical force of instigating racist attacks.
Due to media propaganda, brainwashing and pomp and ceremony many people do buy into the lie that the Canadian military is fighting for our freedom, ignoring the fact that Afghanistan, Iran and other nations like Haiti targeted for occupation do not pose any threat to Canada. In fact it is the Canadian Military and Anglo imperialist Alliance that poses a threat to the peace of the world.
The saddest thing right now is how the media is targeting and attacking our Afghani Canadian Comrades, calling them pro taliban and hurling racist attacks and slinging mud on them simply because of there ethnic origens. This further goes to show that beneath this so called event the only people who are honored are those who have died at the service of the invaders, and anyone who really wants to remember ALL the victims, esp those whose deaths let us have our petrol must be evil and terrorists esp if they are brown!!!!
julianichim 
Precisely, the filtering out from Remembrance Day the true imperialistic causes of WWI and the colonial sentiments that fuelled it is what led to WWII. The Nazis were doing what the Colonial powers of WWI had done except this time the Nazis were colonizing inwards. Sad that it had to take a direct threat of subjugation at their doorstep for Western colonial powers to realize the evil of colonialism. But brushing and choosing to forget all that, remembrance day was slowly turned into a victor’s revisionist history to justify only one side and to create a soft power cult around military institutions by using vague terms like “brave veterans who sacrificed their lives” even though most were forced conscripts who were forced into the trenches with no clear idea of why they were fighting. In places where this indoctrination did not bear fruit like Russia, the true veterans displayed true bravery against all odds by refusing to be tools for an imperialist cause hence the Petrograd Soviet sailors and soldiers being at the vanguard of the October Revolution. This clearly shows that the very first immense shaking of the social order was directly caused by unveiling war glorification for what it was – and that was true bravery.
The seriousness of calling imperialist wars what they actually are is clear not just by the fact that public opinion monopoly held by those in power is now used to justify every criminal war thinkable in the present day but today’s war are an insult on what bravery and honour are – culpable useful idiots who sadly are victims are used as mere pawns to carry out against humans and their logic clogged with dogmatic observances like “remembrance day”. In Britain, someone was arrested for burning a fucking poppy! WTF?!
Your still a bunch of assholes for doing what you did.Cops should have twisted your cowardly necks ,not your fingers.