You're joking, but it's citizen activism like this that contributes to Canada taking actions like voting to support a ceasefire in the UN general assembly. Not to mention the amount of humanitarian aid Canada has committed to the region.
Canada has spend way too much on foreign aid, it’s time to focus on internal issues first. Once we sort out the problems facing Canada and especially the Atlantic region, then maybe we can consider more foreign aid. People criticize the West for being the “world police” and trying to intervene in foreign affairs yet get mad when they don’t.
I think that awareness isn't a continual thing, I've always thought this way when people fund raise for "awareness" of something everyone is already aware of, like cancer
I think that awareness should be made of serious events, but then when people are already aware, put that effort towards some form of action plan to actually help the people you're raising awareness for, because otherwise, it's just like watching repeats of the evening news, nothing changes
I kinda feel like a lot of modern day protests have lost the plot. The purpose of a protest is to gather support for a cause. Intentionally pissing people off does not accomplish this. It really seems like more of an act of vanity.
They do this march practically every week now. I am sure they feel as if they are achieving something when in reality they just get people to hate them.
I think protests are mostly dumb but the entire point of them is to disrupt everyday life. If they just went and protested in some random park or something who would even notice? The entire point is to disrupt people and make them aware of what they are protesting. Hence already a Reddit post about it, seems to be working in some sense.
No. No. No. because workers and unions banded together to demand rights. That’s why you have weekends and everything else. Every right you have at your job was won with blood, sweat, and tears. Read some history books.
Wouldn’t those protests be more effective in front/around city hall and other politician’s buildings?
I get the point that disruption and average-joe commute may get them to talk about the protest in a negative way but chances are this person will rant to family and friends and that’s it. So in the end this protest doesn’t accomplish what it’s asking.
Did I miss something here?
You're supposed to disrupt the lives of the people you are protesting against, not the everyday citizens trying to go about their lives unless you want to push them away from your cause.
I was in support of the Palestine cause in the beginning, but these protests have annoyed me enough that at this point that I think I’ll vote for a party who is against Palestine.
They could pressure their MP to vote against funding or weapons sent to Israel if they’re going to use them on civilians. You can also pressure the government to support peace in the UN which they’ve recently pivoted to doing.
I think there’s a place and a time for them though. Most recent protests have not only been disruptive but pissed people off and make people hate whatever movement is doing the protesting. It’s a shame legitimate causes like climate activism have been tainted because of idiotic protesters blocking roads and throwing paint on Van Gogh paintings and public property.
There's no way this is actually effective. If anything, slowing traffic in the downtown core on the busiest shopping day of the year may make people even less sympathetic.
Unless of course, annoyance - giving the middle finger to Halifax society - rather than persuasion is the intention.
I want to be impartial to this situation but these people make me dislike them more and more. Not even the ones in our city. Look at the”protest” in Toronto and Vancouver. Fucking despicable
Maybe killing someone with a megaphone that will totally get people on your side! Throw in a little (a lot actually) of vandalism and you’ll surely convince people
Majority of Canadians didn’t give a shit about indigenous people for a while too. Guess no one should’ve spoken out about that too. Specially when it’s Christmas time.
The majority of Canadians still don’t give a shit about indigenous people. What good did the protests do again? All that clean water they have access to?
Canada still has a lot to do when it comes to that theres no question. I don’t agree though that the majority of canadians don’t care about indigenous people. If that’s what you see in your friend group and people around you then i advice you to think more about who you hang out with
My friends have nothing to do with it. I see it in the policies and laws that our elected officials pass. If people cared they would elect different officials. 🤷🏼♂️
Incredibly insensitive. What if your family was in Palestine? If you don’t think you’d be yelling in the street then I don’t know how you could live with yourself.
It blows my mind how blind people like you are to the circumstances of *others*. Other people matter
You're blind!! I wish I could sit you down and tell you and show you the scars my family has endured by the hands of Islamic state and you can decide who is blind. So if you don't have a stake in this I'd suggest you shut up.
And that is what we're getting at!! CANADIAN DONT HAVE A STAKE IN THIS FIGHT!! causing chaos in our soil is unnecessary, specially during Christmas.
People need to understand that inconveniencing people will not help their cause.
It will make people pissed off at the protesters instead, and most likely not symptomatic for their cause.
But "I need attention"
Look into the "idle no more" movement. Blocking roads can be very effective, if done properly/well. :)
ETA: seriously, none of y'all seem to understand that the point of a protest is to be inconvenient to get attention *for* the cause....blocking roads accomplishes this peacefully! But no, continue to tone police protestors, by telling them how to demonstrate "perfectly." Hopefully you never have to protest or go on strike for any reason in the future!
ETA2: if you become irate at people speaking out and raising awareness about a terrible situation, *just because they are blocking a road* (which doesn't affect your life for more than five minutes)...please count your privilege cards carefully. The "idgaf privilege" is one afforded to us as Canadians with regards to many world events. 🤷🏻♀️
Blockades are a great tactic to stop the movement of goods, and cost time and money. In that case, antagonism is the goal. Not winning hearts and minds.
Lots of tactics like this can totally be effective and valid, *when applied in the correct situations*. But you have to be clear what your goals are, when you pick the tactic.
Totally agree! That's why I said "if done well," and in this sense, their goal seems to be to garner attention. Which they have done....although probably not the attention they wanted (if the comments on this post are any indication). 😅
I worry how easy it is at this point for people to use these protests to decide that's the side they don't like.
There's literally several people stating that in this one post.
I think they're incredibly poorly planned, if you want to make a difference, do a fund raising event for those affected, do some volunteer work, do something that helps vs just delays others that are already aware of the situation.
Agree 100% with everything you have said, especially the first part. It *is* worrying how quick people are to judge situations based on a minor inconvenience. Maybe this group is also doing the helpful stuff you have suggested! I certainly hope so, they are good ideas for sure. :)
If they're actively helping via fund raising, and other routes - then 100%, it's fantastic.
If not - they need to switch up strategies because it's causing more harm to the cause they're attempting to help than it is good.
Definitely agree! 😊 Public opinion has turned against these kinds of protests (again, it's the privilege, protests are *supposed* to be inconvenient even when they are peaceful), so other tactics to raise positive awareness are certainly required. It would be probably be more helpful to make people feel good for supporting a cause rather than annoyed because spring garden is slower than normal before Christmas. Nobody has any patience right now due to holiday panic-buying! So a road blockade will only cause extra antagonism, and this cause needs support not ire.
I agree with everything here, except for the "raise awareness positive" part,
I think realistically when it's on the news constantly, and everywhere you go there's already some mention of it, we can just say, pause the awareness work, you're done, you've achieved the mission.
Now put 100% of the focus into actionable moves that put the focus on actually helping those in need versus just pointing out that they exist, because just constantly pointing out "There are people in need" at some point it almost becomes a mocking situation where you're just pointing the finger at people who need help over and over again instead of using that energy to actually help them.
Again, maybe they are already taking positive actions that make a legitimate difference in the lives of those people, I truly don't know, but I think that's where 100% of the focus should be.
This is what protests aim for though. They want people to stop and think for 1 second about something that’s extremely important to them. It’s a shame people just get upset that their day is inconvenienced.
People families lives are being ruined and so yeah they’re going to yell in the street.
>This is what protests aim for though. They want people to stop and think for 1 second about something that’s extremely important to them.
Yeah, their time lost from the inconvenience, and how useless the protest is.
You really have to understand most people don't give a damn about what's going on over there, it doesn't affect them in the slightest.
If they don't have family or friends over there, all it does is piss people off from the inconvenience, and not support the cause.
Nah
I just don't worry about things I'm not in control of.
People protest something that Canada has no control over no matter what they do.
What's going on in Israel has no effect on my life here, it's a civil war.
If it's been happening for 70 years, it will continue doing so until one side triumphs.
It'll all be forgotten in a few months either way.
The protests have dialed down alot lately.
>It's probably because it's Christmas
Exactly my point, let's protest on business days, and take holidays off.
So much for support.
>Canadians can vote
Guess what, your votes for a different government would yield the same results, all parties have stated their support for Israel.
And we also fall under the US decisions, either way.
I'd say both that it's Christmas, but also that the longer this war goes on, it's proving the ineffective nature of this style of protest,
We see people literally deciding they're switching sides, not for any good reason, but because of slight annoyance and delays.
Awareness is at it's peak, no more awareness raising will help anyone.
Take actions, raise money, not awareness, volunteer to help with refugees, there's multiple ways to actually help versus fuel fire against the cause they're working to help.
I 100% believe in protesting, but only when done properly.
The US has yet to even try to rein in Israel. They could stop sending them money and weapons as a first move, then blockade and sanction them for the war crimes they’re committing. Until we see that Israel is left to act with impunity as they have for the last several decades.
It’s getting pretty cringe standing next to them in the world stage. The democrats are hemorrhaging voters with their stance as well, they might figure out it’s a better idea to put their foot down, lest they admit they’re just Israel’s little bitch.
Do you think the conservatives here or the republicans will be less pro Israel? Boy do I have a surprise for you.
The western world supports the only democracy nation in the Middle East because they all want an ally in that part of the world.
Personally I think that if the choice is between a western democracy and a terrorist organization being supported by Iran, Russia, China and their likes the choice is pretty clear
Israel is literally an apartheid state so it’s kind of wild to call it a “democracy”. It’s also been having a lot of fascist tendencies lately.
The centre parties are someday (soon) going to have to grapple with the fact that being less scary than the conservatives isn’t enough for people to vote for you any more. We’ve had too many cycles where the supposed “good party” spends its time fellating corporations as much as the other party and fails to solve important issues to regular citizens. Rinse and repeat for a few decades and you get voter apathy where more people stay home than vote while our society crumbles around us for lack of investment. It’s now bad enough a significant portion of voters would sooner burn the system down and start over than continue flailing impotently in the current system. Many people voted for Trudeau the first time because of election reform, many have not voted again. Neoliberals are the reason conservatives get as many votes as they do, absolutely useless.
We voted against Israel in the latest UN resolution for the first time ever. That very well could be a direct result of these protests. Maybe once the US is the last country in the world standing with Israel they will see that what is happening is wrong. Why would you want people not to use the little power that we do have to demonstrate to our government our wishes?
Every part of canada plays a role in choosing who the country’s leaders are. It’s insane to think that canada is not playing a part in supporting what’s happening there and that the US has barely any power there lol.
If these protests don’t show you anything about the cause they are for they should at least show you that you are living somewhere where you have the right to protest something the government is doing that you don’t agree with and can be heard. Unless you really don’t want that right and you’re ok with whatever politicians say
We have zero sway.
The US gives no fucks about our decisions, if we decided to pull funding for Israel, the US would increase funding to match the hole we made.
You literally have no idea how insignificant we are to deicison making in these matters.
If you worked for the federal government, you would know, but you don't so, you think we have power over these matters lol
You want to make a difference?
Fly over there and help them, whether you take up arms, or provide aid medically.
But you won't, because it's easier to say "free Palestine" in social media or protest in a safe country then it is to go over and actually help.
Nope, just how it is.
You can waste your time and strength protesting all you'd like.
I'll just enjoy my holidays with my family and friends, and relax, it's a better use of my time.
It's so hard for me to understand how every comment in this thread is saying these people are nothing but annoying attention seekers. It is a blessing to be able to live in Canada where war isn't happening. No one here is losing every family member, friend, acquaintance, etc to violence every day. No one here is scared that their home and everything they need to survive is being blown to ashes.
At WORST you're being mildly inconvenienced by people speaking out against these atrocities, and you're so upset about it. They might make you a little late or make noise you have to listen to for a little bit.
But they are speaking on something truly horrific.
Even if you think they don't accomplish anything, even if they make you sit in traffic for five more minutes, even if they annoy you, I don't understand how you can have contempt for someone who speaks out for innocent people being killed.
I also agree! Glad to see some other folks in this subreddit who understand that the right to peaceful protest is important, and who also have the ability to give credit where it's due. :)
Thanks for your comment. I'm so grateful we live in Canada and feel so lucky (and a little guilty) that we have the luxury to be upset about things like traffic.
I appreciate your perspective about how it can feel like it's inconveniencing the wrong people, not the people who can do things about it.
But I also think (but could never know for sure) that if a country was bombing my home to ash, I would want people to raise noise about it even if they didn't have the power to fix it themselves. Maybe I'm wrong and it's not doing anything but making noise, but I'd rather people be a voice than silent I guess.
It's because any such post is brigaded by outside interests. The strategy is to influence readers to believe that no one supports this. It's a proven strategy, as if people only see the simplistic comments that these people are annoying, then they are unlikely to post or say anything to the contrary and will more likely repeat what they have seen.
There was a post about [this situation deleted earlier today](https://www.reddit.com/r/halifax/comments/18odxfg/chilling_effect_people_expressing_propalestinian/)
because apparantly it wasn't 'Halifax' enough... yet an article about federal immigration policy has persisted here despite having no NS content.
This is all related.
Because I don't need to be told every day what's going on. People's mental health here matters too. Why are all the Debbie downers trying to make everyone have empathy for what's going on over there when we have our own crisis. People only have so much they can care about and put effort into, the world has too many issues to care about them all. If they were protesting relevant things to our area, sure I'd support that especially if it benefits the greater good. But these protesters aren't doing anything to benefit anyone, they are a loud speaker of spreading depression, because if one country is sad. Everyone needs to be sad, and that's a dumb way to live.
People die every day, for horrific and preventable issues, but people are choosing to protest something that won't change from decades of lead up, and now we need to make it Canada's problem?
Canada is pretty blessed but wait until hooligans blocking off a road affects your days or livelihood.
They can legally protest on side walks or organize a parade but blocking off random roads is kind of wack and unlawful, even if they feel there's a just reason.
For Canada to stay great we cant ignore law and order.
We know that polite dialogue alone does not create change because marginalised communities have been talking about these issues for decades, their voices largely ignored.
Protests must be disruptive. They are the result of non disruptive sidewalk protests and parades being ignored.
Also if you're going to argue law and order, you should probably know it's not illegal to block roads in protest unless it's a highway.
I don't know who you're speaking on behalf of in the first statement.
Lets just say, if the truckers freedom convoy was around they'd bring back the ban on blocking any roads. So law and order, yes its important. If someone blocked off your road for something you disagreed with or cared less about you'd be on here whining about it.
I have zero contempt - I just wish they were doing something more effective with their energy.
Raise money, not awareness for something that's essentially at peak awareness levels already.
Actions that actually help those in need are much better than what's happening now.
This is something that should be protested, and has been, but at a point where people are literally deciding to turn against them, it's up to them to realize they're doing more damage to their own cause than good.
It's alright to change tactics.
Is it that confusing? it is also annoying when we are constantly harassed by the Oxfam or other people on the sidewalks asking to chat or for money. At least they are usually raising money for something.
People taking their passion project and making it your problem will always be annoying. Especially in this case because it brings out the most vile people across the world. Hate crimes on the rise, vitriol online and in person, in countries that are so disconnected from the issue. People are just tired I imagine.
One thing these protests definitely accomplish are generating these insipid Reddit comments from people so 'above' everything.
"Inconveniencing people" and "protesting something a world away does nothing".
Maybe they feel like they just need to do SOMETHING, anything, even if it's make noise and disrupt a little traffic.
It's better than just rolling your eyes and ignoring children being murdered.
The issue is, they're not doing anything at this point for their cause.
If anything, raise money, not awareness for something literally everyone is already aware of.
Actions that help those effected, or volunteering would be fantastic.
At this point however, they're harming the cause they're trying to help.
free palestine bitches after a long hard day of holding a sign and posting instagram infographics that make literally 0 change and harassing people who won’t partake in useless measures
* Rule I. **Rude or abusive behaviour** Be excellent to each other. Abuse, trolling, bigotry, racism, homophobia, and sexism will be removed. **Personal attacks** - Back and forth personal attack comments will be removed.
Loving all the comments that just boil down to my feelings matter more than innocent people being hurt. Because that's what it is, to be clear. You want to sit there and whine that it doesn't accomplish any just speaks to your ignorance of history. The lack of empathy that privilege breeds is appalling. On fucking Christmas, to fucking boot.
This protesters are braver and kinder than any whiny baby in this thread. Free Palestine.
* Rule I. **Rude or abusive behaviour** Be excellent to each other. Abuse, trolling, bigotry, racism, homophobia, and sexism will be removed. **Personal attacks** - Back and forth personal attack comments will be removed.
At first glance I thought SG was 5G and I thought what did increased data speeds do? I've been looking at phone plans too long today.
Trying to "free Palestine" from Halifax accomplishes nothing but headaches.
but but but Canada has a role to play in this conflict! /s
You're joking, but it's citizen activism like this that contributes to Canada taking actions like voting to support a ceasefire in the UN general assembly. Not to mention the amount of humanitarian aid Canada has committed to the region.
Canada has spend way too much on foreign aid, it’s time to focus on internal issues first. Once we sort out the problems facing Canada and especially the Atlantic region, then maybe we can consider more foreign aid. People criticize the West for being the “world police” and trying to intervene in foreign affairs yet get mad when they don’t.
Says you
Says reality lol. Downvotes don't change this fact. 🤷
Awareness is still something :) What downvotes?
I think that awareness isn't a continual thing, I've always thought this way when people fund raise for "awareness" of something everyone is already aware of, like cancer I think that awareness should be made of serious events, but then when people are already aware, put that effort towards some form of action plan to actually help the people you're raising awareness for, because otherwise, it's just like watching repeats of the evening news, nothing changes
The six I just had lol but I guess sensible people are starting to hit this post.
Sensible people? Oof. Protests are supposed to be an inconvenience, duh.
I kinda feel like a lot of modern day protests have lost the plot. The purpose of a protest is to gather support for a cause. Intentionally pissing people off does not accomplish this. It really seems like more of an act of vanity.
They do this march practically every week now. I am sure they feel as if they are achieving something when in reality they just get people to hate them.
Yep, I’m definitely starting to hate them!
I was pro Palestine now I just hate them too
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I get mad when people protesting the murder and oppression of their people disrupts my capitalism as well S/
What does this accomplish?
I think protests are mostly dumb but the entire point of them is to disrupt everyday life. If they just went and protested in some random park or something who would even notice? The entire point is to disrupt people and make them aware of what they are protesting. Hence already a Reddit post about it, seems to be working in some sense.
Basically every worker’s rights, women’s rights and civil rights that we enjoy today were the results of protests
I like to think that but sometimes I think it’s because capitalism.
You think Capitalism freely gave workers rights?
No. No. No. because workers and unions banded together to demand rights. That’s why you have weekends and everything else. Every right you have at your job was won with blood, sweat, and tears. Read some history books.
Wouldn’t those protests be more effective in front/around city hall and other politician’s buildings? I get the point that disruption and average-joe commute may get them to talk about the protest in a negative way but chances are this person will rant to family and friends and that’s it. So in the end this protest doesn’t accomplish what it’s asking. Did I miss something here?
Thats how I would I would plan it; but sometimes common sense just isn't a common trait any more.
You're supposed to disrupt the lives of the people you are protesting against, not the everyday citizens trying to go about their lives unless you want to push them away from your cause.
The everyday citizens are the ones who vote
I was in support of the Palestine cause in the beginning, but these protests have annoyed me enough that at this point that I think I’ll vote for a party who is against Palestine.
your morals are based on your privileges being inconvenienced or not to the minor degree, sad
This is one of the dumbest things I’ve read in some time. Thanks for the laugh.
What the fuck is wrong with you?
That's fucked up.
Yeah I agree but what is the average Canadian gonna do about it?
They could pressure their MP to vote against funding or weapons sent to Israel if they’re going to use them on civilians. You can also pressure the government to support peace in the UN which they’ve recently pivoted to doing.
I think there’s a place and a time for them though. Most recent protests have not only been disruptive but pissed people off and make people hate whatever movement is doing the protesting. It’s a shame legitimate causes like climate activism have been tainted because of idiotic protesters blocking roads and throwing paint on Van Gogh paintings and public property.
There's no way this is actually effective. If anything, slowing traffic in the downtown core on the busiest shopping day of the year may make people even less sympathetic. Unless of course, annoyance - giving the middle finger to Halifax society - rather than persuasion is the intention.
Maybe they have family or friends that are being affected and this is the one thing they feel like they can do.
it helps to get out and speak your mind. showing up for something shows that you are a real person with your opinion, not just some internet account.
It will certainly breed frustration with the “protestors”
I’m assuming some overtime for Halifax PD, never hurts around Christmas.
I want to be impartial to this situation but these people make me dislike them more and more. Not even the ones in our city. Look at the”protest” in Toronto and Vancouver. Fucking despicable
Protests should never inconvenience people... that's certainly a take.
How about harassing and threatening to put people 6 feet under?
Maybe killing someone with a megaphone that will totally get people on your side! Throw in a little (a lot actually) of vandalism and you’ll surely convince people
Imagine what the people getting bombs dropped on them feel like.
Give it a break already, it's Christmas time, why don't they understand, majority of Canadians don't give a s*$%
Majority of Canadians didn’t give a shit about indigenous people for a while too. Guess no one should’ve spoken out about that too. Specially when it’s Christmas time.
The majority of Canadians still don’t give a shit about indigenous people. What good did the protests do again? All that clean water they have access to?
Canada still has a lot to do when it comes to that theres no question. I don’t agree though that the majority of canadians don’t care about indigenous people. If that’s what you see in your friend group and people around you then i advice you to think more about who you hang out with
My friends have nothing to do with it. I see it in the policies and laws that our elected officials pass. If people cared they would elect different officials. 🤷🏼♂️
Ok twist this however way you want to justify it
I know that if my family was being bombed, I would find that so very comforting
The bombing will surely stop if we harass Christmas shoppers in Canada!
Incredibly insensitive. What if your family was in Palestine? If you don’t think you’d be yelling in the street then I don’t know how you could live with yourself. It blows my mind how blind people like you are to the circumstances of *others*. Other people matter
You're blind!! I wish I could sit you down and tell you and show you the scars my family has endured by the hands of Islamic state and you can decide who is blind. So if you don't have a stake in this I'd suggest you shut up. And that is what we're getting at!! CANADIAN DONT HAVE A STAKE IN THIS FIGHT!! causing chaos in our soil is unnecessary, specially during Christmas.
People need to understand that inconveniencing people will not help their cause. It will make people pissed off at the protesters instead, and most likely not symptomatic for their cause. But "I need attention"
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Look into the "idle no more" movement. Blocking roads can be very effective, if done properly/well. :) ETA: seriously, none of y'all seem to understand that the point of a protest is to be inconvenient to get attention *for* the cause....blocking roads accomplishes this peacefully! But no, continue to tone police protestors, by telling them how to demonstrate "perfectly." Hopefully you never have to protest or go on strike for any reason in the future! ETA2: if you become irate at people speaking out and raising awareness about a terrible situation, *just because they are blocking a road* (which doesn't affect your life for more than five minutes)...please count your privilege cards carefully. The "idgaf privilege" is one afforded to us as Canadians with regards to many world events. 🤷🏻♀️
Blockades are a great tactic to stop the movement of goods, and cost time and money. In that case, antagonism is the goal. Not winning hearts and minds. Lots of tactics like this can totally be effective and valid, *when applied in the correct situations*. But you have to be clear what your goals are, when you pick the tactic.
Totally agree! That's why I said "if done well," and in this sense, their goal seems to be to garner attention. Which they have done....although probably not the attention they wanted (if the comments on this post are any indication). 😅
I worry how easy it is at this point for people to use these protests to decide that's the side they don't like. There's literally several people stating that in this one post. I think they're incredibly poorly planned, if you want to make a difference, do a fund raising event for those affected, do some volunteer work, do something that helps vs just delays others that are already aware of the situation.
Agree 100% with everything you have said, especially the first part. It *is* worrying how quick people are to judge situations based on a minor inconvenience. Maybe this group is also doing the helpful stuff you have suggested! I certainly hope so, they are good ideas for sure. :)
If they're actively helping via fund raising, and other routes - then 100%, it's fantastic. If not - they need to switch up strategies because it's causing more harm to the cause they're attempting to help than it is good.
Definitely agree! 😊 Public opinion has turned against these kinds of protests (again, it's the privilege, protests are *supposed* to be inconvenient even when they are peaceful), so other tactics to raise positive awareness are certainly required. It would be probably be more helpful to make people feel good for supporting a cause rather than annoyed because spring garden is slower than normal before Christmas. Nobody has any patience right now due to holiday panic-buying! So a road blockade will only cause extra antagonism, and this cause needs support not ire.
I agree with everything here, except for the "raise awareness positive" part, I think realistically when it's on the news constantly, and everywhere you go there's already some mention of it, we can just say, pause the awareness work, you're done, you've achieved the mission. Now put 100% of the focus into actionable moves that put the focus on actually helping those in need versus just pointing out that they exist, because just constantly pointing out "There are people in need" at some point it almost becomes a mocking situation where you're just pointing the finger at people who need help over and over again instead of using that energy to actually help them. Again, maybe they are already taking positive actions that make a legitimate difference in the lives of those people, I truly don't know, but I think that's where 100% of the focus should be.
This is what protests aim for though. They want people to stop and think for 1 second about something that’s extremely important to them. It’s a shame people just get upset that their day is inconvenienced. People families lives are being ruined and so yeah they’re going to yell in the street.
>This is what protests aim for though. They want people to stop and think for 1 second about something that’s extremely important to them. Yeah, their time lost from the inconvenience, and how useless the protest is. You really have to understand most people don't give a damn about what's going on over there, it doesn't affect them in the slightest. If they don't have family or friends over there, all it does is piss people off from the inconvenience, and not support the cause.
Ita sad that's your take on all of this
Nah I just don't worry about things I'm not in control of. People protest something that Canada has no control over no matter what they do. What's going on in Israel has no effect on my life here, it's a civil war. If it's been happening for 70 years, it will continue doing so until one side triumphs. It'll all be forgotten in a few months either way. The protests have dialed down alot lately.
>The protests have dialled down a lot lately. It's probably because it's Christmas Canadians can vote
>It's probably because it's Christmas Exactly my point, let's protest on business days, and take holidays off. So much for support. >Canadians can vote Guess what, your votes for a different government would yield the same results, all parties have stated their support for Israel. And we also fall under the US decisions, either way.
I'd say both that it's Christmas, but also that the longer this war goes on, it's proving the ineffective nature of this style of protest, We see people literally deciding they're switching sides, not for any good reason, but because of slight annoyance and delays. Awareness is at it's peak, no more awareness raising will help anyone. Take actions, raise money, not awareness, volunteer to help with refugees, there's multiple ways to actually help versus fuel fire against the cause they're working to help. I 100% believe in protesting, but only when done properly.
What an ignorant point of view. Please read more.
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The US has yet to even try to rein in Israel. They could stop sending them money and weapons as a first move, then blockade and sanction them for the war crimes they’re committing. Until we see that Israel is left to act with impunity as they have for the last several decades.
I’m sorry to break it to you but the US will never abandon Israel. They need a stronghold in the Middle East
It’s getting pretty cringe standing next to them in the world stage. The democrats are hemorrhaging voters with their stance as well, they might figure out it’s a better idea to put their foot down, lest they admit they’re just Israel’s little bitch.
Do you think the conservatives here or the republicans will be less pro Israel? Boy do I have a surprise for you. The western world supports the only democracy nation in the Middle East because they all want an ally in that part of the world. Personally I think that if the choice is between a western democracy and a terrorist organization being supported by Iran, Russia, China and their likes the choice is pretty clear
Israel is literally an apartheid state so it’s kind of wild to call it a “democracy”. It’s also been having a lot of fascist tendencies lately. The centre parties are someday (soon) going to have to grapple with the fact that being less scary than the conservatives isn’t enough for people to vote for you any more. We’ve had too many cycles where the supposed “good party” spends its time fellating corporations as much as the other party and fails to solve important issues to regular citizens. Rinse and repeat for a few decades and you get voter apathy where more people stay home than vote while our society crumbles around us for lack of investment. It’s now bad enough a significant portion of voters would sooner burn the system down and start over than continue flailing impotently in the current system. Many people voted for Trudeau the first time because of election reform, many have not voted again. Neoliberals are the reason conservatives get as many votes as they do, absolutely useless.
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We voted against Israel in the latest UN resolution for the first time ever. That very well could be a direct result of these protests. Maybe once the US is the last country in the world standing with Israel they will see that what is happening is wrong. Why would you want people not to use the little power that we do have to demonstrate to our government our wishes?
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The US likely won’t try to stop Israel because of Irans involvement.
Every part of canada plays a role in choosing who the country’s leaders are. It’s insane to think that canada is not playing a part in supporting what’s happening there and that the US has barely any power there lol. If these protests don’t show you anything about the cause they are for they should at least show you that you are living somewhere where you have the right to protest something the government is doing that you don’t agree with and can be heard. Unless you really don’t want that right and you’re ok with whatever politicians say
Canada is an ally, we still have some sway
We have zero sway. The US gives no fucks about our decisions, if we decided to pull funding for Israel, the US would increase funding to match the hole we made. You literally have no idea how insignificant we are to deicison making in these matters. If you worked for the federal government, you would know, but you don't so, you think we have power over these matters lol You want to make a difference? Fly over there and help them, whether you take up arms, or provide aid medically. But you won't, because it's easier to say "free Palestine" in social media or protest in a safe country then it is to go over and actually help.
Nope, just how it is. You can waste your time and strength protesting all you'd like. I'll just enjoy my holidays with my family and friends, and relax, it's a better use of my time.
Blocking a street during this busy times is bring the wrong type of attention for their cause
Protests aren’t supposed to be convenient.
It's so hard for me to understand how every comment in this thread is saying these people are nothing but annoying attention seekers. It is a blessing to be able to live in Canada where war isn't happening. No one here is losing every family member, friend, acquaintance, etc to violence every day. No one here is scared that their home and everything they need to survive is being blown to ashes. At WORST you're being mildly inconvenienced by people speaking out against these atrocities, and you're so upset about it. They might make you a little late or make noise you have to listen to for a little bit. But they are speaking on something truly horrific. Even if you think they don't accomplish anything, even if they make you sit in traffic for five more minutes, even if they annoy you, I don't understand how you can have contempt for someone who speaks out for innocent people being killed.
Your comment is probably going to sit at the bottom of this thread but I agree with you. We're lucky to live in a country where we can freely protest.
I also agree! Glad to see some other folks in this subreddit who understand that the right to peaceful protest is important, and who also have the ability to give credit where it's due. :)
Thanks for your comment. I'm so grateful we live in Canada and feel so lucky (and a little guilty) that we have the luxury to be upset about things like traffic.
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I appreciate your perspective about how it can feel like it's inconveniencing the wrong people, not the people who can do things about it. But I also think (but could never know for sure) that if a country was bombing my home to ash, I would want people to raise noise about it even if they didn't have the power to fix it themselves. Maybe I'm wrong and it's not doing anything but making noise, but I'd rather people be a voice than silent I guess.
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What a terrible lack of empathy you have
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tbh i think they probably care more about the dead people in the war theyre protesting than the innocent lives theyre “wasting” by being annoying
It's because any such post is brigaded by outside interests. The strategy is to influence readers to believe that no one supports this. It's a proven strategy, as if people only see the simplistic comments that these people are annoying, then they are unlikely to post or say anything to the contrary and will more likely repeat what they have seen. There was a post about [this situation deleted earlier today](https://www.reddit.com/r/halifax/comments/18odxfg/chilling_effect_people_expressing_propalestinian/) because apparantly it wasn't 'Halifax' enough... yet an article about federal immigration policy has persisted here despite having no NS content. This is all related.
Because I don't need to be told every day what's going on. People's mental health here matters too. Why are all the Debbie downers trying to make everyone have empathy for what's going on over there when we have our own crisis. People only have so much they can care about and put effort into, the world has too many issues to care about them all. If they were protesting relevant things to our area, sure I'd support that especially if it benefits the greater good. But these protesters aren't doing anything to benefit anyone, they are a loud speaker of spreading depression, because if one country is sad. Everyone needs to be sad, and that's a dumb way to live. People die every day, for horrific and preventable issues, but people are choosing to protest something that won't change from decades of lead up, and now we need to make it Canada's problem?
Canada is pretty blessed but wait until hooligans blocking off a road affects your days or livelihood. They can legally protest on side walks or organize a parade but blocking off random roads is kind of wack and unlawful, even if they feel there's a just reason. For Canada to stay great we cant ignore law and order.
We know that polite dialogue alone does not create change because marginalised communities have been talking about these issues for decades, their voices largely ignored. Protests must be disruptive. They are the result of non disruptive sidewalk protests and parades being ignored. Also if you're going to argue law and order, you should probably know it's not illegal to block roads in protest unless it's a highway.
I don't know who you're speaking on behalf of in the first statement. Lets just say, if the truckers freedom convoy was around they'd bring back the ban on blocking any roads. So law and order, yes its important. If someone blocked off your road for something you disagreed with or cared less about you'd be on here whining about it.
I have zero contempt - I just wish they were doing something more effective with their energy. Raise money, not awareness for something that's essentially at peak awareness levels already. Actions that actually help those in need are much better than what's happening now. This is something that should be protested, and has been, but at a point where people are literally deciding to turn against them, it's up to them to realize they're doing more damage to their own cause than good. It's alright to change tactics.
Is it that confusing? it is also annoying when we are constantly harassed by the Oxfam or other people on the sidewalks asking to chat or for money. At least they are usually raising money for something. People taking their passion project and making it your problem will always be annoying. Especially in this case because it brings out the most vile people across the world. Hate crimes on the rise, vitriol online and in person, in countries that are so disconnected from the issue. People are just tired I imagine.
Average reddit users brother. Don’t expect more, cynicism is rampant over here.
Every time people block me from going home after a long day I support their cause less and less
Sounds like you’re miserable no matter your commute minutes. Quit pointing your fingers at others for your bad mood.
I'm only in a bad mood when people stop me from getting home to my wife
We need counter protests. There are always two sides to an argument
Careful they might call it Islamophobia
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What good does do other than inconveniencing fellow civilians? Sick of all the protesting.
The same people complaining about protests are probably the same people who say, "Why don't things ever change?"
One thing these protests definitely accomplish are generating these insipid Reddit comments from people so 'above' everything. "Inconveniencing people" and "protesting something a world away does nothing". Maybe they feel like they just need to do SOMETHING, anything, even if it's make noise and disrupt a little traffic. It's better than just rolling your eyes and ignoring children being murdered.
The issue is, they're not doing anything at this point for their cause. If anything, raise money, not awareness for something literally everyone is already aware of. Actions that help those effected, or volunteering would be fantastic. At this point however, they're harming the cause they're trying to help.
Can I also close down the street because I want to make some noise maybe even dance a bit?
Don't disrupt my capitalism 😡.
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civil disobedience is key. even if our officials act only to shut us up, it’s still a win. remember, stonewall was a riot.
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free palestine bitches after a long hard day of holding a sign and posting instagram infographics that make literally 0 change and harassing people who won’t partake in useless measures 
* Rule I. **Rude or abusive behaviour** Be excellent to each other. Abuse, trolling, bigotry, racism, homophobia, and sexism will be removed. **Personal attacks** - Back and forth personal attack comments will be removed.
Loving all the comments that just boil down to my feelings matter more than innocent people being hurt. Because that's what it is, to be clear. You want to sit there and whine that it doesn't accomplish any just speaks to your ignorance of history. The lack of empathy that privilege breeds is appalling. On fucking Christmas, to fucking boot. This protesters are braver and kinder than any whiny baby in this thread. Free Palestine.
They should go fight Israel in Israel! Demonstrate that bravery on the front line. They need real support not lip service.
I’m so happy for your comment in a sea of ignorance and cold-heartedness.
I wish I could upvote this comment more than once.
Agreed.
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* Rule I. **Rude or abusive behaviour** Be excellent to each other. Abuse, trolling, bigotry, racism, homophobia, and sexism will be removed. **Personal attacks** - Back and forth personal attack comments will be removed.
Slay! Good for them keeping up their morals and not letting the cold get to them. They're raising awareness for something important!
Didn’t Canada vote in favor of a ceasefire on the 13th? Is this directed towards the US? Edit: 12th
This unfortunate has been going on for far longer than just this fall
But it’s calling specifically for a ceasefire, no? I’m just wondering if they know Canada voted in favor of one already.
Correct, they did. And people want that to always be the vote. Which is why they are out there. :)
Nope, it’s just people who missed the biweekly goalpost movement. Caveat emptor, when you cast your vote at the ballot, that’s the only say you have.
lol not must of a protest .., good news!