While this weekend’s orgy of vandalism may have been earth shaking for Torontonians, the event left the New York Times decidedly nonplussed. After not mentioning the riots for most of Sunday, the old grey lady churned out a piece in today’s print edition. In it, editors seem to find the staggering number of arrests (over 900) noteworthy, but that’s about all.
The violence was not exceptional compared with problems at previous international meetings, like the World Trade Organization’s gathering in Seattle in 1999. Toronto’s shopping district sustained the greatest damage but quickly became something of a tourist attraction… But it was nevertheless extraordinary for Toronto, a city with little history of violent protests.
Look, we love getting a little attention from the Times, but was it really necessary to simultaneously disregard our fears, imply how boring we are and criticize our civil liberties trampling? At least when we have a riot, it’s typically not Drake related.
• Police draw criticism for treatment of G20 protestors [New York Times]
NEVER MISS A TORONTO LIFE STORY
Sign up for This City, our free newsletter about everything that matters right now in Toronto politics, sports, business, culture, society and more.