Antonia Zerbisias: Pro-beer violence aficionado…
The Toronto Star never ceases to amaze me. It’s not the quality of their content, the style of their fonts, or the beauty of their photography that catch my interest- they’re okay. What really blows me out of my seat about the Star is their continuing support and promotion of the vandals who turned Toronto into a war zone at the G20. I’m truly impressed by how they manage to write this sort of crap and people still buy the paper.
I’ve covered a few of the Star’s shameless stories about the plights of the G20 “ringleaders” (for some reason, Zerbisias uses quotes). My favourite was when they helped promote Alex Hundert (who trained G20 vandals and gave them a list of targets) after he was in jail for less than a month. They helped diefy Hundert in the anarchist community by promoting his campaign to get library books to people at the Toronto West Detention Centre.
Many people I’ve discussed this article with agree that the Star was disrespecting Torontonians…
Last week the Star continued their tradition of glorifying violent criminals- this time in an article titled Jailed G20 activist claims Vanier prison violates Ontario Human Rights Code. And, honestly, this story has more BS than an entire week’s worth of articles in Rabble.ca. Quite the accomplishment…
Let’s begin with the title where she labels Hiscocks a “G20 Activist”. To label Hiscocks as an activist is to insult all of the people who do hard work to make change in this world. She was convicted for the same activities as Alex Hundert- training people to damage buildings and stores in downtown Toronto, and how to ‘de-arrest’ people from the police. The word for what Hiscocks did was ‘criminal’, not ‘activist’.
Next, without questioning her poor logic, Zerbisias explains Hiscock’s complaint how she was unfairly put into maximum security without any sort of an explanation why. Are they kidding? Hiscocks was put into maximum security because she’s an evangelist for promoting violence and chaos on the streets of Toronto. It’s quite simple really- your average Grade Five student could understand this.
Hiscocks crossed a serious line by teaching and encouraging kids to ‘de-arrest’ each other- a violent act by its definition. She put a lot of young and impressionable kids at risk. She’s is in her late 30’s, the people she was training were often just out of high school. Encouraging younger people to get into physical confrontations with the police is the height of irresponsibility. It makes no difference if she’s an ‘activist’, a teacher or a scout leader- she was criminally negligent working with our city’s youth.
But somehow, for Zerbisias, it wasn’t worth mentioning this inconvenient truth. Instead, she reframes Hiscocks as a hero who’s campaigning for prisoner’s rights. Meanwhile, the impressionable kids out there are seeing Hiscocks’ name in-print as a hero and are preparing to celebrate her release as (how Rabble.ca describes it) a “political prisoner”.
Hiscocks is a gang leader…
Most fifth-graders could figure out that Hiscocks committed a serious crime. It’s my understanding that the Toronto Star is written at a Grade Five level. So, really, there’s no excuse for Zerbisias to have written such a softball article that promoted an evangelist of street violence. So, assuming she’s not stupid. what other reason could she have for acting so irresponsibly?
The answer to that may come from an article she wrote a year ago titled When I was 12: Activism, The Beatles and a quest for straight hair. It’s a masturbatory piece which reads a bit like Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start The Fire– listing all the historical events that happened while she (supposedly) grew-up. One paragraph in particular gives us a clue as to why she would support someone like Hiscocks:
“Meanwhile, the first rumbles of Quebec nationalism shook my hometown of Montreal as we regarded every mailbox with suspicions. Would it be next to blow up? To my family’s horror, I regarded the Quebec separatist movement with some sympathy because I had nothing but contempt for colonialism and imperialism.”
To the people of Toronto’s horror is more like it.
For those of you unfamiliar with Canadian history, the events in Montreal Zerbisias is mentioning were by a terrorist group named the Front de libération du Québec. Between 1963 & 1970, they conducted over 160 attacks, and kidnapped the British Trade Commissioner in Montreal. Things got so bad back then that Prime Minister Trudeau sent soldiers into Montreal to protect the city. Eight people were killed.
It appears that we’ve found a motive Zerbisias’ shameless promotion of Hiscocks- she’s had a longstanding bloodlust for violent revolution. She uses her privileged position as a columnist as a tool to disseminate her ‘contempt for colonialism and imperialism’. And, apparently, her contempt for the business owners who had their storefronts destroyed, the people whose cars were damaged, and other’s whose lives were interrupted.
Wake Up Antonia Zerbisias- if you continue writing this type of crap, you’ll find that contempt thrown right back at you…
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I am greatly offended by this story. Not the story that you wrote, no, I am offended by the story that the Star wrote proclaiming these scums as activists. Alex Hundert, Mandy Hiscocks and Kelly Phlug-Back are NOT activists , they are simple criminals and urban terrorists, They held the city hostage with there black blocing morons who though that destroying anything and everything i sight was some how going to create awareness for social issues. these people need to be, in every single law enforcement and intelligence agencies highest priority watch list, a list detailed that when they tie their show laces ( if they know how to tie shoe laces ) , there is a detailed file of it somewhere. These people should not be allowed to travel anywhere unless they give advanced notice of a destination, including the grocery store, so they can be watched and recorded.
Activists are peaceful people who actually do accomplish great times, and do so quietly, without fan fare, without the need for recognition, without the need to have media cover it . No, they simply get things done. Real activists are articulate, educated on the subject they advocate on, know how to properly present a case to make persons ” hear ” and understand the situation and they offer viable , workable, realistic solutions to problems, as opposed to just blowing hot air. Real activists work along side the very people who CAN make a change, make a difference. Real activists respect other points of view and see of those opinions can be worked into the intended cause one is advocating for.
The three criminals I named above did none of that . They held and instructed others to hold this city hostage. They engaged in acts of terrorism. They are scum, nothing more. They do not deserve to be called activists . its about time the main stream media call them as what they really are, low life scum bags , urban terrorists and convicted criminals.
Author
I couldn’t agree with you more on this…
Zerbisias was sympathetic to the Quebec separatist movement because she had nothing but contempt for nationalism and imperialism. What exactly does she think the French were doing in North America?
Just when you think she can’t get any dumber…
Author
That’s a great observation. She’s a very silly journalist indeed…
Something I’ve always said the same about the “reconquistas” in ‘merica. You know the “we didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us” crowd.
Seems a bit of a stretch that native land that became Spanish land that became Mexican land that became American land should somehow only go back ONE step?
Is she ever dumb, thought the old gal had retired.
Author
As they say in the south – she’s dumb as a box of rocks…
Poor Mandy Hiscocks locked away and treated like a criminal. I have good news though. I have found some amazing legal advice Mandy and other black bloc activists that will help protect you from going to jail in the future:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVnplh7gnlU
Amazing how simple life can be.
You realize the were maybe 40-70 Black Bloc Vandals that caused damage out of maybe 25 thousand peaceful protesters Right? And the cop cars were decommissioned Bait Cars emptied of gasoline to be set on fire for the TV cameras .
Author
I totally realize that- most of the people at the G20 didn’t go there with the intention of doing some ‘smashy, smashy’. This article is about how Zerbisias is promoting one of their ringleaders as a hero. Considering all of the people who were at the demonstrations- you’d think she could have chose a better hero…
[…] at a protest. The problem is that Canada hasmany members of our government, academic faculty, mass media, and non-profits who have been aiding, promoting and/or encouraging people to behave this […]