Sammy’s relations asking the crowd to calm down…
UPDATE: It’s probably no surprise to see that OCAP’s sponsor, Sid Ryan’s Ontario Federation of Labour has released a statement on Yatim’s case, continuing the pattern of exploitation.
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On July 29th a young man named Sammy Yatim was shot and kiled by police while standing inside of a Toronto streetcar waving around a knife. It’s impossible to know the details of what happened without an investigation, but the initially released videos didn’t look very good. Most people who’ve watched them now question if something was done wrong- including Yatim’s family and friends.
Shortly after the videos went viral, the union affiliated Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) did something entirely transparent and predictable- publishing a call for an anti-police rally to protest the killings. This, of course, brought in hoards of self-promoters, anti police extremists, angry loners and militant anarchists- OCAP is a magnet for those who want to riot against the police. But, 90% of the crowd were good people who simply came to express their sorrow over an undeniable tragedy.
Situations like this have the potential to be highly volatile. This march was no exception, OCAP’ers are legendary for their raw hate of all things police. And, they’re well organized entryists- when facing their prey, they’ve often been successful appropriating other people’s causes. But this time things were different, Sammy Yatim’s friends and family were too strong to succumb to OCAP’s weaknesses.
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