Well, the G20 summit is now over, but the after effects will take quite a while to repair. From what I understand, many people are still being detained by the police, but the majority of the madness seems to have subsided. It feels like, for the first time in 2 days, I can breathe.
This has been an experience that I never want to live through again, but also one that has opened my eyes to things that as a Canadian, I have never seen before. I have never witnessed rioting like this before, cars being set aflame, people just randomly throwing bottles at police. For a large portion of the weekend, I felt like I was living in war zone. Many of us may not be the nicest people ever, but overall, Canadians are very peaceful.
Today, even though things were calmer and a little more quiet, when I walked 2 blocks to the drug store, everyone I passed on the street had an air of nervousness about them. It was like everyone was just waiting to duck out of the way or waiting for the crowds of people to engulf them. For a Sunday, in the downtown core, the place was almost deserted. The only word I can think of to describe it was eerie.
With the summit over, things should return to normal tomorrow, but will they? So many people are angry at the way the police handled the situation or at the attacks the actual city suffered, I can't imagine that things will be normal for a while. Even knowing that the worst is behind us, I still feel like we are a city living in fear. How much longer will we feel this way? I wish I knew.
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