Angry in the Great White North
The likelihood of many more peaceful operations
Saturday, June 10, 2006 at 08:38 PM

Read other posts by Steve Janke published by the National Post
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Earlier today I wrote about the monopoly on violence, the State, and how the insurrection in Caledonia is undermining the legitimacy of the McGuinty government in Ontario:

The thing about the monopoly of violence is that you have to use violence to maintain it. Some monopolies form because prohibitive costs prevent other competitors from getting into the business. On the other hand, anyone can be violent. That means that the government can maintain its monopoly only by being more violent, forcing you to make the choice between the cost of defying the government versus the cost of submitting. [emphasis added]

Later, this article appeared in the Toronto Star, in which OPP officers are complaining that they can't do their job right because of political interference:

For instance, the highly trained and heavily armed members of the OPP tactical team have not been allowed to wear their tactical uniforms.

"It's okay to have an officer walking around in tactical uniform at Wasaga Beach on a long weekend, but it's not okay in Caledonia," [Ontario Provincial Police Association president Karl] Walsh said.

The standard practice for OPP officers dealing with an unruly crowd — as both the protesters and the townsfolk have sometimes been during the past months — is to dress in riot gear, with helmets, visors and shields.

Leave it to the Star to describe riot gear as some sort of turtle's shell. Besides the protection, a typical riot gear outfit includes a solid steel baton and a gas mask. The baton is displayed to make a very visible promise that anyone who starts causing trouble is going to get a serious beating. The gas mask reminds potential troublemakers that the severe burning in the eyes and nose and throat, the copious and uncontrollable nictitation, the nauseau, the vomiting, and the burning sensation wherever someone touches you -- all symtoms of exposure to 0-chlorobenzalmalononitrile, or tear gas -- are symptoms that are going to be enjoyed by the protesters only, and not by the police.

Notice that unruly crowds are rarely outfitted in riot gear.

That is what I mean by the State being "more violent". And the OPP understands that. It's the politicians in the Liberal government who do not:

"But these officers were ordered not to wear them for optical purposes," said Walsh. The OPP doesn't want to give the media, the protesters or residents the idea "there's an increased level of aggressiveness" in what they consistently have called a "peaceful" operation.

But that's the point. By not presenting a credible and seriously aggressive posture early on in the stand-off, the government ceded its role as the sole legitimate agents of violence to the protesters. Once that was done, it has been almost impossible for the government to recover.

Any bets on how many more of these "peaceful operations" are going to occur going forward? Any thoughts on how many fewer had this one been met with a serious and forceful response the moment the barricades went up?

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