G20 riot had similarities with Chicago demonstration in 1968

G20 riot had similarities with Chicago demonstration in 1968

http://news.guelphmercury.com/Opinions/EditorialOpinion/article/658978

July 10, 2010
By Andrew Hunt

Last month's G20 protests in Toronto bore a striking similarity to
the 1968 Democratic National Convention riots in Chicago.

Forty-two years ago, in the sweltering heat of August, 10,000 to
15,000 protesters converged on the Windy City where Democratic party
delegates were gathered to officially nominate vice president Hubert
Humphrey for the presidency.

The protests in 1968 and 2010 have eerie similarities. Both featured
a diverse group of demonstrators coming together in the streets. Lots
of young men and women experienced mass protest for the first time,
while others were more seasoned resisters.

In both places, some activists preferred militant tactics, including
smashing windows and lighting vehicles on fire. Others embraced
completely nonviolent methods and sought to distance themselves from
extremists.

The two cities ­ Toronto and Chicago ­ were transformed into armed
camps with security perimeters, checkpoints and long lines of police
in riot gear. Two-way radios crackled, police helicopters hovered
overhead, and law enforcement officials worked closely with city
leaders, starting well in advance of the events, to ensure tight security.

Both protests lasted over a period of several days. The G20 actions
commenced June 18 and lasted until June 27, with a large followup
protest on Canada Day, July 1. The Chicago demonstrations were
underway by Aug. 24 and lasted until Aug. 30, the day after Humphrey
won his party's nomination for the presidency.

Activists in Chicago and Toronto took advantage of the strong media
presence to spotlight their activities. Televised images depicted
unruly crowds, raging fires, and police clashing with protesters.
Protest in the two cities became associated with chaos and disorder.

Each side blamed the other for the unrest. In Chicago and Toronto,
civil libertarians insisted that police behaved excessively and
adopted heavy-handed tactics. By contrast, police in the two cities
defended their actions and said protesters were primarily to blame
for the chaos.

Events in Chicago and Toronto tended to polarize the public. Many
citizens angrily criticized the tactics of the dissenters, insisting
the protests were too costly and ultimately ineffectual. An outspoken
minority in 1968 and 2010 blamed the unrest on the aggressiveness of
the police.

There are, of course, salient differences between the two events.
Historians have now had more than four decades to assess the
demonstrations in Chicago. Shortly after the 1968 protests, an
official committee was created in Chicago to investigate the riots,
headed by future state governor Daniel Walker. The so-called Walker
Commission collected 180 hours of film, 12,000 photographs and 3,427
eyewitness testimonies to reconstruct events in Chicago. The
commission ultimately blamed most of the unrest on the police, saying
the events in Chicago "can only be called a police riot."

Despite police culpability in Chicago, militant protesters were
widely despised across America in the months following the Democratic
National Convention. Yet their actions had the desired effect. They
planted seeds of doubt in the public about the wisdom of the Vietnam
War, and showed that as long as violence raged in Southeast Asia, it
would erupt at home.

It is hard to say whether events in Toronto will have the same potent
legacy as those in Chicago. Unlike the 1968 activists, who took aim
mainly at the Vietnam War, the G20 protesters brought with them a
myriad of grievances, on everything from Palestinians to the
environment, and thus lacked the same focus.

Some would call this an asset. But given the widely varied agendas of
activists in Toronto, it is not surprising that it was the dramatic
street clashes ­ not the issues that drove resisters into the streets
­ that captured the attention of the media and the public.
--

Andrew Hunt is an associate professor of history at the University of Waterloo.

.