Before the Toronto’s 30th annual Pride Parade began yesterday, I caught some drama running past. A protester pretending to be police officer in riot gear ran into the intersection at Charles St. & Yonge. He was carrying a shield with the word “Polite” on it and wore a visor low over his face to mimic the visors the police wore last week while protecting Toronto’s fair citizens from the G20 Summit. In his free hand he carried a soup ladle which he waved around like a police baton. The protester was a little guy who ran around in circles. A least one cop was not amused—a hulking guy who was at least 6′ 2″. He yelled at the protester, then chased him down Yonge St. A couple minutes later, the cop returned carrying the shield and visor. It was a classic case of David and Goliath.
What I found interesting was the crowd’s response. The National Post cited an Angus Reid poll which said 81% of people in Toronto felt disgust at the protesters. The article seemed to lump together all protesters, both the window-smashers and the polite sign-carriers who stuck to the so-called designated free-speech zone. I was expecting that 81% of the people around me would be hostile towards the protester in black who taunted the police officer. But what did I hear? I heard cheers. And when the police officer returned carrying the confiscated items? The crowd booed him. But mostly they laughed. It was like a vaudeville drama.
For me, the incident illustrates the questionable nature of media-commissioned public opinion polls. Do they really gauge the mood of the people? Or are they simply tools to manipulate the mood of the people? The mood on the ground was definitely different than the mood in the armchair.
