Read on Twitter
1/ #MayDay in Montreal. Know your protests. Support anti-capitalist, social justice-based resistance; reject anti-science, far-right, conspiracy theorists. Here is a somewhat long protest primer, with both (really) bad news, and good news ... #manifencours #polmtl
2/ #May1st is a well-established international holiday for working class & oppressed peoples worldwide, inspired by the martyrdom of workers, including immigrant workers, in Chicago in 1886. There will be several protests in Montreal worth supporting ... #manifencours #polmtl
3/ However, there will also be likely thousands protesting at the Olympic Stadium, a vaccination site; that protest deserves to be opposed and avoided. Moreover, a curfew-defiance demo called at night is also linked, partially, to conspiracy-based ideas. #manifencours #polmtl
4/ For many people, especially people who take the pandemic seriously but oppose the curfew, it can be a confusing terrain. First, the really bad news: potentially thousands of protesters will be marching outside of Montreal's Olympic Stadium after 12pm ... #manifencours #polmtl
5/ It's a protest organized by the same individuals & groups associated with pandemic-denial demos in the past. They might have their largest numbers ever (including anti-science, far-right protesters coming from other regions of Quebec and Canada). #manifencours #polmtl
6/ They have chosen the Olympic Stadium, a vaccination site, as their target. One of the main organizers is Daniel Pilon whose links to conspiracy theories & the far-right are outlined here in an article by researcher Xavier Camus: https://bit.ly/3aSgnK6 #manifencours #polmtl
7/ Pilon has only doubled-down on various conspiracy theories, and does not disavow his clear links to far-right, anti-immigrant figures. The protest has become, like many of these conspiracy-theory projects, a money-making grift ... #manifencours #polmtl
8/ Organizers are selling placards for $10 & masks for $20 each and have received thousands in donations. Clearly, not everyone attending the protest is linked to conspiracy theories & the far-right, but the political DNA of the protest definitely is. #manifencours #polmtl
9/ The last time the racist far-right attempted to demonstrate at the Olympic Stadium was in the summer of 2017, because part of the Stadium was a temporary shelter for refugees crossing at Roxham Road: https://bit.ly/3gSqmD2 #manifencours #polmtl
10/ Anti-racists & anti-fascists mobilized at the time and forced the anti-immigrants to cancel their demo, while holding a Refugees Welcome protest in response: https://bit.ly/3gNWKXD #manifencours #polmtl
11/ Fortunately, there are grassroots responses to the anti-science demo tomorrow. For example, local activists flyered to let locals know the reality of the far-right, conspiracy theory, anti-science nature of the protest: https://bit.ly/3t8nfcE #manifencours #polmtl
12/ The further good news is that there are several #May1 protests worth supporting. Several groups have signed a "pacte" that expresses solidarity with health care workers, as well as with all “essential” workers ... #manifencours #polmtl
13/ The #May1st pact also engages to respect pandemic mitigation measures during protests (masking, distancing, avoiding unnecessary contacts); read more here: https://bit.ly/3eGqh2U #manifencours #polmtl
14/ Here are Montreal #May1 protests worth attending, in chronological order: The Sex Worker Autonomous Committee is organizing a protest at 11am at the corner of Calixa-Lavallée and Sherbrooke outside of the Public Health Department: https://bit.ly/3eH4Kad #manifencours #polmtl
15/ IWW Montreal, MAC Montreal and several other groups are organizing a union & community demonstration in Pointe-Saint-Charles starting at 12:30pm at Carré Hibernia (métro Charlevoix): https://bit.ly/2QMDyPp #manifencours #polmtl
16/ Montreal-area unions & groups, linked together as the May 1st Coalition, are organizing a protest at 1pm starting at Parc LaFontaine: https://bit.ly/3aSpPxa #manifencours #polmtl
17/ And, the CLAC is organizing an anti-capitalist May Day protest starting at 4pm, starting at Parc Jarry: https://bit.ly/3u9G1BN #manifencours #polmtl
18/ Finally, one issue that definitely confuses the political terrain is the totally unnecessary Legault curfew (which goes to 9:30pm from 8pm in Montreal area on Monday, but remains at 8pm this weekend) ... #manifencours #polmtl
19/ There are many people, myself included, who support pandemic mitigation measures but do not support the curfew (& more broadly, oppose policing & snitching). I wrote finding that anti-curfew political sweet spot back in January: https://bit.ly/3sZ1JrI #manifencours #polmtl
20/ Not surprisingly, anger at the curfew has meant anti-curfew defiance, particularly by youth. Montreal made national and international headlines after a curfew riot earlier this month: https://bit.ly/3vwr0u3 #manifencours #polmtl...
21/ The politics of that protest was varied: about 1/4 of the protesters wore masks, but there were protesters also expressing pandemic-denial ideas. The majority of protesters were multicultural Montreal youth. #manifencours #polmtl
22/ Another night-time anti-curfew protest has been called, sort-of, in much the same way as the protest/riot earlier this month, via posts on Instagram or tiktok. For example, an IG account has shared a post promoting an anti-curfew protest on May 1st ... #manifencours #polmtl
23/ However, when you check out the account, the most recent post (from April 16) is a pandemic denial conspiracy theory about the number "33", which does not inspire confidence in the politics of the protest. #manifencours #polmtl
24/24! Lots of pandemic-deniers will be in the streets, but there are also several protests in the working class tradition of #MayDay, providing a counter-message to conspiracy-theorists & a message of clear solidarity with workers. See you on the streets! #manifencours #polmtl
