Toronto Tamils: Make me proud

Just came home and realized that I was two blocks away when the Tamil protesters rushed to the Gardiner Expressway. My mom and I were lounging in the HTO beach when sirens started at 7pm. 

I'm quite proud that our fellow citizens have the courage to pull off such bold demonstrations. Surely protesters know this is a controversial stint that will earn them some bad publicity. There must be good reasons for them to justify the bad press. Perhaps this really is the only peaceful yet effective way to get people thinking. In reality, every protest will prove to be a nuisance for some people. The essence of a protest is to raise awareness and ignite critical thinking about the issues at stake. At the same time, these protests have been nothing but peaceful and organized, unlike other recent protests around the world. Only in Toronto can we have a highway overtaken by citizens without any violence erupting. I understand that a lot of people are and will be affected by these protests. I hope that every Canadians will cherish and respect our freedom to peaceful assembly as we remember that in some countries, to protest publicly means to be shot by tankers.