I feel bad for the legitimate protesters- destruction starved folks show up to the protests and use it to just wreck havoc, tainting the image of the peaceful ones who only showed up with their posters and placards. I've been to protests before with very well-mannered folks who have been nothing but respectful to the surrounding law enforcement. We waved our posters, said our slogans, and no one tried to start any fights or destroy any property- we all knew that would only alienate people from our cause and get us in trouble. It's sad to see that their cause has been hijacked by maniacs.

I had a good few friends who were considering going and protesting peacefully- I'm glad they ended up not heading out. They had some buses over here heading out to Toronto for people who wanted to protest and were part of an organized group. They have things they would certainly have loved to protest at the G20, and not by lighting cop cars or smashing windows in.

It only takes a few hooligans to make an entire protest go bad. We've seen that with smaller hockey riots in my city. A good number of resentful fans milling around the town after a game... and it takes it one person to throw a rock into a window, and then all hell will break loose. And that's not even for a cause!

The rotten apples in the bunch give the majority a bad name. It's terribly frustrating for those who are only there to protest peacefully- their cause and their names have been tainted and derailed.