Extreme U.S. Isolationalism - TranceAddict Forums

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Posted by Alccode on Mar-21-2003 22:28:

Extreme U.S. Isolationalism

So I'm going down University ave. last night (in downtown Toronto), and I'm about to pass the US Consulate.

I wondered whether or not I would see any protesters this late, or even some "No To War" signs or even graffiti put up on the Consulate.

Then, a thought came up in the back of my mind: "It would be funny if they put up a fence around it."

When I passed by the Consulate, my jaw almost dropped!

Not that there was a fence erected, but a huge WALL three metres high, entirely enclosing the front of the Consulate! And around that wall was ANOTHER wall! It looked like a fortress! And no doors or entrances of any kind.

I laughed... funny that they had to do that, in the civilized world, in one of the largest cities in North America, in its next-door neighbour and close ally (former close ally, you might say?).

Indeed, it seemed to me that they (the Consulate) were acting as if Toronto was a dangerous city in a third-world country where there are radical extremists ready to bomb it at any time.

What do you guys think? Was this a prudent course of action to take, barricading themselves so? I think that it was not. What was the worst they could expect, marching student demonstrators?

In Belgrade, where the anti-Americanism is much higher than here, the US consulate was not barricaded like that at all (when I was there last summer). At most there was a simple fence around it, as around all the other embassies there. But who knows, maybe things have changed.

At any rate I think that this went a little too far, a little too paranoid, and definitely uber-Isolationalist.

Posted by King_Mack on Mar-22-2003 06:11:

I have yet to see any reason to justify why the consulate put up these walls.
Paranoia if you ask me

Posted by DrUg_Tit0 on Mar-22-2003 11:34:

In Zagreb they have something like anti-tank barricades and several guys with machine guns in front of the enterance. No need to mention that the other consulates are basically a normal house with a single policeman in front. But they decided to move to another location on the edge of the city because they consider this one to be too unsafe . I wonder if they're gonna put an anti-aircraft gun on the roof, just in case.

Posted by ascension on Mar-22-2003 14:42:

"you're either with us... or against us"

Posted by dEsidEL on Mar-22-2003 19:31:

i don't think they regard us Canadians as being radicals who are ultraviolent. i think that action was taken just to be better safe than sorry ..

i don't think they were taking symbolic ramifications into considering at the time for their precaution.