As I am sure everyone has heard by now, Toronto is being destroyed by G20 protesters. This is truly sad and actually quite devastating. These protesters aren't getting their point across to the members of the Summit like they are trying, but instead they are destroying a city and causing the citizens' lives to be further disrupted.

This is making me wonder, at what point did it become okay for someone to hurl bricks through windows and set police cars on fire to prove their point? I am certain that there is a better way to make your point known than to vandalize and terrorize such a beautiful city. After all, it isn't the members of the Summit they are hurting, but the taxpayer. All they are doing is adding more money to the bill for this whole ordeal, a bill that will be delivered to taxpayers – not the Summit members.

Is it not possible to get better attention paid to your plight by acting like calm, rational adults? By acting like lunatics these protesters are effectively taking away their own voices, and giving the power to their opposition. It is easier for the people you are speaking out against to brush you off when you behave like a child, because it makes your point appear childish. I'm not saying the protesters have no right to protest (in fact, I applaud proper means of protest), but I think that the means in which they are going about this are all wrong.

I understand that not all of the protesters are behaving in such disturbing ways. For every violent demonstration, there are many more peaceful ones. Unfortunately, it is the violent ones that the mass media are going to pick up on and that the public will fixate on. These violent protests are taking away all credit from anyone who decides to speak up against the G20 Summit in Toronto.

So I leave you with a simple shake of my head. I understand the frustrations, but this simply isn't the way a civilized community is supposed to behave. And to everyone in Toronto – be careful and safe.

photo from digitaljournal.com