Last Saturday's "Trudeau Must Go" rally in Toronto organized by Ronny Cameron, while ostensibly an anti-Trudeau and anti-Liberal government protest, was in fact a nakedly anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim event which should be clear to anyone who actually watched the footage or was present at the event. And though Ronny continues to dissemble regarding the nature of the event, he continued to put his foot deep down his throat:
The numbers of the Islamophobes and anti-immigrant protesters were initially limited and significantly outnumbered by counter-protesters who held a rally in support of immigrants and refugees as well as opposing white supremacy. However as some of the counter protesters had been in Nathan Phillips Square for several hours by the time Ronny Cameron's small group arrived, and perhaps thinking that would be the extent of the anti-immigrant rally, some of those counter protesters decided to leave. Eventually Steven Alexander "First of Her Name the Unburnt Queen of the Andals and the First Men Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons" Gregory Myatt, Georges Massaad, members of the Northern Guard, and others arrived:
When all was said and done, the Islamophobes, white nationalists, and anti-immigrant protesters' numbers were more or less equal to that of the counter protesters who remained with some saying there were slightly more fascists and others slightly more counter protesters. In order to achieve this they needed people from outside the GTA, Ottawa, Quebec, and as far as New Brunswick while the counter protesters all appear to be from Toronto or the GTA.
So of course, being able to equal the number of counter protests counts as a great victory I suppose:
Personally, and no doubt they won't particularly care about my thoughts on the subject, it seems to me that declaring "victory" because you managed to not be grossly outnumbered is a pretty low bar to set.
But hey, whatever helps you wake in the morning.
Still, one also can't ignore that they have certainly been energized by the event and are now planning future events under the aegis of a "patriotic counsil [sic]" or an "elite protest team":
Back in August, Myatt and Massaad announced the first of their efforts in establishing a "movement" they are calling the Order.... like never before!
Please, try not to laugh too much at the posturing for the camera, the numerous contradictions, or the overblown and self-aggrandizing rhetoric:
After the Toronto event on October 21, Myatt and Massaad have decided to launch a new initiative with a rather interesting title for folks who claim not to be fascists:
I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that Myatt and Massaad would make reference to the Phalange movement, a Maronite militia first established in the 1930s and who were among the more notorious militias active during the Lebanese Civil War (1975 - 1990):
Founded in 1936 as a Maronite Christian paramilitary militia by Pierre Gemayel, the Phanangist Party was first modeled on the Nazi Party of Germany after Gemayel visited the country during the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, though it had more in common with the Spanish fascist movement under Franco which, given the claims that they are not fascists themselves, may prove to be somewhat problematic:
Massaad, himself of Lebanese heritage who's family may very well have come to Canada as refugees fleeing that war, has indicated support for one of the Phalange militia's former leader Bashir Gemayel son of Pierre Gemayel:
Gemayel, as a "New York Times" article reflecting on the man's career soon after his assassination (more on that soon) stated, lived and died by the sword. In a war in which atrocities were committed by all sides, Gemayel also had no problem with targeting civilians:
Though primarily targeting Muslims, Gemayel also was willing to have his political rivals on the Christian right murdered to consolidate his own power:
The most infamous act committed by the Phalange militia during the war occurred soon after Gemayel's assassination with the massacres at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps:
This is the legacy of the fascist militia that Myatt and Massaad have named their "media production" project after:
Sort of speaks volumes, doesn't it?
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