Protests greet Cheney talk at Vancouver Club
By Michael Scott
On a cloudy Monday night, hundreds of Vancouver residents gathered at the ‘Vancouver Club’ to protest the visit of former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. This was Cheney’s first trip outside of the United States on his book tour.
The protestors came from a plethora of different backgrounds including anti-war, 9/11 conspiracy, legal expert, migrant justice, etc.
It almost begs the question, who doesn’t have a reason to protest Dick Cheney? People that can afford a $500 ticket, apparently.
While the protest was light-hearted at times, overall the protesters were serious in their opposition to Cheney’s presence, forming a picket line around both the front and back entrance to prevent supporters from entering. The protesters were determined to illustrate Cheney’s position in the Iraq war and torture, and demand that international law be upheld in their city of Vancouver.
While many called for Dick Cheney’s arrest, the police seemed more interested in ensuring Cheney supporter’s got their chance for an autographed book. The police extended their hand to Cheney’s supporters as they attempted to cross the picket line. However, many who came to hear Cheney were not brave enough to go against a wall of hundreds of peaceful protestors.
A reporter from the Globe and Mail was not deterred; he pleaded to protesters to let him through: he said, “I’m a reporter. I’m a working guy. I belong to a union.”
Protestors holding the line promptly reminded the reporter that, along with right-wing Conservative party organizer Leah Costello, the Globe and Mail is actually sponsoring the Dick Cheney event and therefore they didn’t trust his bias and said he couldn’t cross the line.
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