tonight, the protest came to me

I wasn't sure what to make of the helicopter hovering deadly still high over my backyard. It could have had something to do with all the red police tape over by the crack houses up the alley.

But then that would have been a little over the top - even for a manhunt.

Instead, the little police bird was just sitting there eyeing the river of protesters washing through Little Italy, banging their pots and pans and doing their best to make their presence felt while the cops on bikes and cars, trucks and wagons trailed obediently. I wonder how many "patrons" and "clients" and "local business owners" were rolling their eyes at their own bad luck. And how many were clapping along, clinking their wine glasses in a show of support. I witnessed some of both. Amy and I just stayed silent and watched. Then we followed.

I realized I hadn't been in a protest march in a really long time. Quebec City and the FTAA seemed miles in my past, like a trophy that didn't mean anything any more. I'm not even sure I could frame the main arguments of either side in any great detail this time around. See, I have spent the last couple of years watching people in the news protest against everything from dictatorships to bank reform to condoms in high schools and evolution to nuclear mishaps, global warming and soul-crushing austerity. So my gut reaction to the student strikes here in Quebec was: Tuition hikes? Really?

I was missing the point. The sad truth is that we are all selfish and eager to rebuild the world in our image. Students want low tuition and Governments want more money. Business men want lower taxes and less regulation. Scientists want to solve and artists want to evolve.

The sadder truth is there's no way we're all getting what we want.

So we're all frustrated. Some people take to the streets with cutlery to make their points. Others use influence and little white envelopes. I think you can usually measure frustration by how loud someone kicks and screams for what they want. When you go silent, you have either gamed the system or given up on it altogether.

So you can either take to the street or bitch about the people who do just that. Simply saying protesters have nothing better to do is taking the lazy way out. They have a right to get theirs the same way you have a right to get yours. There will always be casualties. It's just the nature of the beast.