Arrests will not stop anti-gentrification movement: expert
Posted April 18, 2013 8:41 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Protests outside the upscale Pidgin restaurant on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside have become a flashpoint for the broader debate over gentrification.
But will the threat of arrests make a difference?
In a rare move, Vancouver Police have sent out warning letters to a number of protesters that they could be charged if they continue to block owners and customers from the restaurant. However, UBC Sociology Professor Rima Wilkes feels the move will not blunt the movement in the least.
She adds the definition of violence depends on what side of the debate you’re on.
“It’s considered violent to stop someone from going to have a high-end dinner in a rich restaurant but it’s not considered violent for people to lose their homes because they can’t afford to live there anymore.”
Wilkes says these protests have to be put into perspective.
“If somebody is an aggressive panhandler, do we want to call that violent? That’s not my definition of violence. That’s my definition of being made to feel very uncomfortable, but I’m not sure I would say that’s quite the same thing as fearing for one’s life,” she suggests.
Over the weekend, a protester was pepper-sprayed, but refused to cooperate with police investigating the incident, so no charges were recommended.
