You can view the page at http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2011/01/photo-day-rip-sergeant-ryan-russell
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- Thread starter Edward Skira
- Start date
Edward
Senior Member
What a sad story.
Gphorce
Active Member
Indeed, too bad you don't see thousands of people marching in support of mental health research. Just sayin.
ElCentro
New Member
Honest Sympathy vs. Police Propaganda
While I sympathize with Ryan Russells' family, it is important to ask questions when the first Toronto police officer to die on duty in the last 10 years is used to blast the public realm with pro-police propaganda. Why didn't we shut down the streets of Toronto when 4 migrant construction workers died in the same incident last year? What about the funerals of Junior Manon and Eric Osawe (killed by Police)? The last police officer in Toronto to die on duty died in a car accident 9 years ago while responding to a call. on the other hand more than 405 construction workers have died in Ontario since 1990. Migrant workers are particularly at risk. Considering the nature of Urban Toronto you'd think we'd care about that.....
While I sympathize with Ryan Russells' family, it is important to ask questions when the first Toronto police officer to die on duty in the last 10 years is used to blast the public realm with pro-police propaganda. Why didn't we shut down the streets of Toronto when 4 migrant construction workers died in the same incident last year? What about the funerals of Junior Manon and Eric Osawe (killed by Police)? The last police officer in Toronto to die on duty died in a car accident 9 years ago while responding to a call. on the other hand more than 405 construction workers have died in Ontario since 1990. Migrant workers are particularly at risk. Considering the nature of Urban Toronto you'd think we'd care about that.....
4pook
Active Member
A big difference with construction workers is that they usually don't die after being attacked by another person. If policing was as lethal as construction work though, Sargent Russells' funeral would not have been so special, and you probably wouldn't want to live in Toronto. That it is special is a credit to the work of police in our mostly civil society, and they keep most of us safe, really quite safe, so we give them both respect for it and a bit of slack. But I can't imagine what the public-sector cost of the funeral will be in terms of lost staff-time, OT and reimburseables. Across the GTA, probably $millions. Given the state of the public finances, it sure would have been a more effective use of public dollars if our leadership had encouraged those civil servants who did not know Sargeant Russell to take a private moment to think about him and his family, what he died for, think about what they are doing, talk with colleagues about it, and then go back to work.
Memph
Active Member
Yeah... while I feel sorry for their family, I think this whole event was overdone. Even soldiers' funerals aren't nearly as big.
ElCentro
New Member
Well the 4 migrant workers died due to criminal negligence...does that count for something? Taxi driving is the most lethal profession in terms of workers murdered....does that count? Are the numerous women who go missing and whose murders remain unsolved special enough to commemorate? I guess that's also too common to hold a special funeral for...actually if the murdered woman happens to be native or found work in prostitution it's often too common and unspecial for the police to even investigate.
Yeah I think you're bang on that the purpose of the propaganda surrounding Ryan Russell's death was to reinforce this idea, and I think it's an important statement to question. I think many people would disagree that the police keep us safe. For example the families and friends of the aforementioned women might disagree.Junior Manon and Eric Osawe's loved ones might disagree as well. Likewise for Adam Nobody and other abused G20 protesters. Ditto for many racialized people, particularly in marginalized communities where police harassment is a regular occurrence.