Curious Bystander

Imagine, hundreds of people in a bloody downpour, shoved so close together that people are touching you on all sides like in a rush-hour subway. You cannot move very much, sit down, pee, or protect yourself from the rain by ducking under an awning or doorway. Instead, you stand there, hour after hour, after hour, until your teeth are chattering and your entire body is shivering unstoppably. You have no information, no idea what is happening or how long it's going to go on for. Some people just start crying, out of fear. One person standing close by suddenly falls over, hard, onto the street, evidently from exhaustion. Finally, rumours go around that everyone's getting arrested and carted off to the temporary jail. People are stunned beyond belief, and scared about what's ahead. But then......nothing happens. You just stand there. You can overhear some cops talking, also wondering what's going on and what they're supposed to do. There is nowhere to put everybody, no vans or buses or anything, so you just stand in the rain.

A mere observer, Dan Dolderman, professor at the University of Toronto, was among one those who got 'kettled-in' late Sunday afternoon. You can read the rest of his experiences over at The Agenda.