Urban Terror

The newspapers politely term them "anti-establishment" groups. Which, of course, anarchists tend to be; supremely, confidently, authoritatively, irritatingly, firmly and above all, aggressively, anti-establishment. They, and their ideological agenda, do not fit with societal normatives. They see fault in society's structure and strictures and will have none of it. And having none of it, they become loudly disruptive, condemnatory and threatening.

Of course there are people who don't quite fit into that precise characterization. People who proclaim themselves to be anarchistic at heart, but who limit themselves to condemning what they feel are constraints upon individuality; they have no wish to do or to behave as society behooves them to. Truth is, these free spirits simply loathe being held socially accountable and in response they denounce the conservative spirit within society as being socially unaccountable.

It is no accident of choice that there is a marriage of spirit between the liberal-left and anarchism. The individualist anarchist is one who feels an inbred distaste for sheep-like acceptance of limitations placed upon human activities. Social anarchists do not pose much of a harm to society, they generally restrain themselves and express their dissatisfaction forcefully through the power of the pen.

Unlike the sterner ideology of radical left-wing anarchists for whom social economy and legal philosophies are wildly anti-establishment in character and within whose enclaves social activists see nothing amiss to resorting to physical manifestations of their anger with collective societal mores which they claim to be an assault and an insult to intelligence and justice. Anarchic interpretation, however, is as varied as human nature itself.

The riots that are often seen result whenever global partners in economic deliberations get together to decide how the developed world will conduct its financial business, reflecting how it will manage the affairs of other, less advantaged countries with small, frail economies and whom anarchists and other social activists and human rights groups accuse of violating the rights of the less powerful, reflect anarchic principles.

And what a surprise it is to staid old Ottawa, complacent and comfortable with itself, going about its daily business, as the capital of a wealthy country, to discover that there are angry and active anarchist cells busily planning mayhem and havoc right in this capital city. Canada will be hosting the G8 and G20 meetings this summer, in Huntsville and Toronto. Both the cottage getaway-town and the metropolis will be bracing for noisy, disruptive opposition.

Security will be tight in both places, given the ample concerns respecting safety and security of the meeting attendees. Police agents representing municipalities, the provincial, and the federal security agencies will be in full alert mode. Law and order will prevail. We are assured. But now, here in Ottawa? Well, it is the nation's capital, and we're a sitting duck. Or at least the Royal Bank of Canada is.

Firefighters responded to a massive fireball that exploded within an RBC branch in downtown Ottawa yesterday. The perpetrators of the deliberately-targeted bank branch were careful to ensure they made a video recording to prove this was their calling card, and they mean business. This was posted as an alert, that "resistance continues". Against a "target of our rage against the evils they sponsor".

"Ottawa anarchists" are in full action mode. Garnering their brief moment of fame through breathless news reports, and full and speculative coverage in the national news on line, on the air, and breaking television news. And doubtless loving every minute of it. There does not appear to be any kind of sophistication behind the mindsets of the perpetrators, nor elegance of prose in their communication.

Their arguments sound like the usual leftist rubbish, their tactics meant to spread fear. Don't we have a word for that kind of activity? These are urban, economic, political, social terrorists. Clumsy but lethal, withal. Doing what such entities do best, considering themselves disenfranchised through ideology, but empowered through their tactics.

The tried and true formula: degrade, brutalize, humiliate and terrorize. The brutality of which depends upon the elemental foundation and social barbarity of the terrorists' ideology. Society must take them seriously, because they pose a serious threat. But their threat is quite specific to the economic-political element of society. They are our own home-spun terror group.

Not to be confused by the type of religion-twisted holy warriors that will set bombs not at four in the morning when no one is about, and the only damage will be to property - but those who plan to detonate themselves to annihilate their life for the greater glory of Allah, along with as many other innocents as possible.