Was at Metrotown on Friday, and there was a group of Palestinian supporters marching around the mall.
They also pulled this little stunt.
It's almost funny, we were there right at this time, and my 3.5 year old wanted to go to Chapters but I had to tell her no, we don't have time - we would have run right into this. We were eating at the food court when they came and shouted a bunch.
I'm fairly neutral in this conflict, I can see both sides have both valid points, as well as a proven history of doing shitty things - but this kind of 'protest' is, in my opinion, fucking stupid.
Like ok I get it, the people you're related to are suffering greatly back home, but how is inconveniencing thousands of people across the world, on private property, while screaming "free Gaza" into an Aliexpress PA system where everything is garbled once you're 10 feet away going to gather any support? Also the way they were doing this just made it seem like they were waiting for Israeli supporters to come up and pick a fight. I honestly think the only reason security didn't remove them was because the mall would get bad PR so they told them to not do anything.
But but we're raising awareness! Yeah ok, I'm sure the people who now have tinnitus who also have to explain to their kids why grown ass adults are laying in the middle of the mall with red and white bedsheets are now sympathetic to your cause, as you go home in your warm car to your warm house as you feel warm and fuzzy inside because "you made a difference." This, again IMO, is no different than the people who glue themselves onto roads to "raise awareness" for climate change. It's counter-productive, and is the worst kind of virtue signaling.
/rant