The media are missing the messages that really matter about the G8/G20 protests in Toronto this weekend.

That's what organizers of a peaceful rally and discussion held at Peterborough's Confederation Park on Sunday afternoon wanted the crowd of roughly 100 people who turned out for an afternoon of information and entertainment to know.

The event included speeches from Peterborough-area activists who participated in rallies and other events in Toronto this week; political analysis from other area activists such as John Etches, Jo Hayward-Haines and Roy Brady; a political dance performance by local dancer Ryan Kerr; and a music performance by Dub Trinity.

Members of The Peterborough Community Mobilization Network organized the event to raise awareness about the issues surrounding the G8/G20 summits.

Barb Woolner and Leah Finity, two Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) board members who attended the rally together, each expressed frustration about the media coverage the G20 protests in Toronto had received in the mainstream media—specifically the emphasis on the acts of violence at the expense of the important messages being carried by the protesters.

"I don't think that's what people are looking for from the media—not if they are critical observers. They are waiting, waiting, waiting for those other stories about why those peaceful demonstrators were out there," said Woolner. "The media has twisted what it means to be a demonstrator. They've lost sight of what makes the movement so rich. We're not all saying the same thing."

—video and text by Ann Douglas, PtboCanada contributor

[Don't Believe Everything You Read in the Mainstream Media About the G20 Protests]

[For all videos shot by Ann Douglas at the Peterborough rally, click here.]

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