If I’m being entirely honest, Rob Ford’s events have always had an air of menace to them. While they’re indeed for the most part celebratory, joyful, and even family-oriented, the intense concentration of jingoistic fervour has always been somewhat troubling.
But it was only last night, at the sixth Ford Fest I’ve covered as a journalist, that I saw a Ford event devolve into the outright violence and bigoted hatred of which they’ve always seemed capable.
A small group of protesters arrived at Thomson Memorial Park at Brimley and Lawrence to hold a “Queeruption” of the festivities. The Ford fans in attendance were less than pleased with the intervention and loudly let it be known. Eventually the verbal assaults became physical.
Here’s video:
For the full experience, turn the sound on your computer way up. And have someone barbecuing hamburgers 100 m away.