toronto protest

Vegan protesters completely trolled by rival demonstration in Toronto

Not everyone is a fan of grassroots activism and political demonstration, and though there are some causes more people have gotten behind than others lately, disruptive protests in a dense metropolis like Toronto are not often met with resounding support.

But, it's rare that ralliers experience the level of trolling that one group did in the city over the weekend.

While many animal-loving residents may not go so far as to protest the use of fur in fashion or try to publicy spread awareness of the harms of animal agriculture, demonstrations by animal and environmental advocates aren't uncommon in Canada's biggest city, and one organized on Saturday evening was even less in-your-face than most.

As a part of the Light Up the Cities project, activists projected a simple message on the side of an apartment building near Spadina and Sussex Avenues after dusk: "Animal agriculture is killing our planet."

And, though the statement, to be fair, is true, one person took their disagreement with it to a whole new level.

Partway through the Batman-esque demonstration — which was being livestreamed by the team behind it — someone decided to add their own input, projecting "NO" in even larger letters below.

"It blew my mind when I revisited my footage to see the troll," Jenny McQueen, one of the organizers of the light show, said in a release about what happened.

"The fact that someone saw the projection, and had the equipment to counter our message with a big 'NO' — what are the chances? I’d love to meet them and have a discussion."

While the Light Up the Cities team seemed more impressed than angry about the clever interception, the incident goes to show that perhaps vegan "killjoys" aren't really any more vocal or annoying than their overly defensive meat-loving counterparts.

Lead photo by

@JennyVeganMcQueen


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