As the title suggests, there are demos and riots happening all over the globe. And most of them share a common theme. Or rather two...
See if you see the pattern in these various exhibits:
A. Recent demo in NY against Wall Street in particular and the rich in general. Message: The rich should pay more tax. Submessage: People protesting should be getting that money.
B. British riots. We hear there is some a whiff of race and a dollop of police brutality, but the real chicken in the pot seems to be about "class". 'About the exploitation of the working class by the owning class'.
Message: The owning class needs to 'give' to the "exploited".
C. 'Watts (L.A.) remembers 1965. As they reflect, many say the problems of poverty that fed those riots haven't been addressed or improved. There are fears of a repeat.
D. Riots in Israel continue... They are outraged that market forces have made it too expensive for many to live in the posh, cultured areas. Message: The government should take money from somebody and give it to them - subsidize their lifestyle.
E. And in Chile. (University) Students are demanding the government make their education free.
What these all have in common:
The President of Chile summed it well when he told the students: 'You ask for free education, but someone has to pay for that.' He went on to point out that if he gave them what they were asking for, the poor would also end up paying for the relatively well-to-do students.
And that is the crux of every demo in this first list : They want some other class of people to subsidize their living.
These are the GIMME DEMOS.
Then there is another set of demos with a separate theme:
In Japan people are demonstrating against their government's secrecy about the extent of the nuclear fall out. (Interesting this is happening right after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki anniversaries...)
Then, there is the ongoing story in the Middle East.
In this latter group, the common theme is DISTRUST. In Japan they want transparency and accountability. In the Middle East they are demanding Transparency, Accountability and Equality of opportunity.
The Difference?
The demos in first group LOOK TO GOVERNMENT FOR SOLUTIONS to problems of living they can't or don't want to deal with on their own.
The second group realises, GOVERNMENT IS THE PROBLEM. And they are demanding reform.
Yes. Riots and Demos are taking place across the globe, but not all demos are created equally.
See if you see the pattern in these various exhibits:
A. Recent demo in NY against Wall Street in particular and the rich in general. Message: The rich should pay more tax. Submessage: People protesting should be getting that money.
B. British riots. We hear there is some a whiff of race and a dollop of police brutality, but the real chicken in the pot seems to be about "class". 'About the exploitation of the working class by the owning class'.
Message: The owning class needs to 'give' to the "exploited".
C. 'Watts (L.A.) remembers 1965. As they reflect, many say the problems of poverty that fed those riots haven't been addressed or improved. There are fears of a repeat.
D. Riots in Israel continue... They are outraged that market forces have made it too expensive for many to live in the posh, cultured areas. Message: The government should take money from somebody and give it to them - subsidize their lifestyle.
E. And in Chile. (University) Students are demanding the government make their education free.
What these all have in common:
The President of Chile summed it well when he told the students: 'You ask for free education, but someone has to pay for that.' He went on to point out that if he gave them what they were asking for, the poor would also end up paying for the relatively well-to-do students.
And that is the crux of every demo in this first list : They want some other class of people to subsidize their living.
These are the GIMME DEMOS.
Then there is another set of demos with a separate theme:
In Japan people are demonstrating against their government's secrecy about the extent of the nuclear fall out. (Interesting this is happening right after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki anniversaries...)
Then, there is the ongoing story in the Middle East.
In this latter group, the common theme is DISTRUST. In Japan they want transparency and accountability. In the Middle East they are demanding Transparency, Accountability and Equality of opportunity.
The Difference?
The demos in first group LOOK TO GOVERNMENT FOR SOLUTIONS to problems of living they can't or don't want to deal with on their own.
The second group realises, GOVERNMENT IS THE PROBLEM. And they are demanding reform.
Yes. Riots and Demos are taking place across the globe, but not all demos are created equally.
No comments:
Post a Comment