Pretty quiet around RW since we lost our inspirational author. But he would surely have something to say about both the Arab Spring and OCCUPY in our part of the world, and would expect no less from his readers.
The first, I would say is a terrible window into how our media spins. The Arab Spring, originally the words of Palestine’s leader in their bid for recognition at UN, has been hijacked and turned into something akin to a deodorant soap commercial which will quickly be shelved as the deep tribal divisions surface through the arab world. But we can relax over our strawberry Starbucks lattes because although it isn’t going to be pretty, it isn’t going to be reported either.
It seems ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing as in Bosnia and Rwanda are always looked at in retrospect, why is that.
The second says more about our politicians and how intently they listen to the nastiest and most intolerant in our midst. All those squatting in OCCUPY sites across Canada are being validated by right-wingers winding up the political pussies who have the power to boot them out.
I’d say if you gave an intelligent ten-year old the OCCUPY facts, he or she would say yes, but all those people will be going home soon, it’s getting cold.
The only advantage falls to the Harper government and its obligation to reward its backers with prison-building contracts. And he didn’t have to lift a finger.
Here are a couple of notes sent by Boris of Toronto. He makes it his business to meet with grass-rooters:
Occupy Toronto’s Campers – Colourful and Varied as their Tents
Occupy Toronto site takes in most of a city block between Adelaide St. on the north, Jarvis St. on the east, King St. on the south and Church St. to the west. Some 500 or more people have crammed tents and tarpaulin shelters in bright and varied colours into most of the available space. And crowded as it is the occupied space is well organized and relatively free of garbage.
The community has an administrative centre, a media post, a library, common rooms and a large pergola in the centre of the park which serves as a meeting place. A canteen set up on the east side of St. James Cathedral can feed hundreds of people. Nearby is an open area that serves as a speakers’ corner. Last Saturday Tony Crawford from Essex University led an outdoor workshop on “Capitalism Without Capital.”
The residents are about as colourful and varied as the style and colour of their tents. Michael Vessey is a co-ordinator and spokesman for Occupy Toronto. He is optimistic that the ideas of the group will spread and eventually influence the government. That’s why they must be prepared to stay on.
“We don’t own the earth and we must think of the seven generations coming after us. We must live in harmony with each other and the earth and teach our children to live in harmony.”
Some critics of the Occupy movements claim that the Occupiers are drop-outs from society and their goals totally unrealistic. Vessey disagrees. “People here are not removed from society. They are willing to get into politics if that’s what it takes. What do you think they are doing now? This idea of change will spread.”
This is a political movement as much as it is a protest movement. Michael voted in the last Federal election because he opposes violence and wants to work with those in power.
Ronnie is a 46 year old native Canadian. He has been two weeks on site. “I am one of the 99 Percent,” he says. Ronnie has dropped out of consumer society and says he is content with what little he has. “It doesn’t matter who has the money. I work part-time renovating houses; the rest of the time a recycle cans and bottles. I enjoy the camaraderie and some of the meetings. but not the bullshit.”
To Ronnie, Occupy Toronto seems more of a social movement than a protest. He enjoys the company, but sees no point in getting involved with politics . “I’m not voting until the government settles the Indian treaties,” he says. And that may be a long time.
Gratis, a York University student from Thornhill, stays on site and travels to York for lectures. Her criticisms of society are those held by many on the left. “Corporations don’t care about people or the earth. They only care about profits,” she says. “We must be poor so they (the corporations and the people that run them) can be wealthy.” Stop giving them tax breaks.
The control of the mainstream media by corporations was a sore point with
Gratis. “Six corporations control the news,” she says. When asked what changes she would like to see she listed four: an autonomous media; free education at the university and college level; better health care including dental care; more investment in small businesses and end cuts to social programmes.
Gratis voted in the last Federal election for the NDP. “They were the best of a bad bunch,” she said.
Most of the people interviewed shared the views of those above. Some were there for the camaraderie but most agreed that wealth should more evenly distributed; that financial institutions should be better regulated and that corporations should assume their share of the income tax burden.
A Letter to the Occupiers
Most Occupiers say they’ll stay until governments reform the system or hell freezes over. More likely the latter will come first. Winter is near. Who wants to camp out in a tent at 20 below? If the weather doesn’t get them the old anti-tax geezers, rich widows and investment bankers will. When the well-off start to bellyache about sharing public space with a ragtag bunch of protesters, the cries of outrage will be heard in Ottawa.
Just what Herr Harper and the anti-occupiers wanted – an excuse to bring out the crowd control artillery – tasers, sound cannons, pepper spray and, of course, the riot police After all, why would our government spend billions on new jails if not for civil unrest? Most of our serious criminals never face prosecution anyway.
Sad to say, but once the protesters are removed and the dust settles (and this has already begun), it’s back to business as usual. On the other hand, the Occupiers could learn a thing or two from Tea Party tactics. Join a political party, take over party nomination meetings, elect candidates, run for office and vote. Or form a separate political organization and look for wider support.
Wider support is there already. Millions of ordinary Canadians feel shafted by our system of privilege. But they’re just not willing to spend cold nights in a smelly tent and use a porta potty after a breakfast of cold toast and lukewarm coffee. Talk is cheap but “ultimately,” as Hendrik Hertzberg wrote in the New Yorker, “inevitably, the route to real change has to run through politics…The Tea Partiers know that. Do the Occupiers?”
In closing, a recurring thought troubles me. Our society includes those who “hit the bricks” to express dissatisfaction and anger beside those who trashed downtown Vancouver after a hockey-game, and this simply isn’t fair.
Did the OCCUPY strategists strive to distinguish their own from these psycopath, arsonist and looter-types who inhabit the guts of all cities?
