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?
It seems to me that the occupiers on a universal scale are making a statement that there is a failure on the part of those that “got” to consider those that “not!” And their spot on! Inside the magnificent fortresses where these greedy hoarders wallow in their obscene luxury, the have’s don’t understand or spend any time considering the plight of the 99% just trying to survive. Their paper of choice is the Wall Street Journal or other rags that guide them in their business decisions. “Let them eat cake!”
And so the dance goes on.
Indeed.
Every time the gap between haves and have-nots is measured, it’s wider and deeper.
Yet Canadians installed a neocon-lite conservative majority government in May.
How many OCCUPIERS and others on slim-to-none budgets voted them in, deluded that the Harper Govt™ would play its heart out for them?
Yes, it’s going to be a sobering four years, buckle up. They’re already skating past criminal charges under the Elections Act, they’re lining up to cover our nation with unnecessary prisons,and we surely haven’t heard the last of Don Antonio Clementi and the G20 porkbarreling in his riding. Or maybe we have. When media back off on such practices we’ll be none the wiser.
My only footnote is to lay the blame right on the doorstep of the Liberals, who thought it would win by plugging in the darling of its academic elite, who well before the election had picked up the record for poorest attendance in parliament.
“History will show democracy to be a twentieth-century experiment which didn’t work”
I think I made that one up many years ago.
My passion and sentiments written in this poem I wrote a couple of weeks ago in regard to bringing about a new consciousness and illumination toward freedom!
WE LOST OUR WAY
By Dan P. Davison
In ancient times of glory, an era hardly known
The race and people flourished, Atlantis’ power was shown
They spanned the super-consciousness, with ease abundance grew
But in this state of opulence, it was gathered for a few
Those who were chosen stewards, forgot to understand,
We’re all Divinely-Human, with one Grace in each hand,
All are blessed in union, the balanced right to live,
The need to name who prospers, was never ours to give.
The Sovereign Soul of everyone, who draws a breath on earth,
Must always be empowered; no one can state their worth,
The need for Power and Influence, soon took some to the top,
To justify corruption; “Power-Over”, not “Power-Of”.
Although great minds and science, allowed the poor and weak,
To be accused of uselessness, and not allowed to speak
One day a Child was crying, in hunger, cold alone,
And Mother Earth decided, the end must now be shown.
And as this child was crying, the earth convulsed in pain,
The rich and poor all vanished, to start the world again,
A few were spared like magic, to love and live in joy,
Small hamlets were made Heaven, which no one could destroy.
Each breath of each and all, denotes the Sovereign Soul,
The God and Human consciousness, a right which is the whole,
Of all without a question, what human can decide?
The lies and arrogance of some had caused this great divide.
We read about Great Nations, and glorious empires built,
And now we imitate this past, to grow, to thrive, to wilt,
The Mayans, ancient China, great Empires touched the land,
In each and every dynasty, their ashes joined the sand.
The rise and fall of Britain, and African States of Reign,
The Romans and the Byzantine, they all succumbed the same,
Today we face this self-same time, in global history,
We blame the poor and weak, and worthless they should be.
“They must have something wrong with them, for God to hate them too”,
We medicate our conscience, consumption gets us through.
“We all are created equal” is just a worthless phrase
If any have possessions, we elevate with praise.
My friend, let’s face the music, the party now must end,
WE LOST OUR WAY yet once again, our love can only mend,
The meek are those who know themselves, are honest with their hearts,
And can’t find wrong in anyone, that’s how the new world starts.
We have but just a little time, to stop and look inside,
If malice, hate, entitlement has drugged our minds with pride,
It’s best we take a second look, at a child most filled with pain,
And join that heart with passion; it’s time to stop the blame.
We likely passed the tipping point, adjustments will abound,
Mother Earth has kindly questioned, “Where can great love be found”?
A Child will lead them gently, to a butterfly or frog,
WE LOST OUR WAY as adults, our pride has caused the fog.
Today its right to listen, be grateful for each thing,
And celebrate all humankind, and let the nations sing,
And now a Moral Explosion will break away the pain,
And then a few bring back anew, a Heaven once again.
By Dan P. Davison November 7, 2011
It’s probably a good thing for civil authorities that OCCUPY is going the way of autumn leaves.
Various reports advised that OCCUPY housed not only the homeless and idealists, but a klatch of dingbats referred to in the original post…… “psycopath, arsonist and looter-types who inhabit the guts of all cities….”, as in Vancouver.
I observed them in numbers during the Labour-organised Days of Protest against the Harris doctrine.
I remember thinking politics does indeed make for strange bedfellows ( a phrase many times coined but originally Shakespearian).
It would be a sorry mess for politicians and police as the middle-class kids returned to their homes and dormitories, leaving the OCCUPY war-room to nutters.
As it has unfolded, kudos to regular policing and a loud raspberry to riot-squads.