What interested me was the level of support that the movement got. People from all over thought similar things and decided to take action with non-violence and reported those that wished to harm to get their point across. It's amazing to get people willing to do that in favor of peace and fairness.
It is heartening to see so many people showing up for their principles, but I can't help but remain cynical after the past few years: it seems impossible anymore to push politicians anywhere to take real actions. They have perfected the art of patiently waiting out protestors until they lose steam and go home. Then, back to business as usual
I agree with Rasheed, while this is an encouraging step the protestors must be able to keep the efforts up for an extended period of time. I hope they will continue to be outspoken until they see the change they are looking for. It is easy to get people riled for a brief moment, but much more difficult to keep their interest for a long period of time.
I found this article published in the Sydney Morning Herald, so it's an interesting, local perspective on the budget issues.
The author cites the following statistic: In Australia, the top 20 per cent of households control 62 per cent of the wealth, while the bottom 20 per cent have less than 1 per cent. Even though the inequality in Australia is nothing like what it is in the US, it seems that Australians are already starting to protest against the budget decisions.
I do agree with most of the comments above. I think there is need for activists to develop a long - term plan and be very persistent in fighting for the changes that they want to see. At the same time, those kind of protests require money, other resources and time, which makes it very hard to co-ordinate protests for an extended period of time. I think making people aware of an issue definitely helps facilitate discussions and dialogue. However, there is need to go beyond that since the changes in policies that people are seeking are long term, and thus requires a long term commitment to the cause.
What interested me was the level of support that the movement got. People from all over thought similar things and decided to take action with non-violence and reported those that wished to harm to get their point across.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing to get people willing to do that in favor of peace and fairness.
It is heartening to see so many people showing up for their principles, but I can't help but remain cynical after the past few years: it seems impossible anymore to push politicians anywhere to take real actions. They have perfected the art of patiently waiting out protestors until they lose steam and go home. Then, back to business as usual
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rasheed, while this is an encouraging step the protestors must be able to keep the efforts up for an extended period of time. I hope they will continue to be outspoken until they see the change they are looking for. It is easy to get people riled for a brief moment, but much more difficult to keep their interest for a long period of time.
ReplyDeleteI found this article published in the Sydney Morning Herald, so it's an interesting, local perspective on the budget issues.
ReplyDeleteThe author cites the following statistic: In Australia, the top 20 per cent of households control 62 per cent of the wealth, while the bottom 20 per cent have less than 1 per cent. Even though the inequality in Australia is nothing like what it is in the US, it seems that Australians are already starting to protest against the budget decisions.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/budget-2014-is-this-the-australia-we-really-want-to-be-20140516-zrevn.html#ixzz3274rC4SW
I do agree with most of the comments above. I think there is need for activists to develop a long - term plan and be very persistent in fighting for the changes that they want to see. At the same time, those kind of protests require money, other resources and time, which makes it very hard to co-ordinate protests for an extended period of time. I think making people aware of an issue definitely helps facilitate discussions and dialogue. However, there is need to go beyond that since the changes in policies that people are seeking are long term, and thus requires a long term commitment to the cause.
ReplyDelete