The thugs currently smashing their way through Montreal differ only in the magnitude of their violence and stupidity from Islamofascists, not in quality. The "protesters" are generally well off students or unemployed and living on their parents' generosity, else they wouldn't be able to afford the time and airfare to hop around the world breaking windows and climbing fences. Rather than take advantage of the many, many options open to them to change the things with which they take issue -- run for office, go to law school, become a journalist and write pungent editorials and books -- they resort instead to the most base level of behaviour, and one that is fairly unconnected to anything they care about. Rather than going after the Gap and McDonalds (where vandalism costs the mother company very little but costs the minimum wage employees a great deal, as outlets are closed down temporarily or permanently) why don't they storm the Liberal Party HQ, or the offices of TotalFinaElf, both of which have far more to do with poverty and injustice here and abroad?
Like their homicide bombing brethren, though, they act not from an educated, rational or moral position but from blind rage at their own incompetence. The reality is that these children of privilege, living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, are unable to succeed on its terms, and after a few cursory attempts they soon decide that it's much more fun to break things and run around in mobs than it is to finish that graduate degree in conflict resolution, labour studies or gender studies, get a job, and deal with reality.
Posted by Clio at July 28, 2003 11:05 AM