In Quebec, A Revolution of Love, Hope and Community [View all]

[marmar]

Published on Sunday, May 27, 2012 by Rabble.ca
In Quebec, A Revolution of Love, Hope and Community

by Ethan Cox


In almost every report on the social movement now sweeping Quebec, including my own, words like conflict, crisis and stand-off figure prominently. Anger is omnipresent. The anger of protesters, the anger of government, the anger of those supposedly inconvenienced. Pundits scream about mob rule, anarchy in the streets and the dissolution of society as we know it.

Don't get me wrong, there is anger present of course. But that is not what you see if you take to the streets, or watch on CUTV's live stream. Pundits can't stop bemoaning the inconvenience to "ordinary" Montrealers posed by these protests. But I wonder, are there any "ordinary" Montrealers left to inconvenience?

As I write these words there are demonstrations going on in every neighborhood of Montreal. "Casseroles", where people leave their houses to bang pots in the street every night at 8PM, have led to marches everywhere. The police cannot keep up. Far flung suburbs like Vaudreuil and Île Perrot, the anglophone West Island and NDG, South Shore suburbs, Québec City, Sherbrooke, Gatineau, Rimouski, Trois Rivières and the list goes on. Some of these places have never seen a demonstration, certainly not since the days of the quiet revolution. Now their streets swell with hundreds, thousands.

The prevailing question in the media is, how do we end this? Supporters and opponents alike seek a "solution" to put an end to the "crisis". And we need one, those on the streets need to be heard. Actions need to be taken to address the demands of the masses. But what exactly is so bad about what is happening? Why do we need it to end so urgently? ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/27-2