The protests in Montreal started off as something tangible, concrete: outrage over an increase in tuition. Of course, as we all know, the tone of the protests soon shifted, and before we could all say "neo-liberal policies," the protests morphed into what the protesters themselves described as an entire society waking up.
This is good. Having a politically active population is not a bad thing. In fact, it is the cornerstone of a democracy, whereby the people are free to express themselves and cast their ballot for their leaders. The Charest government has had multiple allegations of corruption and collusion brought forth against them, and the people of Quebec have every right to question the policies of their democratically elected government.
The operative term of that last sentence being "democratically elected," as Quebeckers are living in a democracy. This seems to be lost on the protesters, however, as the students hold up signs stating that this is their "Printemps Érable" (Maple Spring), and clang their pots and pans in the streets as homage to the people of Chile, who protested in order to combat the Pinochet dictatorship. Clearly this is neither Syria nor Chile. Charest has yet to order the mass murder of his political dissidents, and Quebec is sure to have an election within the next 18 months. The people that are unsatisfied with Charest and the Liberals will have their voices heard at the ballot box.
The student protest movement has been rife with hyperbole and misconstrued comparisons since its inception. Thus, it should in fact come as no surprise that the protesters have now taken to making links between the Montreal police and the Nazi Regime. In a picture that went viral, students are shown to be giving the Nazi salute. After much criticism of the photo being taken out of context, it was found that the salute was intended for the Montreal police.
This comes following Grand Prix weekend, after there were a series of allegations of political profiling by Montreal police. There were 34 preventative arrests, and some accused the police of simply arresting or searching the bags of people who were merely wearing red squares. Sounds awful.
In reality, however, it is commonplace for police to turn away people from a high-security event for not having a ticket. Moreover, considering the open threats to the Grand Prix, its attendees, and the Montreal Metro system, one can hardly scoff at the police's response. Nevertheless, even in its most excessive form, it is not the equivalent of the systematic slaughtering of six million people.
The bleak realism is that having one hyperbolic comparison could easily be attributed to an unfortunate isolated incident, yet having these constant cultural gaffes is an exemplification of the environment fostered by the protest, and the so-called distinct society mentality running through them. Nothing seems to matter other than their cause, and the perceived cruelty of having to pay increased tuition is equated to actual atrocities committed elsewhere in the world.
In the early days of the protest, protesters and supporters alike were often quick to rightly point out that much of the violence and vandalism caused was not perpetrated by the students. Rather, political opportunists (other than the PQ's Pauline Marois), and rabble rousers such as the Black Bloc and anti-capitalists were to blame. The students were both smart and right to distance themselves from such people, as being associated with potential rioters did little to win public sympathy.
Similarly, it is tactically astute that both CLASSE and FEUQ were quick to denounce the Nazi gestures at the protests. I suppose now it will be interesting to see what authority these leaders actually exert over the protesters, as the protest is so far removed from the original tuition issue. One can only hope that this is a signal to the strikers and their supporters to put the kibosh on the comparisons to genocidal governments.
For the time being, however, the protesters like to think of Charest as Hitler and the Montreal police as the Gestapo. I suppose the real irony here is that after weeks of the punditry slamming the students for being predominantly from arts majors such as sociology, anthropology and history, the students have successfully proven they know very little regarding all three.
Follow Supriya Dwivedi on Twitter: www.twitter.com/supriyadwivedi
What country have you been watching lately?
That's what it sounds like...
Ha yes, because anything before murder does not matter. come on, we see the sign, we know where this is going. Like history does not repeat itself or anything like that.
However i agree with most of the article particularly the last line.
I think a lot of us young people are still finding an adequate way to express our discontent after the end of the End of History and for different people that will mean possibly imitating different causes that came before. Dorky yes, but I salute yall... all the same! (clenched fist - like Che alright?)
Unfortunately, she took it as a compliment.
(of behavior or ability) Indicative of such development: "a precocious talent for computing".
um, that is a good thing.
Using the term "Maple Spring" does not make Charest into Assad or Mubarak. The emphasis is on spring, as in, an awakening. Yes, it's meant to resonate with the recent Arab "awakening" but if what is happening in Quebec now is not some sort of cultural and political "awakening", i don't know what is. No one on these streets feels that we are in Syria. People know very well what is going in Syria and know that massacres aren't happening in Quebec. This in no way invalidates the use of the term spring to describe the movement. You're over-emphasizing certain terminology to put words in protester's mouths so that you can accuse them of hyperbole...
the jest of it was that what is said,done, shown, etc. at a protest is not the same as serious political discourse. a protest is always part performance. the point was to ridicule and shame the montreal police. that same evening, moments before and after that picture was taken, people also hummed the Darth Vader theme from Star Wars at marching SPVM and SQ officers. Does that also mean that protesters think that Charest has gone to the dark side of the force? obviously not. it's satire.
as far as i know, no columns, press conferences, or other types of public statements from people involved in the movement or supporting it have attempted to compare Charest to Assad, Mubarak or Hitler. nor have i ever heard an individual say that to me or a bystander at a protest. there are placards and chants and gestures like this one that do, but that should not be mistaken for hyperbole in serious political debate.
i think the Journal de Montreal column comparing Khadir to a stalinistic tyrant is far more troublesome. it too is satire but it appears in a newspaper, written by a columnist who does actually contribute to public discourse. but i still wouldn't base myself on Facal's column to accuse the Charest government and everyone who is against the strike of thinking they are fighting an islamo-communist threat.
So no it's not hyperbole, and it may not be an ethnic war, but it is a class war. Fascism always outcasts a category of people, for reasons outside their control.
Read this (http://www.rense.com/general37/char.htm) and then tell me you don't see the connections to the USA, with all other G7/NATO countries quickly following suit.