tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post7932494916042921058..comments2024-03-26T20:19:35.180-04:00Comments on Northern Reflections: Into The PastOwen Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-59590026295567826362020-02-28T09:04:16.301-05:002020-02-28T09:04:16.301-05:00It's clear that this is about more than a pipe...It's clear that this is about more than a pipeline, Mound. And it's also clear that the dividing lines are generational. Increasingly, it looks like we're at a tipping point.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-47934323474408289942020-02-27T19:36:41.339-05:002020-02-27T19:36:41.339-05:00When I opened my email this morning there was one ...When I opened my email this morning there was one from Angus Reid with the results of their latest poll on reaction to the Wet'suwet'en dispute and the protests that have swept the country, west to east.<br /><br />Later, Bill Longstaff posted that the First Nations were risking the loss of public support.<br /><br />What so many are missing is that this isn't about popularity or garnering approval. No, it's about civil disobedience, throwing a wrench in the gears. It's more in the nature of a non-violent insurgency than a protest.<br /><br />Civil disobedience isn't a contest for hearts and minds. It's a small group using what little leverage they can muster to defend themselves or effect change. In Macleans, David Moscrop brought out the parallels between the Wet'suwet'en and MLK's Freedom March on Washington.<br /><br />"The Angus Reid Institute reports that a mere two-in-five people support the protesters. People are worried about violence and disruption. Some think the efforts are pointless. In 1963, Americans were asked what they thought of Martin Luther King’s march on Washington. Sixty percent of them “had an unfavourable view of the march, stating that they felt it would cause violence and would not accomplish anything.” In Canada, the public has long had mixed feelings about—and, at times, thuggish and violent counter-reaction to—acts of resistance: the Red River Rebellion; the Winnipeg general strike; the Oka Crisis; Idle No More; even last summer’s climate marches."<br /><br />Yesterday Christiana Figueres, former head of the UN Framework Agreement on Climate Change, openly called for civil disobedience wherever possible. She argues that electoral politics will not produce the change needed in the dwindling time remaining. In legal jargon, that's the "defence of necessity."<br /><br />I've been delving into the topic of civil disobedience for the last couple of years because the inescapable truth is that the state will not keep its promises, it will not perform its duty to the people, especially our young people, with the urgency so plainly required, and it yields far too much deference to corporate interests at the expense of the public interest.The Disaffected Libhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13135599782685108764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-13381689333645510502020-02-27T12:02:22.588-05:002020-02-27T12:02:22.588-05:00They think that "outside agitators" are ...They think that "outside agitators" are young and ignorant, rumley. How wrong they are!Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-49293060272731295272020-02-27T11:17:24.049-05:002020-02-27T11:17:24.049-05:00I read articles like these. I comment on first nat...I read articles like these. I comment on first nation rights, petro-idiocy, and the climate emergency. I send money to help these causes in court. I must be an outside agitator even though I'm a 72 year old Nova Scotian who has supported NDP, Green and Liberal candidate over the past 5 decades.<br /><br />Come and get me Pete, Jason et al. rumleyfipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03346146988416679423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-18144584869817932442020-02-27T10:49:39.722-05:002020-02-27T10:49:39.722-05:00Thoreau would think we've learned nothing, zoo...Thoreau would think we've learned nothing, zoombats.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-56544282137577221112020-02-27T09:59:43.461-05:002020-02-27T09:59:43.461-05:00I guess all "outside agitators" will be ...I guess all "outside agitators" will be required to apply for a permit before being allowed to object to Tyranny. Civil disobedience is too hard these days. Thoreau would be displeasedzoombatsnoreply@blogger.com