Worldwide Protests

liah · 27-02-2011 04:05PM #1

I'm sure we're all aware of what happened in Egypt. Currently, Libya is protesting and being bombed. Protests in Bahrain have not been met well by the Royals, either. There's been reports of protests in Croatia, China and North Korea (?!), and the U.S. unions are out in force, with even the police joining their protests in Wisconsin.

Now that people have seen another nation (Egypt) fight for their rights and freedoms, momentum seems to be building and it's going like dominoes. But what will the result be?

Do you think it will spark worldwide revolution?
Do you think that it will make a marked positive difference in any of these countries?
Do you think it will lead to something worse (e.g. war, loss of freedoms, etc)?

What's your opinion in general on the protests?

Cheap Thrills! · 27-02-2011 04:08PM

Nuffink. No interest.

drunkmonkey · 27-02-2011 04:13PM

Capitalism Rocks!!

Bruthal · 27-02-2011 04:15PM

liah wrote: »

Do you think it will spark worldwide revolution?

It seems to be happening here too, at the ballot box.

pragmatic1 · 27-02-2011 04:33PM

Its a good thing and its largely due to the internet. Things cant be swept under the carpet as easily in 2011.

Dean820 · 27-02-2011 04:35PM

We'll all be living in our shi.t and toothless within a a few years.

desaparecidos · 27-02-2011 05:10PM

robbie7730 wrote: »

It seems to be happening here too, at the ballot box.

Yeah a real revolution. The Green party gave the Irish people the opportunity to vote. Irish people did nothing that would be described as revolutionary.

Sisko · 27-02-2011 05:10PM

Its hard to say, many will look at what happened in Iran, they had a western puppet in power and naturally the people didnt like that so they had a revolution.

Ultra extreme religious nut jobs took over and suddenly women lost all rights and were banned from wearing anything but burkas, alcohol got banned etc etc , basically the country went to the dark ages in terms of freedom and human rights and is now the Iran we know today.

But this was a backlash from having the west manipulate their country, the same may not happen with other countries.

On the subject of the Iranian revolution:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTFLTkbPbj4

If you've not seen this film, see it asap. very very good movie.

desaparecidos · 27-02-2011 05:12PM

Cheap Thrills! wrote: »

Nuffink. No interest.

Thanks for letting us know. The most effective way of displaying you have no interest in the topic is to just not post at all.

Dean820 · 27-02-2011 05:21PM

Good documentary if anyone is interested here - http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/50078/Collapse__part_1_/

It mentions an 'Anger' phrase which sounds very much like whats going on right now in the world. Found it interesting.

biko · 27-02-2011 05:26PM

I do hope it changes the MENA region for the better and that the Muslim Brotherhood doesn't gain power.
The other countries NK etc could use some democracy.

Cheap Thrills! · 27-02-2011 05:27PM

desaparecidos wrote: »

Thanks for letting us know. The most effective way of displaying you have no interest in the topic is to just not post at all.

Righteous!

I CARE ABOUT APATHY MAN !!!

Sisko · 27-02-2011 05:29PM

How many people have to die before you do start caring Cheap Thrills?

Cheap Thrills! · 27-02-2011 05:31PM

Doesn't really matter how many.....it's WHERE they are....this lot are 'over there' ergo it's hard to care!

I'm not going to pretend to care.

ejmaztec · 27-02-2011 05:33PM

Dean820 wrote: »

We'll all be living in our shi.t and toothless within a a few years.

For once, most of us ahead of the game.

liah · 27-02-2011 05:34PM

Cheap Thrills! wrote: »

Doesn't really matter how many.....it's WHERE they are....this lot are 'over there' ergo it's hard to care!

I'm not going to pretend to care.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7AWnfFRc7g

Mrmoe · 27-02-2011 05:35PM

It's the same old story over and over again. Come back in 20 or 40 years time and we will more than likely talking about the exact same thing. Ruthless, corrupt people never waste a good crisis.

Misty Chaos · 27-02-2011 05:36PM

To be quite honest, I think the whole world system needs a radical shake up. It has become bogged down, stagnant and corrupted. What is needed is a whole new clean slate, free from any influences of the this world as it stands.

A bit idealistic but still.

Sisko · 27-02-2011 05:36PM

Cheap Thrills! wrote: »

Doesn't really matter how many.....it's WHERE they are....this lot are 'over there' ergo it's hard to care!

I'm not going to pretend to care.

A million even? Two?

Cheap Thrills! · 27-02-2011 05:38PM

liah wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7AWnfFRc7g

Yeh, saw it before. Good. So it is.

Cheap Thrills! · 27-02-2011 05:40PM

Sisko wrote: »

A million even? Two?

Are you trying to evoke some sort of shame or guilt ?

I'm afraid it's not working.

People somewhere far away are protesting, they'll probably overthrow some old dictator. The best reaction I can muster up is 'that's nice'.

Dean820 · 27-02-2011 05:44PM

Misty Chaos wrote: »

To be quite honest, I think the whole world system needs a radical shake up. It has become bogged down, stagnant and corrupted. What is needed is a whole new clean slate, free from any influences of the this world as it stands.

A bit idealistic but still.

The world has always been corrupted. Just because we enjoyed better times in the past, doesn't change that.

Einhard · 27-02-2011 05:46PM

Dean820 wrote: »

The world has always been corrupted. Just because we enjoyed better times in the past, doesn't change that.

We have? As a species?! When?

Sisko · 27-02-2011 05:51PM

Cheap Thrills! wrote: »

Are you trying to evoke some sort of shame or guilt ?

I'm afraid it's not working.

People somewhere far away are protesting, they'll probably overthrow some old dictator. The best reaction I can muster up is 'that's nice'.

Genuinely interested in how high the body count must be before those like yourself start to take interest instead of changing the channel.

I have no expectation of suddenly changing your personality type through some internet posts.

pragmatic1 · 27-02-2011 05:53PM

Einhard wrote: »

We have? As a species?! When?

+1.
We've never had it so good in the history of our species.

liah · 27-02-2011 05:54PM

I think this has the potential to be incredibly beneficial to the world as a whole, but it could also be incredibly destructive, depending on how it plays out.

What set this off was WikiLeaks, which imo is one of the most important things to happen globally and politically within my conscious lifetime (though at 23, that doesn't say much). It's sparked off (very necessary) debates about internet censorship, free speech, freedoms, human rights and exposed a phenomenal amount of corruption, and not just in the places you'd expect it, but everywhere. People are getting riled up, realizing that they deserve more from their governments than what is being given to them, and are finally starting to fight back. And it's about damn time.

The direction of these protests, as well as how other governments handle the WikiLeaks and internet censorship issues will determine whether we're going to see a bright future or a very bleak one. The internet has given us a pretty big chance here, it's the first time the general population has a link to the entire world. And that is the most invaluable tool we have when it comes to fighting for our rights. The problem is, the governments of the most powerful countries in the world, which tend to set precedents for laws elsewhere, are terrified of this, because it means the power is out of their hands and back in those of the people.

I don't know how it'll end. All I know is, as a humanist above all else, I'll be watching this very closely as I have a feeling it'll have a significant impact on the future, not only for those in Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, China or North Korea, but for everyone. There's so much potential for good riding on this.

Here's to hoping this works out for the better, and not the worse..

Dean820 · 27-02-2011 05:55PM

Einhard wrote: »

We have? As a species?! When?

I meant more in recent times such as 2005. :pac:

WindSock · 27-02-2011 06:08PM

Oh please, waiting for an election to vote FG instead of FF is hardly revolutionary in terms of what is happening currently in other countries.

Cheap Thrills! · 27-02-2011 06:11PM

Sisko wrote: »

Genuinely interested in how high the body count must be before those like yourself start to take interest instead of changing the channel.

But I'm genuinely interested in why you think I should care?

Sisko wrote: »

I have no expectation of suddenly changing your personality type through some internet posts.

Nor do I of yours. Perhaps you think I'm some knuckle dragging redtop reader. Perhaps you're an idealistic student with no real life problems who feels it necessary to pretend compassion for people thousands of miles away with whom you have no meaningful connection, or perhaps you're quite a worldy working-class adult who has a genuine interest in the politics of that part of the world.

Perhaps none of that. Perhaps you've escaped from Libya or are Libyan. How do I know? The point I'm making is it doesn't really matter to me how many die, I didn't cause it and neither can I do anything about it.

I just don't get this attitude that those who choose to be indifferent to this stuff are somehow adding to the problem and should feel ashamed of ourselves.

Some people are interested, some aren't. That's ok. But there is no duty or obligation to wring your hands in faux sympathy. We can't lie down and die with these people no matter how relentlessly Sky news hammers the story out.

liah · 27-02-2011 06:13PM

Cheap Thrills! wrote: »

But I'm genuinely interested in why you think I should care?

Think bigger picture here. Particularly in the context of the video I posted. There's a LOT of reasons to care.

I also don't get why you think it's necessary to brand people as having 'faux' sympathy to try to make yourself feel better about your apathy. There are genuine reasons to care about what happens away from your own doorstep, you know.

bmarley · 27-02-2011 06:17PM

Become a member of Amnesty International to support human rights.

Worldwide Protests

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