Ahhh the existential question that keeps us up at nights (hinted irony): do the protests like the Occupy Wall-Street movement serve anything other than appeasing one’s guilt and showing one’s superior intellect on Facebook posts? First impression: yet another group of “against the system” teenage activists who probably don’t understand that “the system” is what provided them their MacBooks and iPods. Is it unfair to say that anyone who owns an iPod (roughly 98 % of us) is not entitled to be revolted at the appalling inequalities between social classes?
Sure, Kanye West may have seemed a bit fish-out-of-water and even slightly hypocritical when he attended the Wall-Street movement to a tour of the most expensive New-York houses to raise awareness towards the disparity between rich and poor. But the rapper’s ecstatic involvement was most certainly based on the greatest of intentions. It’s like trying to get mad at your little cousin for making you breakfast while making a huge mess: his endearing enthusiasm will break a smile on your face before you have the time to realize what has happened. Good thing they didn’t go in front Kanye’s million dollar pad; what an awkward that would have been.
On a more positive note, the Montreal version movement has a striking potential unlike most traditional forms of protestation. The organizers show great creativity in keeping the event quite interesting and warm through the rough Canadian weather settling in. Then again the stereotypical participants kept thought-provoking debates to take place: the vast majority are ultra-nationalist, francophone, violently communist and very low class (nothing of the chanted 99%).
So to come back to the original question, what’s the purpose? Well, getting people more socially/politically involved. Check. Discussion forums for a variety of people. Part marks. Making a real difference on a global scale. Unchecked.
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