It's not the time of demos. The '60s were those times. The Moratoria achieved something, although they took time. Even the '80s international marches of millions (I was on one in Rome) were significant despite no direct outcomes. But the Sorry Day Bridge Walk (Corroborree 2000 was big: ~250,000 in Sydney; ~500,000 around Australia) did nothing for Recognition. We're still waiting.
It's no surprise that that was Howard's time. The modern Tea Party conservative is really right radical rather than conservative and has inflexibility in its blood. But even so, it was disappointing to see so few at a 350.org demo on Climate Change. I expected few but remain disappointed. Not just few, but also grey. At least amongst this group, the boomers weren't the problem. The street theatre of dinosaurs costumes and a filmed story of the ravages of civilisational collapse (I guess that's what was being created: I only saw group cheers then a scene of dinosaurs revering a lump of coal) may have artistic effect and may deflect from the poor turnout (it worked for Abbott's "Convoy of No Confidence" 22 Aug 2011 which was widely known for the Ditch the Bitch / JuLIAR protest despite a turnout of ~300*). Maybe the young'uns are attending on Monday, when AYCC joins with Farmers for Climate Action for a rally and truck procession. Sat/Mon? Mmm, keep up the pressure if not the numbers. It should be a more youthful and possibly less employed, gig workforced, crowd.350.org convened a rally for Climate action at Parliament House.
No comments:
Post a Comment