Ahhh.... the talks have broken down. The Classe remain stone faced as well as more than a tiny bit stony-brained. The streets will once again reverberate with the noise of the discontented and ideological, their hands deep in the pockets of their union cohorts. No compromise, apparently, is the only compromise possible, and the innocent - the real citizens - those who know society is a compromise and know that things cannot continue, fiscally, as they are going, are being held hostage and may be all summer. The unions meanwhile continue to rally their student underlings in order to finally achieve their coup d'etat and put their PQ pals back in power where the unsustainable status quo will continue. We will be deeper in debt, the unions will continue to bask in the glow of unsustainable wages and ideological power and continue to hold public finances and the Province's economic future hostage to their own desires.
In the midst of all of this are the ordinary individuals, continuing to be held hostage by Classe and the unions, wishing for resolution, but knowing that probably compromise is not possible. Classe wants only the tuition freeze - or, of course, no tuition at all - and if that costs working people more and more money, they are entitled to it. A growing debt and growing taxes, in an already over-burdened province, is not their concern they say. Low tuition guarantees everyone a university education (though only 30% or so take advantage of it), if only a more and more mediocre one. The notion that you get what you pay for seems either to be unknown or unheard of among the masses of the red squared gathering for their nightly fest. It is their future, whether they know it or not, that they are playing with. A future with either a dynamic, creative economy and governments that respect the rights of all - balancing them one against the other and governing for all, not just an interest group, or a future like the past where people are held hostage to ideology and where the absolute right to destroy property, stop commerce, deny people the right to earn a living or to freely move about and live their lives in favour of marches and mayhem.
There is certainly a right to protest, if they wish, and if they wish, to do it nightly, and if they wish to continue to boycott classes, go ahead, it hurts no one but themselves. But when they make everyone's life miserable, when they disturb the lives of the citizenry every day, when they cost ordinary people time and money - those they are supposedly fighting for - then the right to protest must be compromised with the right of these others to earn a living. That is what Bill 78 does. It allows the protest to continue within reason, it does not allow the students to block commerce or interfere with other's lives at their whim, as they insist is their right, but instead to hold protests that allow the city to make plans to keep each citizen's life and work as free from disturbance as is possible while maintaining the right to protest of the students. This is NOT draconian, but the basis of a good compromise, if they wish to see Draconian, let them move to Syria and protest and learn about what it means to live under true terror and true tyranny.
Ideology is the base of all of what is wrong with the student protests. But even more is the sense that they are being treated unfairly by the world. The Global economy is low and in danger, and they fear for their future prosperity. This is true and understandable. I would be too, but they seem to believe that life should be fair. It never was and never will be. We are born in the time that we are born, and face the challenges we face, as all generations do. The protests in the street are a giant cry of rage against an unfairness that is ultimately faceless - though they seem to see the face of Charest in every tear they shed and every fear they feel - it is life, Children, get up and dust yourself and march into the future, even if your guts quake with fear, and the way ahead is dark. It always was, for everyone, it is the only that landscape that changes and the road. But the darkness was always there and so were the challenges.
If the students succeed, they will be doing to their children what they say is being done to them...ruining their futures for a temporary gain. The face I see is the face of ideology, whose eyes are so ingrown that they cannot see that what they protest against is what they are doing to others both now and in the future.
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