Occupy Běijīng Jīnróng Jiē
We hear a lot -- I mean, a lot -- about income disparities in the United States. It doesn't seem to be an animating issue among voters, despite the childish wish-fulfillment of the editors of Time magazine.
Still, I wonder what they make of the protesters in China, where income disparity is, well, lurid.
From Businessweek:
The Occupy Wall Street protests in the U.S. are a delayed reaction to a bursting property bubble, which led to a jobs crisis and rising anger over financial influence and wealth disparity. What’s happening right now In China — angry protesters seizing a village and forcing Communist officials to retreat — is a dramatic example of what happens when a similar toxic mix plays out in a totalitarian society.
The protests in Wukan, a coastal village in Guangdong province, began three months ago over land seizures. They exploded this week after party officials tried to seal off Wukan with riot police, setting up roadblocks, blocking fishing boats, and beating residents. On Wednesday the party was forced to back down, saying it would halt a controversial real estate project and investigate local officials. The images out of Wukan are a startling contrast to the usual way Chinese officials manage to snuff out any sign of public discord.
And talk about protesting the fat cats:
Land disputes and growing numbers of “mass incidents” (the Chinese term for any large public protest) aren’t the most spectacular manifestation of China’s class tensions. In two separate cases this year, sons of powerful officials were found guilty of running down peasants with their cars. One of the men was executed after admitting he stabbed to death a young woman whom he feared would seek payment for her injuries.
How typical for the cliché infested left-wing media to miss the Big Story -- real protestors around the world protesting real injustices -- to focus on over-privileged diletantes beating drums in downtown American cities.
In five years, which group is going to make history?
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Comments :
May '10
Re: Occupy Běijīng Jīnróng Jiē
I think that OWS should be protesting income inequality and lack of universal health care inn China.
Jan '11
Re: Occupy Běijīng Jīnróng Jiē
Maybe journalists are just as self-focused as the protesters they so admire.
I still think that the fear of income disparity is based on the assumption that there's only so much wealth to go around, and that if someone has more, then that's less for others to have. It's a view that sees everything as fixed and static, rather than interactive. It's a liberal view. Ah, but I repeat myself.
Jul '10
Re: Occupy Běijīng Jīnróng Jiē
In five years, whose Country will be history?
Apr '11
Re: Occupy Běijīng Jīnróng Jiē
To be fair, the widespread use of the #firstworldproblems hashtag does suggest a embryonic awareness of the absurdity of their complaints. Also, while generally I object to Tea Party comparisons for any reason other than to bash OWS, it's just as easy to see them saying that about us. If you think of Wukan as a TEA Party objecting to government and bureaucrat abuse, our TEA Parties aren't quite so serious. Yes, yes, the DMV is tyranny, but it's not entirely the same.