tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37048794.post7361122317769956419..comments2023-10-26T03:01:46.128-07:00Comments on Sacred Social Justice: Privilege and ProtestPaula E. Kirmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05525909060268135159noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37048794.post-65272810150553261592010-08-26T16:56:45.414-07:002010-08-26T16:56:45.414-07:00I think that the stereotype of activists, like man...I think that the stereotype of activists, like many stereotypes, is actually constructed in such a way where you 'can't win.' Oh, lefty is protesting? It's because she is a whiny poor person who just needs to get a job. Oh, lefty is protesting? It's because she is a trust fund baby with nothing better to do. <br /><br />I would really hesitate to call Envision Edmonton "activists" and cede to them the aura of "grassroots" legitimacy that that term would imply. Envision Edmonton are corporate lobbyists who know how to run a campaign in their own interests.<br /><br />For this reason, I personally don't care about the corporate elite's "right to protest" because it always is able to proceed without real obstacles, over anyone's possible objection. It never needs defending because it never has effective opposition, and it can be as undemocratic and misleading as it wants to be. "People's protest," however, faces real opposition and scrutiny, once it's actually effective anyway.<br /><br />It's true that the airport isn't a right versus left issue only in the sense that you can't tell which way a member of Edmonton's local corporate elite would vote on the issue. The elite who want to use the airport want it left open, and the elite who are private developers want it to close for redevelopment because they stand to make money. These are the points of view from which the airport debate has been effectively articulated. <br /><br />The question to ask is whether the rest of us get anything out of it one way or the other. I think we get something better out of closing it, but that point of view and list of demands has yet to be spelled out.Rob Butzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12480757332706444698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37048794.post-11255770128549193762010-08-24T13:10:16.370-07:002010-08-24T13:10:16.370-07:00Thank you for pointing out that this is not a '...Thank you for pointing out that this is not a 'left vs right' issue, an excellent commentary on the right to disagree, as we all do from time to time.lesoterichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00044487354523852680noreply@blogger.com