I missed notice of a highway protest, apparently, and I can't tell what this one is about yet... but they're blasting the Colombian anthem, they have a police presence, and they're wearing shirts that at a distance look like Ghostbuster swag 🚫, so... it's anyone guess. I'll find out more after finishing today's newsletter.
Life in Colombia: Never dull!
Ah. Now I know.
It's a protest for eliminating a toll booth for commuting workers from the small towns that support the main city with daily labour. These are surging semi-rural populations hit hard by that toll to work.
This protest has closed the highway and cars are backed up, emergency sirens and trucks tooting. It is *very* hard to concentrate, so I'm just out for a quick pace before revising today's piece. 👍🏻✊
@MLClark Do you get that kind of...ahem...entertainment often?
Oh, there's usually a protest day at least once a year, plus the wild hullaballoo we get on the highways every saint's day for drivers / transport workers. Never a dull moment!
@MLClark That doesn't sound too bad, and it seems like a legitimate gripe, without knowing all he particulars.
Agreed! Life in a country with a lot more direct democracy has a lot to teach a body, too. :)
@MLClark Oh, I would imagine so! Is there something in particular that stands out to you?
For one, direct democracy requires a different everyday relationship with neighbours. Latin American countries have a form of collective participation, cacerolazo, that's literally beating on pots and pans at windows to support protesters on the streets (for big events).
But you can't have such things without social laxity! Greater bylaw enforcement also heightens self-consciousness around public displays. We police ourselves out of public expression--for better and for worse.
@MLClark Interesting. I remember reading about the beating of pots in Argentina 20 years ago or more, so I guess the tradition has been around for some time. And now that I search the term...Quite some time! I'm not sure I understand your point about social laxity and greater bylaw enforcement, though. Are you saying that folks are more likely to self-constrain to certain widely accepted behavior in public in a more directly democratic environment? Thanks for your attention!
The opposite! Western culture post-latchkey era has become one of increased neighbour-on-neighbour monitoring - and not for community uplift, but to report perceived infractions, which yields more self-policing too.
That's not a cultural model conducive to the kinds of public displays that help to grow fellow-feeling and support for a political cause.
But of course, relaxing social rules has downsides, too! Striking a balance for good communal *and* democratic living is tough.
@MLClark Ahh! OK, that makes much more sense to me and explains why I was struggling. Lol!
Character limits are always the bane of full and clear online discourse, eh? :) If I'd had a few more characters to work with, I would have partitioned my first reply better.
@MLClark Hah! If we had a nickel for every time we needed just those few extra characters...