Hurlin' Hate

"A revolution is a struggle between the past and the future." -Fidel Castro

As the northern portion of the planet receives its yearly dosage of warmth in the lovely occurrence called summer, love and happiness are in the air... No wait... that is actually Molotov cocktails, tear gas, stones and anger. Guess that means it is time for another G8 summit, and consequently, another round of anti-reality protests. I'm happy to say that this time around the people in the streets seem determined to really hurt some riot police, who are in turn going to hurt some lefties; this is the natural order of things. The Group of 8 is an organization that represents 65% of the worlds economy and began to coalesce during the oil crises of 1974 when the industrialized world realized they had to start networking to make the new Imperialism function smoothly. It is an informal forum in which policy and research are discussed at a charming location with fabulous catering attended by each of the 8 heads of state (sort of like a slumber party for the rulers of earth). For the past several years it has also become a gathering place for those members of the wealthy world who like to criticize the hand that feeds them. Now I can totally empathize with the sentiment that 500 years of Imperialism doesn't mean that the West should persist in this behavior, but throwing shit at riot cops is pointless. I can also understand the impotent frustration that leads to such behavior, and am not trying to be condescending. Having said that, these people are acting like spoiled children throwing a temper tantrum because they don't agree with how their parents are raising them. Unless they turn into a contagion of upheaval against organized society (which does happen sometimes) protests are usually a short-cut to trying to effect the change they so vehemently demand. I'm sure that getting the shit beat out of you by armored authority figures must be one hell of a rush, but a better world will never come of it. From a historical point of view I find it all very interesting. A hundred years ago these protesters would have been greeted with a hail of gunfire, which would have galvanized the survivors and led to some hardcore subversive activity. These days however the powers that be realize that by just letting the unarmed riot cops duke it out with the whiny children of the European Left they are in essence insuring that the protesters are wasting their time. If Europe has learned anything from its revolutionary history it is that being highly organized in conjunction with being prepared to kill and be killed is the only viable path for a small group of radicals to achieve their aims. The Sans-culottes and Bolsheviks are the two most proven paths for revolutionaries, in terms of upsetting the status quo through direct action at least. Since I'm relatively inexperienced personally with such things I refer to one of the most successful of revolutionaries, Leon Trotsky- "Bureaucracy and social harmony are inversely proportional to each other". The protesters at least have the sense to throw their tizzy fits on the doorstep of the head bureaucrats. Now all they have to do is get past their adolescent intellectualism and start coming up with some realistic alternatives. The demented logic of demanding that the people that are personally responsible for the current situation are going to do an about face and produce the solutions is beyond idiotic.