It is good no protest is needed

I just sent in a request to head office asking for the next two to three weeks off to protest. Still waiting on that answer.

I am not sure what I will protest, but I am sure I can find some good cause – change of government, improved agricultural policy, more beef in Taco Time tacos.

The current turmoil in Egypt continues to amaze me. Not the fact that people are dissatisfied with the long-standing Mubarak government, but that any country can find that many people to be out on the streets to protest vigorously, sometimes violently for that long.

I cannot imagine an issue that would arise in Canada or the US for that matter that would bring thousands upon thousands of people to be on their feet protesting 24/7 for more than two weeks. I’m not saying the Egyptian people don’t have reason to protest, but the fact they have that much passion and commitment to a single cause is amazing.

I heard the other day, the founding organizers for this protest in Egypt are actually the very passionate sometimes radical soccer fans. The militant soccer fans are well experienced at staging loud, occasionally violent demonstrations. We all know how seriously fans throughout Europe and the Middle East take their soccer – well that is very much the case in Egypt. Apparently the Egyptian soccer fans got their training in Italy and brought it back to that north African country.

There have been some pretty big rallies, marches and demonstrations in North America in my memory, but nothing nearly as sustained as this protest in Egypt. I know it is a serious issue — a good portion of the population want a change in government. And somehow I think that is very much different than four or five people here sitting around at a Tim Hortons figuring it is time to kick out the Conservative bums and elect the Liberals, or NDs, or the Green Party.  It is a magnitude of urgency I or we don’t understand.

But so often in Asia, the Middle East or Europe I see thousands of protestors take to the streets for various causes, almost instantly, and for varying periods of time and I always think “where do these people come from, don’t they have jobs, don’t they have to make a living?” Maybe they don’t and most likely the issues are just more important than I appreciate.

I guess I can be grateful that my life in Canada is good to the point that I don’t feel a need to organize or join thousands of protestors on the street to effect some change. And that is good on many levels, because it has been several hours since I made my request for a protest leave and I’m not seeing any memo urging me to “go for it”. It is cold and snowy too, so if I do come up with an issue I'd be smart to schedule my protest leave for July.

Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews in Calgary, Contact him at 403-592-1964 or by email at lee@fbcpublishing.com