Something happening here
For many Portuguese these were times that vibrated with hope; “finally, people are waking up”, “now things will have to change, there is no other way”, “they won’t get away with the lies and all their stealing this time” …
Coming from a different background, I recognized their fearful hopes all too well. I did my share of protesting in The Netherlands and – although it felt good, even when the rain refused to stop falling or the heat was burning – it never really changed anything. Protesting against the nuclear warheads – they were already there and probably never left. Screaming in the cold, handing out flyers – hooray for our side – hoping to wake people up from their lethargy. The Mutual Confirmation of Opinions, oh yeah. Makes people feel strong. They can handle things now, they’ll take matters into their own hands. For a while, until the police charges a bit – defending their corrupt masters – and the rain starts to get colder.
I´ve been there.
The Talking Heads twist and turn to give their opinions in daily talk shows with docile interviewers, mostly without any knowledge on the subject (other than what the editors provided as information) asking superficial questions – all in their ultimate quest to put the public back to sleep.
How deep? Very deep, extremely deep in fact, if you consider what a friend said, a few months after the last real demonstration had taken place: “No, I did not go back to sleep… But I don’t see what I can do to change the situation.”
Fact is, most people believe there is absolutely nothing they can do… That is more than deep sleep: that is hypnosis.
On a mass scale.
