The mostly peaceful uprisings of populations fed up with inequality, corruption, cronyism and repression of basic human rights continue their ripple effects across the Middle East. They have spread east and west from Tunisia, the initial spark that has been the most effective.
First, there were the seemingly successful uprisings in Cairo and elsewhere throughout Egypt, that most US media outlets no longer follow closely. Many in Egypt are wary of their "success" so long as Mubarak's chief cheerleader and "former" torture guru, Suleiman, remains in power. We should be wary too. Libya, Yemen and Bahrain have followed suit. In Libya, long-entrenched dictator al-Gaddafi has vowed to remain in power until "the last man standing." I, for one, have no reason to doubt his resolution. Some sources report uprising-related deaths there amount to 300 so far. To date, Yemen's uprising has not been so bloody. Nor has Bahrain's, which Robert Fisk describes as "more a civil rights movement than a mass of republican rebels ...." At least, so far.
While Algeria and uprisings there have been in the news lately, yesterday was the first day that significant demonstrations were also reported to occur in my beloved Morocco. Of course, being the fairly Westernized and more liberal society that Morocco represents, those protests also have been peaceful. It is not simply repressive Arab regimes that are feeling the effects. Even China is worried.
But what the media have been slower to report have been the uprisings that have been gaining strength in the US state of Wisconsin, where there is a patently overt attempt by the radical right wing to prohibit collective bargaining, primarily that in unions representing public workforces where women are traditionally in the majority. Even the captain of the Super Bowl winning team, Wisconsin's Green Bay Packers, has joined in support of the protesters. The crowds, small at first, are gaining strength and support. In fact, the Wisconsin protesters are also being supported by pizza from well-wishers in Cairo, Egypt, among concerned citizens in at least 11 other countries and by fellow US citizens in at least 38 out of 50 states. Is the US really to be next?
So long as short-sighted politicians - of either party - continue to pander to the lowest and most uninformed, I sincerely hope so. Too much has already been ceded to the selfish Haves in the top two percent, while the Have-Nots have been forced to grovel, cower and beg for the slightest crumb - even in the once shining ideal known as the USA. Too many forget that public employees are also taxpayers. Further, those public employees perform services for all. If each one of us had to pay for such services individually, they would cost us far more. Too many of us would not be able to afford them when we need them and those of us who are not in the upper two percent of the US population would continue our drift into the burgeoning underclass - literally a crime for such a rich country.
Collective bargaining is indeed a Last Stand for public employees. If they lose, we ALL will.
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