{"id":482,"date":"2012-05-24T15:04:45","date_gmt":"2012-05-24T19:04:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/?p=482"},"modified":"2012-05-30T15:41:25","modified_gmt":"2012-05-30T19:41:25","slug":"living-in-pandemonium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/living-in-pandemonium\/","title":{"rendered":"Living in Pandemonium"},"content":{"rendered":"

While tending the garden at my Rosemont-based church last night at 8 p.m., I got to hear the casserole<\/em> demonstrations first-hand. The clanging of various pots went on for about half an hour or so before it stopped.<\/p>\n

I heard about the idea of protesting by banging on pots between 8 and 9 p.m. earlier this week, but last night was my first chance to hear how it sounds firsthand. Wow, I thought. What a creative way to avoid the ramifications of Bill 78.<\/p>\n

As I drove home through downtown neighbourhoods an hour and a half later, however, loud pot-banging could still be heard. I wondered how parents with small children cope with all the noise.<\/p>\n

This kind of volleyball thinking is typical in Montreal these days. Citizens are becoming more and more polarized between those who hold disdain for student protests and a growing number of people who join them. At this point, neither student nor government leaders are in control. I\u2019m not sure that anything other than an election will stop protest momentum now.<\/p>\n

So far, every move the government makes increases the number of people joining the protests, in part because politicians have no way to test their actions before they take them. There are no referendums, no consultations, nothing. Citizens have no way to get the government to reverse or change decisions other than protesting.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, we\u2019re all hearing how student members of the largest student group, Classe, get to comment on and vote to approve every decision their leaders make. This on-going direct democracy gives student leaders the grass roots knowledge they need. It also has allowed them to retain legitimacy even in the face of media and government accusations of the possibility of intimidation after some associations chose to hold open votes.<\/p>\n

Those of us who are unsatisfied with representative democracy the way it functions in Quebec are inspired by the direct democracy the students enjoy and their creativity at affecting change between elections.<\/p>\n

\n

We also worry about those suffering the consequences of so much pandemonium.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

————————-<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

For background on why people are banging pots and pans, see<\/p>\n

http:\/\/montreal.openfile.ca\/montreal\/text\/founder-montreal-pots-and-pans-protest-surprised-success<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For background on the law that\u2019s caused all the fervor, see this story by two University of Montreal professors in the New York Times:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/05\/24\/opinion\/our-not-so-friendly-northern-neighbor.html?_r=3&fb_source=message<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While tending the garden at my Rosemont-based church last night at 8 p.m., I got to hear the casserole demonstrations first-hand. The clanging of various pots went on for about half an hour or so before it stopped. I heard about the idea of protesting by banging on pots between 8 and 9 p.m. earlier […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[21,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-island-report","category-politics-that-matter","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2buQs-7M","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16628,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/wanklyn-consultation-tuesday\/","url_meta":{"origin":482,"position":0},"title":"Wanklyn consultation Tuesday","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"October 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"If you want to participate in the public consultations about the Wanklyn development next week, you must make an appointment with Gilles V\u00e9zina at (514) 872-8510 today or tomorrow. The hearings will be held next Tuesday night, October 13 beginning at 7 p.m. at the Sofia reception centre, 420 Avenue\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "LaSalle"","block_context":{"text":"LaSalle","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/canada\/lasalleposts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Architectural view of Wanklyn","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/WanklynOverview.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/WanklynOverview.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/WanklynOverview.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":816,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/summer-swimming-in-lasalle\/","url_meta":{"origin":482,"position":1},"title":"Summer Swimming in LaSalle","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"August 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Outdoor swimming for LaSalle residents continues at seven different outdoor pools until Sunday, August 18. Opening hours shorten by half an hour during August, with the pools operating between noon and 8 p.m. daily. Rows for laps are set up after 6 p.m. They include: \u2022 Haywood at 170 Orchard\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "LaSalle"","block_context":{"text":"LaSalle","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/canada\/lasalleposts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19369,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/gardening-season-begins\/","url_meta":{"origin":482,"position":2},"title":"Gardening Season Begins This Week","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"February 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The gardening season for 2019 officially begins this week. Have you got your pots clean yet? (I recommend spraying them with a solution of water and peroxide bleach to disinfect.) Starting next week, you can begin seeding peppers (2nd week of Feb), eggplant (3rd week of Feb), cabbage (4th week\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Gardening"","block_context":{"text":"Gardening","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/seasonal-living\/gardening\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/SeedySaturday.jpg?fit=623%2C447&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/SeedySaturday.jpg?fit=623%2C447&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/SeedySaturday.jpg?fit=623%2C447&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2031,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/montreals-development-plan\/","url_meta":{"origin":482,"position":3},"title":"Consultations into Montreal\u2019s Development Plan Begin June 3","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"May 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Interested in having a say about real estate development over the next twenty years in the City of Montreal? The office de consultation publique de Montr\u00e9al (OCPM) begins a full-scale consultation into Montreal\u2019s Development Plan next week. Everything will be posted to the OCPM website (http:\/\/www.ocpm.qc.ca\/) as hearings proceed. For\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Island Report"","block_context":{"text":"Island Report","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/canada\/island-report\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Montreal1600","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/municipalities1600small.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15884,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/montreals-highland-games-verdun-tomorrow\/","url_meta":{"origin":482,"position":4},"title":"Montreal’s Highland Games in Verdun Tomorrow","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"August 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Montreal's Highland Games take place tomorrow (Sunday, August 3, 2014) in Verdun from 8:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. It's at a new location this year,\u00a0in\u00a0the Parc Arthur-Thierrien, which is just to the north of the Verdun arena on the St. Lawrence River waterfront. The opening ceremonies take place half an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Verdun"","block_context":{"text":"Verdun","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/canada\/verdunposts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16850,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/action-to-save-riverview-and-lakeside-schools-continues\/","url_meta":{"origin":482,"position":5},"title":"Action to save Riverview and Lakeside schools continues","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"January 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"An open house for the merged Riverview Verdun elementary school will take place at 6 p.m. next Thursday, January 28 at Verdun elementary. The event\u00a0seems to indicate how fast\u00a0Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB) officials will implement decisions made in December \u201cWe honestly believe that we are doing the right\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Verdun"","block_context":{"text":"Verdun","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/canada\/verdunposts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}