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Also, a reform of the school system means that fewer students will be going to college, so the students are out protesting that too. Really these protests are
by paulmd 8y ago
Also, a reform of the school system means that fewer students will be going to college, so the students are out protesting that too.
Really these protests are an amalgamation of various groups that have almost nothing in common with each other other than being upset with the current government. And some of the goals are even opposing... presumably those students want something done about climate change, but they've joined pro-global-warming protests and are about to throw out a government trying to do something about climate change, just because they're upset about college.
They're probably correct that taxes should be going up on the wealthy. And it's also probably correct that taxing energy consumption is the wrong approach to take when you have industrial mega-polluters that can individually put out more carbon than whole countries. Maersk going carbon-neutral is the best climate news I've heard in a long time.
On the other hand, it's easy for the young to demand in front of the UN that something be done about climate change... it's harder when the changes you demand begin to impact you personally (says a person who has felt no real impact himself).
- sandworm101 8y agoI also would not underestimate the significance of the yellow jackets. They symbolize many things beyond the gas tax paid by drivers. They are a thing that the government says you have to carry in your car. They are a thing that can be inspected by a cop that pulls you over. They are also the symbol of someone who actually drives a car. Driving a car is where people are most policed by their governments (see all traffic laws). Anyone who has ever been pulled over by a cop, or saddled with a massive parking ticket, understands what it means to be a driver as opposed to someone like a politician who is driven. (One of the big dislikes of Hillary Clinton is/was her admission that it had she hadn't driven a vehicle in decades. That means something to everyone on the political spectrum.)