Recognition for Protesters

Photo Courtesy of Paul Quest

 If you tried driving through the downtown core last Saturday then you'll know what I mean when I say Hamilton showed up.  Over 10,000 people gathered to demonstrate their intolerance toward the practices of US Steal (not Steel).  Among the protesters were the United Steelworkers Local 1005,  Energy and Paperworkers Union members, Canadian Union of Public Employees, McMaster University students and many others.

This was a historical gathering not only for Hamilton but for all those being squeezed by the hands of economic globalization, of which US Steal is inclusive to.  As Mr. Leo Gerard, USW international president said, “These fights are happening across the country now and everywhere on earth... This is a struggle for a sovereign Canada and a diverse economy."  I struggle to accept corporate globalization because it creates universalities.  It forces the local to comply with the global, causing cities and nations to give up their own identity and way of functioning.  Many people cuddle up to the idea of the world becoming one place.  Leave such thoughts for Facebook photo albums and alert yourself to the real damage and real distortion caused by such ideals.

On my way to the protest I was asked by someone if I thought we were really making a difference.  I didn't know how to answer that.  I think it won't make a difference in the minds of certain individuals.  It seems corporate conscience has been seared beyond repair.  Protesting reflects what is happening on the ground.   I do not agree with US Steal robbing 9,000 retirees of their pensions.  Whether or not this situation is made right, there must be resistance.  Being a mere spectator of such events is inadequate.

In recognizing the struggle of others, we recognize ourselves.  As Charles Taylor writes in The Politics of Recognition, "Due recognition is not just a courtesy we owe people.  It is a vital human need."  We are shaped by the recognition, or its absence, that we receive from others.  US Steal has been shameless in failing to recognize the local practices of Canadian workers.  Instead, workers are being conditioned to accept the poor standards of an ever-emerging global economy.

I think of US Steal like I think of Pacman.  It's comparative to a round, yellow blob that floats through a maze gobbling up the local blinky's.  What will Pacman do when he is all alone but remains hungry?  Will he eat himself?  That could be a challenge as he has no hands of his own, or feet, or body for that matter.

My point is, where do we draw the line with over-empowerment that depends on under-empowerment? Peggy McIntosh writes in her essay White Prvilege and Male Privilege that privilege may confer power, but it doesn't confer moral strength.  Those who are underprivileged have traits and qualities that never develop in those who's jobs require otherwise.  In this way, the US Steal company is robbing itself of richness it cannot afford. Poor US Steal - they are at best, thoughtless.

Here's to local life in the midst of global strife.