May 05, 2001
Whither Jaggi?

The Globe and Mail, which I must note for its disproportionate share of morons, has an interesting article on Jaggi Singh, an activist who has become a martyr of sorts after he was kidnapped by police. He came to Mount Allison and spoke about the FTAA a few months ago; he was smart and articulate, but made it clear that he and his colleagues were there to inform, not to lead. It's ironic, then, that he makes headlines on a regular basis now that he's in jail for no other apparent reason than the fact that he disagrees (strongly) with the police and government, and is willing to do something about it. Really ironic.

Mr. Singh argued that the government was using the People's Summit as a way to co-opt the opposition and marginalize certain groups and ideas. It all came down to the ultimate choice between accepting to sit-down with the leaders or to fight them from the outside. Mr. Singh choice was unequivocal.

"To what extent can you convince a tiger to become a vegetarian," he said in making his case for a direct confrontation rather than siding with the more mainstream left-wing groups.

Too bad the Globe's copy editing staff is asleep at the wheel. The article is decent, though it (like everything else in the mainstream media) avoids looking too closely at, much less understanding, the ideas involved.

posted by dru in activism
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