The ever-lasting victim (to the Left)

Activism is a physical expression of an opinion. It is that of protesting, walking with a sign, meeting people on the streets, distributing fliers, holding speeches and giving out a message in any form. It is the opposite of sitting at home and nag about the state of things. It is the active person versus the inactive.

However, not everyone would share this personal view of mine on what activism is. Groups of people seem to think that activism is a licence to destroy, disrupt, injure and steal. The justification is that the ruling class of some sort is bulldozing over the common man and nothing less than hard action is necessary to express the public outrage against the political elite. Those who give themselves the licence to destroy tend to look at themselves as victims, and sometimes even oppressed victims. When their behaviour is criticized they fight back by claiming everyone else is sucking up to the political elite. Even the most common guy who raises his voice against a group of sabotagers can catch himself in the storm of name-callings and sometimes even threats. No-one can criticize those who destroy in the name of oppression and victimization.

In Iceland, my native land, this trend is unfortunately coming very much alive. A small group of professional protesters is destroying road-signs, tools and cars in the name of their self-righteous battle against the ruling class. Another group of protesters took up the French method of road-blocking to create a name for themselves. Those who object these methods are nick-named members of the ruling class - if you don't like the destruction and the disruption you are one of those, one of the rulers, one of the controllers of the public debate.

We all know where the sabotaging protesters land on the political spectrum. The are Leftists, Greenies and anti-capitalists. The liberal/libertarian protester [1, 2] respects the free will, the free debate, private property rights and the democratic framework. Pointing that out to those who sympathise for sabotage in the name of protest doesn't help. It results in more Leftist-wrath and name-calling. I know.