About two weeks ago, teacher and student organizations, along with supporting civil groups, protested in Budapest against a regulation proposal which would entail numerous rights violations for teachers. Prior to the event, civil and trade union activists, as well as politicians, staged a sit-in strike in front of the Ministry of Interior in the morning. Throughout the day, teachers held a nationwide strike.
Several thousand people participated in the protest, and after marching from Kálvin Square to Roosevelt Square, they listened to speeches. Following the official conclusion of the event, upon the urging of student activist Lili Pankotai, a significant portion of the crowd proceeded to march to the office of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the Carmelite Monastery. A scuffle ensued between the crowd and the police, who deployed tear gas.
It reminds me of the nature of our society: in ancient times, aristocratic warriors protected the tyrannical, greedy pharaoh and emperor from the common people. In the Middle Ages, it was the military that protected the tyrannical, greedy royal authority from the peasants. Now, the same thing is happening, but it is the police who protect the tyrannical, greedy power from the citizens.
It feels like I’m witnessing history repeating itself over and over again.
And unless humanity destroys itself before then, the same thing will happen 500, 1000, 5000 years from now, regardless of who holds power.