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Madison, Wis. – The Cairo of the United States?

Posted by majestic on February 22, 2011

Disinfo reader Jacob H wrote to us about the Wisconsin labor union protests, saying “I wonder if the government is letting the media tell the nation how big this really is. Just the other day, there were over 30,000 people. Today maybe more. Here’s an edited video capturing the last three days”:

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  • WhiteRose

    My take is that in times of trouble we all need to bleed a little so nobody dies, it’s an old school Japanese Management style. I guess they need to negotiate to find a happy medium?

  • Anonymous

    That’s the problem. Walker won’t negotiate. That’s actually what the protests are about, the right to negotiate. Now he said if the Dems don’t come back so he can push through his bill, he’s going to start laying people off until they do. Does this sound like someone reasonable to you?

    And this is way bigger than 30k. I saw estimates from the weekend of 70k+ and 100k+.

  • http://www.victoriangothic.org Haystack

    They’re actually willing to take the cuts in benefits that he wants. He’s trying to take away their very right to unionize.

  • Asd

    Video contains copyright bullshit thanks to EMI greed, cannot view this outside of the US.

  • 5by5

    I think there’s already a “Mini-Mubarak” website, and Unions in Egypt even sent a solidarity message via Facebook, stating that “You stood with us, we stand with you.”

    Unsurprisingly, it hasn’t gotten much play from the corporate media here, but one of the major factions in the Egyptian protests were their trade unions who mobilized their organizing capacity, getting people into the square because many of them were concerned with globalism, and it’s role on the Egyptian economy – something which Mubarak being a privileged Oligarch, didn’t give a rat’s ass about.

  • Anonymous
  • Andrew

    Walker is another example of Republican projection. He’s accusing the Democrats and unions of doing exactly what he’s doing.

  • chinagreenelvis

    Jon Stewart said it best. Comparing this to the uprisings in Egypt is lazy journalism.

  • Anonymous

    Not entirely. Both have their roots in labor rights protests and in the right not to be dictated to. The difference is only in matter of degree. There’s also a lot of other things being rammed through in this bill that would transfer more power to the governor and remove legislative oversight on that power. Additionally, he wants to completely restructure the University system by fiat. There’s a whole host of highly controversial changes he’s trying to dictate without compromise or debate and he threatened to call the guard down on anyone who disagreed with his tactics. There are people there protesting over that as well. It’s the reason why even non-union folks are out there, even though that fact is often omitted in mainstream reporting.

    In case you missed it, Egypt seems to agree that the comparison holds water. Have you seen the pictures from the protesters in Cairo who turned out to support Wisconsin’s people?

  • Anonymous

    Have to agree. I haven’t been in Madison (yet), and was inclined to write this off, too. At first.

    In my neck of the Wisconsin backwoods they’re still furious over the pinko commie capitulation of Vatican II. They show no embarrassment whatsoever in making horrifically uninformed and voluable statements in support of Walker’s putsch.

    But this IS different. I don’t blame Stewart for not seeing it from New York, but people are slowly beginning to turn the corner and see Walker’s rape of the public interest for what it really is. I refer to the hullabaloo in the last few hours I’ve seen about the proposed power-plan giveaway you posted an article about last night.

    I’m no Nostradamus, and the people of Wisconsin have never disappointed me with their brilliant displays of ignorant right wing buffoonery, but even here, in my most reactionary part of the state, there are noticable tremors beginning to shake. Something might really happen here.

  • Hhh4751

    walker HAS to be recalled,the devil is in the house, and walker is HIM