Revolution is upon us, brothers and sisters! Across the globe, hordes of young people are taking to streets, crying for revolution, heckling riot police, smashing a window or two. To some spectators, these demonstrators are reckless anarchists. But the millions of people who have joined revolutions this year aren’t “rioting for the sake of rioting.” That’s more of a drunken hockey fan thing.

This year’s Arab Spring, a wave of civilian uprisings in the Middle East, has brought real revolution to countries like Tunisia and Egypt. Tyrants were overthrown and — surprise, surprise — it wasn’t achieved through electoral means. Instead, the Arab Spring proves what historians have long known: revolutions start in a furious mob — not a voting booth.

Of course, it’s easier to condone rioting in the Middle East, where electoral systems are usually a sham. But even democratic elections can be a joke. Rigged ridings, voter apathy and broken promises all serve to make our democracy as impotent as the old white men we vote for.

It’s this failure of democracy that led well-educated Britons to riot in London this summer. Last year, some 52,000 students marched into London protesting tuition hikes. And after a year of inaction by the government, angry students had nowhere to turn but the streets. Sadly, the riots did not grant students their tuition cuts; they were only given beatings and arrests. But history tells us that aggressive policing will not silence revolution.

In the 1960s, peaceful protests of the Vietnam War were commonplace on American campuses. In 1968, hundreds of Columbia University students barricaded themselves in a campus hall, protesting their school’s ties to the Vietnam War effort. At the time, Columbia was secretly working for IDA: a weapons research think-tank for the Defense Department. During the nonviolent protest, police broke into the hall, sprayed it with tear gas and proceeded to beat hundreds of students. Two years later, four students were shot by police during another war protest at Kent State University.

But the growing police brutality only fuelled America’s anti-war movement. When the war finally ended in 1975, so did the protests. Modern-day England could learn much from this cautionary tale. Unless England addresses the protesters’ demands, like lowering tuition, violence may escalate — much as it did in the sixties.

Even though it’s a scary time to be in London, I can’t help but envy them. Canadians claim to be big idealists but we act like the biggest pushovers on earth.

Our tuition fees suck. Our Conservative government sucks. And clearly elections won’t solve this. As Jacob Serebrin of Maclean’s points out, our government’s “policy is shaped by the desire to remain in power.” He adds that only parties who have no hopes of being elected, like the Greens, can stand for some ideology. What’s more ridiculous, the Conservatives hold a “majority” government, but only 24 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot for them last election.

Elections fail to reflect what most Canadians want from a government. Unless you’re a fascist: If you think our leaders should do little more than build prisons and spy on your Internet habits, then relax. Let Harper solidify his Stalin-esque regime. For the rest of Canada, it’s time we get off our Chesterfields and hit the streets.

In 2003, over 150,000 Canadians participated in protests against the Iraq War. At the time, Conservative party leader Stephen Harper and future prime minister Paul Martin were gung-ho to kill those rotten Iraqis. The decision to eventually can the mission was certainly influenced by anti-war demonstrations. I mean, old folks in parliament may be going deaf, but it’s hard to miss the screams of 150,000 Canadians. Protest like this must continue if we hope to enact any change in government’s evil lair on Parliament Hill.

Last week, hundreds of people met on the Hill to protest TransCanada’s XL pipeline. A pipeline that uses the earth’s dirtiest fuel — oil from the Alberta tar sands. Before the protest, Harper reassured us he’s “confident it will be built.” And now that 117 less confident protesters have been arrested, Harper can sleep soundly. This is Harper’s Canada: say something radical, and you’ll get arrested.

Malcolm X was right in saying that bad people “are the ones who seem to have all the power and be in these positions to block things that you and I need.” Today’s world is run by dirty rulers. As such, we need to fight dirty. Violence isn’t always the answer. But I, like Malcolm X, “don’t even call it violence when it’s self-defense. I call it intelligent.”

Concerned Canadians have a lot to protest about our political masters. We must protest every attack on our privacy, our environment, our peace and our freedom. Remember, the government doesn’t have your back. Unless they have your back against a wall — arresting you freethinking motherfuckers.

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Photo: John Filo