Why is it so interesting to be connected with open government activists from around the world?
Could it be because these multiple connections offer us a diversity of strategies that allows to expand our horizons?
Those who know me well must have noticed that I like to make hypothesis about a variety of topics...
Here's another one! THE MORE AUTOCRACY IN A GIVEN GEOGRAPHIC AREA, THE MORE THE ACTIVISTS TEND TOWARDS SACRIFICE (or another word to describe this could be sainthood-like behavior), AND FROM THESE EXTREME CONDITIONS GEMINATES UNEXPECTED SOLUTIONS.
In Tunisia, Tarak Bouazizi, male, 26 years old, young graduate in computer science, doused himself with petrol, and set himself in fire in the public square after the authorities confiscated his wheelbarrow and goods, and then humiliated him when he tried to tell his story and find a solution to keep his small business. (ref http://www.gauchemip.org/spip.php?article11257)
Immolation was his opengov activism style. The sacrifice of his life was the only way that he found to demonstrate his point of view.
In Tunisia, and in many other countries around the world, bloggers are imprisoned, abused, tortured, and many die from their injuries. They sacrificed their human lives simply because they talked, they tried to share their point of view.
In Quebec, thousands of citizens have been arrested these past weeks, since the draconian Bill 78 has been adopted. Citizens are denied their right to demonstrate.
Two members of parliament of Quebec, Bernard Drainville and Amir Khadir, have been arrested and will have to pay a ticket (ref. Amir Khadir arrested; Bernard Drainville had to pay a ticket)
I don't demonstrate because I am a single mother with the responsibility of a son. If I am emprisoned, who will take care of my son??? Where will my son go during the time I spend in prison? I am also too poor to be able to afford having to pay very high fees to demonstrate. Some students have been billed nearly $700 for participating in a public demonstration. I need this money to feed my son.
As much as I would like to take part in daily demonstrations that occur every night, I must think of these things. Men who take the street, and are fathers, they are likely to have a wife that can take care of their children. That is not the case of single mothers.
What kinds of open government activists grow in such environments? Are there differences in gender? What directions do these activists explore? What solutions are they analysing?
Most of the 'sacrifice' bloggers / activists that we have seen so far have been mainly men. What happens when it comes to women activist? Do they think of other types of solutions, that men have not considered?
Consider me, for instance. Why do I talk about subject matters that are not normally discussed by other open government activists? What is it exactly, in my personal experience, which allows me to connect multiple factors together, and all link these to my open government activism?
When people take the streets, it is usually because the situation has become unsustainable in its most extreme way. How many years before a situation becomes completely intolerable, how long does it take before the bloggers perceive this situation and sound the alarm? During all these years that some far-seeing individuals live with these thoughts of unsustainable government in their heads, carry this vision of intolerance with them, what solutions do they find, in their own points of view, that could improve the situation?
Could we consider the various types of experiences of open government activists, including the "mainstream" or "traditional" and the more extreme "sacrifice" types, and after having looked at all their experiences and understood that they may represent a response to a certain type of (abusive) governance, be inspired by them to propose a diversification of strategies for open government?
