May Day rıots errupted ın Istanbul today. Rıght now I am at the school because I slept at a frıend's house last nıght here ın the Asıan sıde of Istanbul and ıt ıs not safe to go home.
From what I hear our street, Kurtuluş, has a blockade and no one ıs beıng allowed ın or out.
Thıs mornıng, my frıend's mother escorted me to the bus stop. On the way we saw hundreds of protestors rallyıng on both sıdes. It was certaınly a new experıence. I thınk I'll be spendıng the day at the school as ıt may not be safe to go back untıl the evenıng. The streets are deserted as ıt ıs a natıonal holıday and people are eıther protestıng or stayıng ındoors.
I've arrived home safely. I left the school at about 4:30pm and by this time the streets were alive again and busy as usual. Everything seemed normal until I arrived on the European side of Istanbul. Here, there were police officers everywhere and garbage in the streets. I saw buses upon buses full of tired police officers, damaged shops and blockades. Even the nicest neighborhoods are now filled with garbage.
I hear that on our street things got very crazy with the protesters throwing bricks and rocks, and the police watering them down and trying to fight them off with pepper spray. Daniel even said they used so much that at one point they had to come back in the house from the balcony and you could even smell it in the hallway.
But my question is: What is the point of all of these riots? What do they really change? In 1977 35 people were killed in May Day celebrations in Taksim Square (not too far from here). Since then each year is marked by rallies of hundreds of people in the square and on many of the streets. This year was the first time May Day (Labour Day) is a national holiday here in Turkey.
Holy crap, I'm glad you're ok! Well, you wanted a broad range of learning experiences.. lol, I don't imagine you've been dissapointed so far.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question: I don't think that riots happen as part of a thought-out and planned way to change anything. At the heart of riots is herd mentality and herd behaviour. It is the very absence of a coherent point--of any real order--that characterizes these things. Looting and destroying personal property does nothing to advance whatever cause motivated people to protest in the first place. Of course, this doesn't matter, because by the time we reach the riot stage, people are far less concerned with any abstract cause and far more concerned with their own emotions. It basically boils down to "I'm angry so I'm just gonna f*ck some shit up!" A lot of this is simply a result of endemic human stupidity, but sometimes it really is a last resort of desperation by the oppressed and ignored. My two cents.
Oh my god! I'm also glad you're ok! After I began reading, I was definitely worried! Man, what an experience you had!
ReplyDelete