Justice at Stake: Chief Theresa Spence passes Day 15 of Hunger Strike
By Am Johal
Source: rabble.ca
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Launched in the shadows of Parliament Hill two weeks ago, the hunger strike by Attawapiskat First Nation Chief Theresa Spence goes on. There is little to be heard from the federal government or Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but a cowardly (bolded by me) silence.
Chief Spence said she is willing to die in an attempt to get the federal government and aboriginal leaders to discuss the treaty process and make fundamental changes.
Spence’s protest was ignited by the recent passage of the government’s second omnibus budget bill and has the support of "Idle No More." Through flash mobs and round dances in shopping centres around the country, they have shown their ability to disrupt, to make noise, celebrate and engage thousands of people across the country.
According to French philosopher Alain Badiou, only from outside the traditional political frame, outside the logic of the state, can a true political sequence begin. Only through the opening of such an event can we begin to see a new possibility that was not there before. This rupture that has been opened up has the profoundest of implications precisely because of its affirmative demands. A true negation of the present political order needs to begin with an affirmative logic if it is to bypass the crisis of negativity that regularly befalls social movements. That is why the political sequence that has been initiated by Chief Spence and Idle No More is threatening to the Stephen Harper government and could fundamentally reshape the political landscape in a meaningful way.
more: http://www.zcommunications.org/justice-at-stake-chief-theresa-spence-passes-day-15-of-hunger-strike-by-am-johal
