In celebration of 250 days without anarchy, the people of Belgium have been making a debacle of themselves by stripping themselves of their dignity, in hopes for government reform of their country. This is in turn will not persuade the government into action: it will only waste time and energy protesting in a juvenile matter rather than finding a solution to the country’s issues.
The Dutch Speaking citizens from the North of Belgium want an independent Flemish state, while the French speaking Walloons of the South, desire that the country remain as is. However, it wouldn’t be fair for the North to be connected to the South. The Northern Flemish have been providing the majority unemployed South, with over 4 billion Euros in subsidies. Why should the North be suffering for the South’s incapability of being viable on its own?
So due to this disagreement, the Belgium’s devised a brilliant plan: in order to provoke the government into a fair jurisdiction they would strip naked and protest in the city of Ghent. While also, taking shots of Gin to ease their bodies of the cold weather. The sight of a naked body might appall government officials, but it’s not going to help them in coming up with a conclusion.
It’s obvious that if the French speaking Walloons can’t take government problems seriously enough, and realize that by doing these protests, it’s demonstrating a lack of maturity, and a lack of concern of what affects their lives, then they have no right to be joined with the North.
Johan Vande Lanotte, who recently resigned as King Albert II’s mediator stated,
“If the gap is so great, the parties should take great steps. That is not easy. Often they don’t realize how hard that is. You don’t make major reform of the state without enormous pain in your own ranks.”
One would argue however, that it is awfully painful for the citizens to stand around all day, drunk and in their birthday suit. They are ignoring important daily activities of life: like self respecting jobs, friends and family, eating a meal or two. So is this is the only method the citizens of Belgium thought of to scare the government into change?
Of course not. Cedric Caudelier, a Belgium born actor, began a “protest” movement called “Beards for Belgium” in which the men will refuse to shave, and grow their beards out until a government in instilled. Also, they promised to abstain from sex, and that French Fries will be handed out in the city of Leuven, in hopes for a “Fries Revolution.”
In order for government change to occur, the people of Belgium would have to protest in a way for the government to take notice. The citizens could take two routes: the peaceful way or the aggressive way.
Peacefully, they would have to rally up a big group of people, and protest outside the city hall and demand that change occur, with clothes on of course. They would have to share concerns with government officials, sign petitions, refuse to go to work, they’d have to take action in a way that’s intelligent and strong enough to be taken seriously.
Aggressively, the people would have to go on hunger strikes, burst out into riots, and threaten to burn down buildings. These options sound dangerous and hurtful, however sometimes to get your point across and cause change, the citizens of Belgium are going to have to turn to drastic measures to make sure that justice is served, and that their voice be heard.
The Belgium government doesn’t care if the citizens aren’t shaving, or if they’re walking around naked while refusing sexual intercourse. All these actions are just leading the constituents of Belgium to be cold, French fry eating hairy horn dogs. These methods are humorous, and could be used in a script of Saturday Night Live, but if you’re looking for a real life solution, wasting productive time of its citizens.
However there is one respectable characteristic about these protests going on in Belgium. It hasn’t broken into a violent escapade where people are dying in order for conversion. It hasn’t reached that level of anger, which is admirable especially in a protest standpoint.
The government will come up with a solution when they see fit, it’s erroneous but true. Once they see that their citizens are breaking out in violence, that the suppliers of their economy are dying or making a mess of the cities’ streets, coming up with a solution automatically becomes a priority.
Nevertheless, regardless of what happens in these ridiculous protests, the rest of the world will sit back, relax and slowly watch the naked circus unfold.