Imagine participating in a political landscape where you run a blood drive so that you can use the blood to douse the offices of the ministers you oppose, as part of your effort to drive them out of office. No, really. And better:
The next day, they will collect 1,000 more liters and target the prime minister’s residence, the demonstrators said.
You know, I just don’t really know what to say about that except that sometimes the real world really does make the job of the speculative fiction writer a little more demanding.
There is a shortage of blood for the hospitals, but no shortage of blood for throwing it at a politician.
Are we really sure the human race should survive?
Junsok,
The shortage of blood in hospitals was also what came to mind in my case, and to my dismay when I looked it up, just cursory googling suggests that there are blood-shortages at hospitals from time to time, if not constantly. (I’d guess it’s as constant there as anywhere.)
Ha, actually, I remember being shocked when I first got to Korea and students told me they donated blood when they felt like seeing a movie… they said they got free movie tickets for doing so, and wouldn’t bother if they didn’t.
I’m not sure the human species should survive, but it probably will take down every other species in its effort to attempt to survive.
Also: one wonders why they cannot use, say, pig or cow blood for the dousing of ministers’ offices, and give the blood to the hospitals? Sigh.
It makes me wonder if Iain M. Banks’ maxim from the Culture series (“Money is a sign of poverty.”) needs some kind of analogue regarding politics: “Politics is a sign of… ?” What? Insanity? Disempowerment? Desperation? Stupidity? Hmmm.
Also, an article on weird forms of protest. They left out the pie-ing of major figures (like Bill Gates), the ritual suicides and self-mutilations (thumb-amputations, for example) some Korean protesters engage in, and probably tons more around the world…
Wow…I find this story oddly fascinating. No disrespect intended, it’s just that of all the protests I’ve participated in or have seen in the U.S., nothing like this has ever happened. It really takes using one’s body as a means of voicing opposition to a bizarre level.
Yup. It’s just deeply weird. And from commentaries I’ve seen online, it’s also utterly Thai in style. Hmmm.