Government, that is who.
First off the image is royalty free and from Banksy the artist and here https://www.dreamstime.com
Most of us are living in some state of lock down and forced rules. There are limits of 2 people gathering in most of the EU.
And no more than 2 in a car.
This Corona virus or Covid-19 could not have come at a better time for a lot of governments, but why?.
2019 saw the most worldwide unrest since the swinging 60's.
Just to name a few of the long running protests, we had the Yellow vests in France. Anti austerity and taxation.
Iraq. anti government & mostly driven by young and unemployed people in a country with a very high jobless rate and where nearly a quarter of the population live in poverty.
Uk, anti Brexit.
Catalonia Spain. Anti government and taxation that pays for the rest of the country to survive.
Chile. Anti government and tax. The demonstrations were initially a response to a rise in metro ticket prices. In mid October, high school students poured on to Santiago’s metro system as part of a fare-dodging campaign designed to force the government to scrap the increase. The protests have since mutated into a far broader battle against inequality, deficient public services, poor wages and pensions and government repression.
Hong Kong. Anti government and anti China. It started when a proposed change to an extradition law that would allow suspects to be transferred to mainland China and tried in courts controlled by the Communist party. That bill has been withdrawn then protesters were demonstrating against police brutality and against the government for its handling of the crisis. They also oppose growing Chinese influence over the city.
Lebanon. Anti government and taxation. One of the triggers for the protests was a 20-cent tax on Whats App calls that the government announced as part of austerity policies to bring the country’s extremely high public debt burden under control.Also the government, an unsteady coalition, is divided and dysfunctional, unwilling or unable to invest in the country’s crumbling roads, upgrade its electricity grid (power cuts are still a daily problem), overhaul the waste collection system or address massive amounts of unemployment, among other issues.
Russia. Anti government.
Serbia. Anti Government.
Ukraine. Anti government.
Albania. Anti government and taxation.
And many more countries including Brazil.
A large part of the problems around the world are down to inequality via wealth, or lack there of.
When you have headlines like this one "World's 26 richest people own as much as poorest 50%, says Oxfam"
You know we have a problem.
"The growing concentration of the world’s wealth has been highlighted by a report showing that the 26 richest billionaires own as many assets as the 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of the planet’s population."
I do wonder when Americans will join in, and this headline story writer does too.
"Civil Unrest Is Erupting All Over The World, But Just Wait Until The United States Joins The Party… by Michael Snyder for End of the American Dream"
"All over the globe, the mood is turning sour. Anger and frustration are bubbling over, and protests are becoming violent in major cities all across the planet. In some cases economic pain is driving the protests and in other cases political matters are motivating the protesters, and it has been a very long time since we have seen so many angry protests happening all over the world simultaneously. Unfortunately, many believe that what we have seen so far is just the beginning. Global economic conditions are rapidly deteriorating, and as economic pain intensifies that is only going to make everyone more frustrated. And here in the United States, the drama surrounding the potential impeachment of Donald Trump is going to greatly escalate the political tensions that are already deeply dividing this country. No matter how things turn out, a large percentage of the population is likely to be deeply frustrated with the result, and that could very easily lead to tremendous civil unrest."
Covid-19 may have for now doused the fire in a lot of bellies due to the current financial crippling meltdown via authoritarian control, but if we consider that protestors are now battle hardened, if they were soldiers we would say the same. They have been shot at with rubber bullets and even live ammunition in Hong Kong and around the world. They have been tear gassed, they know how to throw those back now. They have had water cannons turned on them, and many police in riot gear akin to the military have beat them down with truncheons as in Catalonia.
When Covid-19 is no more. We can expect even more unrest than ever seen before in any of our lifetimes, as millions if not billions worldwide with have no job, no home, no money left, and no reason not to fight for change!.
No virus is going to change the mindset of the unemployed, nor will it change that of the dwindling middle class, or the people that have not seen a raise in pay equivalent to inflation for more than 20 years!.
1 other source was used in researching this article for presentation to you. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/25/protests-rage-around-the-world-hong-kong-lebanon-chile-catalonia-iraq