PATRICK BULGER | Automatic for the people: how protest became the way we roll

This is not a sign of a vibrant democracy, but of a government with a tin ear

23 June 2022 - 20:10

Shortly after he became president in 1994, Nelson Mandela spoke off the cuff about expectations raised by the transition to democracy, and the little matter of meeting those high hopes. In essence, he said people had the right to protest but should understand they wouldn’t necessarily get what they wanted. He couldn’t have guessed the degree to which protest would become a necessity and a way of life in a democratic era...

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