Remember, Remember – the 5th of November

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, ’twas his intent
To blow up the King and Parli’ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England’s overthrow;
By God’s mercy he was catch’d
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Hulloa boys, Hulloa boys, let the bells ring.
Hulloa boys, hulloa boys, God save the King!

The above is a traditional English nursery rhyme. But you may be more familiar with the more recent Hollywood depiction – V for Vendetta. In the action flick, a mysterious/sinister freedom-fighter/anarchist known only as “V” uses terrorist tactics to fight against his totalitarian society.

Much like V’s hero, Guy Fawkes (the pyromaniac mentioned in the fun children’s song above), these “change-agents” are celebrated heroes or notorious villains depending on your particular brand of politics.

Legend in short: In 1605 a disgruntled Catholic decided to make a statement by blowing the House of Lords sky high into a bajillion smithereens. It didn’t work. They killed him. Well actually, they were supposed to kill him – but he jumped off the execution stage and broke his neck, avoiding further torture and mutilation. I can see how Hollywood jumped at this.

Interesting how history repeats itself.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of the ongoing Occupy Wall Street protests. People are protesting social and economic inequality, corporate greed, government corruption – also possibly police and ports. Some of them don’t really seem to be too sure.

And Oakland just had issues.

Remember, remember – the fifth of November. And ultimately, don’t be an idiot.

This may seem ignorant, but my question is, “What do they want?” What is the call to action?