Financial Fool's Day

April first around the world is observed as April Fool's Day, a time to play pranks and have a good time. However, this year, the first of April has taken a much more somber tone. The G20 Summit took place in London, where world leaders gathered to discuss solutions to the international economic turmoil. In response to the conference, thousands of people gathered in the financial district of London to protest any aid going to "the bankers", among other things. While many stated that it was intended as a peaceful demonstration, the intense anger of crowd members soon became evident as violence erupted, according to this article from the New York Times. The protest turned into a riot situation amid uprisings against the police and destruction of bank property. People of the crowd smashed the windows of the Royal Bank of Scotland and emerged from the broken widows carrying items such as computers and destroyed them in the street. The video below shows the news reports on the events of the protest.



Personally, I applaud the efforts of the individuals who went to the protest and remained peaceful. These people stood outside in huge crowds all day to stand up for what they believe in. Instead of sitting at home complaining about the way the government is spending their money, these citizens took to the streets to advertise their dismay, writing "thieves" on financial buildings and asking officials not to let the "bankers" steal any more from them. While I do not support vandalism or violence, I have to question why American citizens have not been doing the same. After 700 billion dollars of our tax money went to some of the biggest financial institutions in the country and rapidly rising unemployment rates, it astounds me that Americans are not protesting in the streets as well. Besides, even if we did, would it get media coverage?

I wonder what would happen if what is depicted in video below had taken place in New York City. What do you think?