Post date: Nov 03, 2016 6:51:47 PM
Last Friday, Oct 28th, Mouhcine Fikri, a fishmongerer was crushed to death in a garbage compacter after municipal workers seized his goods and tossed them to be thrown away. This event, which has been compared to the self-immolation of a merchant in Tunisia which sparked the Arab Spring, has incited popular anger and protest throughout the country. Following Spadola’s argument, news and images of death was spread through social media and videos of the protest have been shared all over the internet. This use technologized communication has fueled the movement and given viability and legitimacy to the protest’s demands. Citizens are using mass-mediation and technology to issue a call to the government towards action. This is an interesting comparison to Spadola’s description of the Master’s call in the Green March, turning power dynamics on their head. Spadola argues that technologized communication has the potential to dismantle hierarchies, which may be exemplified in this unfolding story as the Moroccan government try to swiftly appease the protests demands to curb governmental abuses of power. The call’s power comes from it’s dissemination on mass-media, and the historical comparisons to previous protests. This historical knowledge is not something that Spadola describes, but it may be an important factor in establishing authority, and it does seem to act similar to religious authority, both instilling the call with power.