I have been busy and off Twitter while traveling to Belgrade. Meanwhile, everything happened. So let's talk about foreign agent law and the two bills proposed by a conservative fraction in GE. The first bill was based on the Russian variant, and the second on the FARA US variant.
Nothing highlights more how horrible the politics of the government and many "Civil Society' players are. First let's take the government. So, the ruling party did not directly introduce this, but a more "radical" fraction did.
Fraction, "People Power" introduced a bill that would force entities to register in foreign agents database if 20% of their funding comes from outside sources (similar to Russian). If anyone had the illusion that this was some coherent plan, it was shattered by the second bill
When civil society started fighting this bill with their one trick pony and long-term detrimental approach saying "WE DON'T WANT A RUSSIAN LAW" then the fraction said ok, then we will introduce the Foreign Agent law of US version and they did. Nature of both laws are different.
So this idiotic introduction of two different bills shows how this was a stupid plan to begin with. One could argue that the fraction was clever and exposed how US foreign agent law is WORSE than Russian and how this hypocrisy was now exposed to Georgians for the first time.
I am all for exposing how the US is a police state myself, but GODDAMN at this level of introducing bills and threats from politicians and completely putting many people into total crisis? This is just reckless and inhumane, and it is absolutely disturbing.
So you have reckless and apathetic politicians, on one hand, playing chicken with "civil society" and on the other hand, you have the most self-obsessed narcissistic civil society which just deploys anti-communism and Russophobic messages on the daily for years and years.
Most people hate NGOs and civil society in Georgia, not because of Russian propaganda but because they are obsessed with themselves, and think the main character in Georgia aren't the people but themselves, the overly funded civil society "leaders."
Self-reflection isn't encouraged in Georgian social and political spheres because it's a hostile, competitive field, so any self-reflection is tantamount to you doing bad PR on yourself for free. It's no surprise, not even these foreign agent laws stimulated self-criticism
Instead, civil society doubled down on loving the West, saying we are the heroes of Georgia saving these poor people, and they refused to even acknowledge that the second bill is American. They keep calling both Russian because their brain might melt from accepting the truth US
They keep screaming that these bills are Russian, Soviet, and totalitarian, and how we are not only doomed if any of these bills are accepted, but the country is now going to be authoritarian and cut off from the West. This is worse than death for them.
In addition, the idea of being registered as a "foreign agent" really hits their own version of who they are, they tell themselves they are the true Georgians bringing enlightenment, and anyone who disagrees with them is the agent - a Russian agent.
Most important than all of this that I have mentioned is that they are afraid Western money will stop flowing towards Georgia because the West won't care about Georgia's future and won't "invest" in it. Most of the non-business middle class is NGO-funded.
But precisely because salaries are low and people work VERY hard for their money is why they hate civil society. Someone will work 160-200 hours a month to get $200 and you can make that from a fee in 2 hours "panel." It's insanely unequal. Resentment is deep from real society.
The concerns I understand, because jobs pay shit here and many professions don't exist here because of the tourist economy, so they couldn't find comparable salaries or profesions. These laws would also accelerate brain drain which we DO NOT WANT.
So what is civil society to do? They deploy their anti-communist idiocies, blame RU and double down on them being great, but they don't have a lot of ability to fight so they are de facto being led by opposition parties. Opposition parties can fight - they are relentless.
What has been so disconcerting is how there are NO independent medias in Georgia - it's either pro-West (like OC Media which begged for foreign intervention, the most embarrassing display of self-colonization) or pro-government. THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE
So to sow more cynicism and hatred, these horrific parliamentary fights are shown everywhere. If people weren't already "burned out" from living in Georgia from the usual economic hardships and the usual mean politics, now they will be even more burned out.
No one wins here. Despite what the opposition or critics say - people still respect the government and have this perception that even if "we" misbehave, the government shouldn't stoop to "our" level. I think it's high time the government got some sense and stopped this madness!
Of course, most NGO staff work for miserable pay but these people aren't seen, it's the leadership and the superstars that are in public view, it's their own hierarchical nature which only prioritizes leaders to be seen that is working against them! People believe what they see
Most importantly these bills actually delay and hide that foreign influence is not mainly conspiratorial (sometimes that too) but what's called the Western project, capitalism and its variant neoliberalism where government, civil society, and everyone else is influenced by that!
This is neoliberal project - to limit state and push every other service or function of the state to the "private" sector which is civil society that then has to fight for financing and not have guaranteed money for it. It's a way to impose capitalist efficiency into society.
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