We've come a long way from the irredeemable doom of "The Children of Sodom Cannot Petition Fate," but let's try not to vomit, hold our noses and continue to address the habit of far too many German Romantics to devote their later years to the radicalization of White Christian Nationalism by continuing our deep dive into the stone tablet of "Conservative Social Norms" by rejoining our memories of May 1968's Situationist Slogans and the social uprising they gave rise to.
In our world today, where literacy in history is very limited and more often than not written by Hollywood screen writers, there's a good chance May '68 and the Night of the Barricades means nothing in the English speaking world, the Situationist International means even less and meanwhile Conservative Social Norms and White Christian Nationalism have been redefined as MSOs or "Merch Selling Opportunities."
The French, refer to the years between 1945 and 1975, when France rose from the ashes of the Second World War, as The Thirty Glorious Years. Their country had experienced rapid modernization and economic growth, but inequality of income and opportunity along with increased urbanization had resulted in the sort of social tensions Conservative Social Norms were ill-equipped to manage especially in a country with a glorious tradition of street protest. This time it was anti-imperialist, counter cultural, passionate French students and workers protesting De Gaulle's repressive government, stagnant wages, poor working conditions, the universities overcrowded, academia a bunch of stuffy old farts. In those days of course "students and workers" meant exactly the same to the social conservatives of our world as they do today, free-wheeling troublemakers who if they didn't know how lucky they were should be rounded up and publicly flogged.
By the end of May, France's national government had ceased to function and when that happened the danger of government collapse became unnerving and there was a demand for someone to do something. Negotiations led to Concessions. De Gaulle's threat to resign led to a resurgence of support for De Gaulle's administration, almost a million supporters of the administration marched through Paris and this resulted in new elections which De Gaulle's Party, the Union of the Defense of the Republic won. It was a massive victory at the ballot, but something has changed, De Gaulle would soon retire, his party seen as having become tired, old and unimaginative.
For many May 1968 was the end of collective action as a revolutionary tool of the Industrial Age and the beginning of what are called New Social Movements. Many of the social movements born during the outrages of 1968 were inspired by Situationist ideas manifest in the slogans and Graffiti adorning the French Agora.
So what do we have. On the one end we have Conservative Social Values on the other end we have what can be called Movement Culture. The one devoted to Professional Wrestling, blood sports getting fat and kicking-ass, the other devoted to quality of life and a post material world.
"I love you! Oh! Say it with paving stones!"
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