Chapter 154: Protest.
Saturday. First day of everyone’s favorite two-day weekend. It was the part of the week when every employed man and woman would get a decent break. Most used it to get some much-needed sleep, others took care of matters they had to ignore during the week.
November 18 was supposed to be another weekend for the weary people to look forward to, but due to the news that spread just the previous day, no one got that luxury. Once again, the ruling class bore its fangs and bit at the already beaten and battered population, aiming to strangle whatever life it still had.
Cuts to social welfare programs across the board, tax breaks to big corporations, and a huge increase in the defense budget. It felt as if the Radmir Union had given up on the pretense of being a liberal democracy. Some even suggested that it was preparing for war against the Jinhe empire.
Whatever the reason, the truth of the matter was that those at the vast majority of society, those who lived from check to check and had no wealth to speak of, had been abandoned. The bottom of society who relied on government assistance to get by? Those were left for dead.
The tension has been rising for years, and now it seemed like everything was ready to explode. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets, hoping to make their voice heard, all while knowing it wouldn’t lead anywhere.
When he first heard about the protests, the only thing that came to Dante’s mind was how bad the traffic would get. He had no personal interest in such events and would never have participated in one, normally.
This time, however, he decided that it was time to stand up with his brothers and sisters in their time of need. That’s why, instead of spending his long awaited weekend relaxing, he was currently standing at the very front of the protesting crowd, almost touching the barricades surrounding the entrance to the city hall.
"REVERSE THE TAX REFORMS!" Someone shouted through a megaphone.
"REVERSE THE TAX REFORMS!" The entire crowd boomed.