This as Theatre
Jan Hamminga
"Catalunya is making a fool of itself lately. We are losing on all fronts and we catalans don't take a downturn light-heartedly."
"The clamour to defeat in foul play, which has begun to emerge on ever more popular fronts from politics to football and back again, is putting Catalunya in a vulnerable position all of a sudden."
"And in their vulnerability many seem to succumb to the idea of defeat and humiliation. There's a growing sense we had better take it in sooner and focus on killing the hangover."
"Talking about hangovers, how about a glass of wine?"
"Make that a bottle, then, if the youngster is going to join us."
A nod and a wave of the hand seal the proposal.
"It's all very sad, you know? Things were going to be different before it all got slightly out of hand. We were going to get a deal for efficient self-government within any given larger entity, be it Spain or Europe or the both of them, and we trusted Artur Mas to embark on this bumpy ride and proclaim pro forma independence when the mood was ready."
"To make sure, we put Oriol Jonqueras by his side."
"Sweet, eager Oriol."
"And we would make our case to the europeans. We were going to be accepted. Even the corrupted were going to be granted pardon."
"That's old news, now."
"Say you. I say things went wrong where they easily could have gone right."
"And what are you going to change about that?"
"Well, nothing of course."
"Then what are we talking about?"
"I'm talking about how it happened. I think we should explain the youngster how it came to be. But let me pour us a glass first."
"I'd say we thought we were so damn cool, but then it turned out nobody else was paying attention. So now we find ourselves rock bottom on the sympathy list."
"It has all petered out pretty fast, that's for sure. Mr Mas has lost his glam appeal and is currently engaged in a losing battle with the combined moneyed interests of Barcelona and Spain."
"Is that what this is all about, then? Money?"
"Money is the only thing they count in Catalunya."
"And us without money, I mean we who have nothing but an income, an unstable and easily manipulable pay-check, we are desperately waiting for a decision on our future. Whether we still want out or are counting on absolution, we all want and end to this purging submission to Madrid."
"Madrid, that terrible town! Madrid is at war with the country, did you know? Madrid is colonising and impoverishing the land."
"Madrid has grown so fat it has no choice but to suck the country dry in order to maintain itself."
"I drink to that."
"And were this tyranny upheld with a certain wisdom in managing the pain inflicted, one might even support the idea. Accept the power grab and make the most of the situation."
"Unfortunately that's not the case."
"Rather, the tyranny has chosen to turn back the clock and pretend life is what it was in the good old days when rules were not protested."
"So they prohibit every aspect of life. Abortion, workers' rights, solar power, free speech, you name it."
"Anything than can be suppressed will be suppressed, is their motto."
"Are they preparing us for disaster?"
"One would sure feel pressed to think so. But I also sense an honest desire to inflict pain upon other humans. Just for the heck of it."
"As in the good old days?"
"The very same, my friend. The very same."
"Another glass?"
"As you like it."
"We sure do."
"What's wrong with taking one's own decisions, I wonder."
"You answer that question for yourself."
"What's wrong with trusting people's wisdom? Why can't we just keep the levels of decency we showed under ZP?"
"Now there's a good one. I'd say they are not satisfied with robbing us blind, they want to subjugate us as well."
"So it will be easier to later on blame the victim for his predicament?"
"Standard procedure for these types. Have you noticed they're all grumpy old men, the ones that call the shots? They have been waiting for this chance all their life time and they're not going to be stopped by your or anybody's decency."
"Who voted in these freaks? We all knew it was going to get bad, didn't we?"
"Must you ask? The good people of Madrid, of course."
"That's terrible from the good people."
"Bad enough to make one terribly thirsty."
Another round to be served.
"Why isn't psoe supporting you?"
"Psoe! They are too busy letting down their old electoral base."
"It's sad, you know. If all opposition parties, national and local, came together to make the most of their minority position and try to save what can be saved, wouldn't that be a much better strategy?"
"One might also come to realise how many catalans' sense of freedom has much to do with simply escaping the new fascist rule."
"We don't want to leave anybody behind, honestly, but we also believe we are entitled to having a free go at making ourselves as beautiful as we can for everybody's worth."
"We are not pp here in Barcelona."
"We don't dig that shit, what I say."
"If you want the catalans in, and the catalans themselves in majority feel a strong allegiance to Spain, then you will have to give."
"You will have to accept the old empire has gone. You will have to accept the dictators have gone."
"You will have to stop supporting voices who claim otherwise."
"You will have to stop hating your own people."
"So what do you propose?"
"I propose another glass."
"Make that another bottle."
"I propose all people of reason, of which you will find many in this country, unite against the forces of old which are trying to destroy our wonderful, democratic project."
"I drink to that."
