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Dec. 22nd, 2025 10:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
evening_tsar(This happened in October, but I've only now had the brain-space to post anything about it. Like so much else these days, the urge to write things was very tempered by the urge to just say "fuck it!")
If you’re going to convert an entire country, if not continent, to the free-market, you may as well go all out.
Tickets to An Evening with President Lech Walesa were not cheap. I suppose the organizers would argue that this is the price you pay to brush with greatness, and as I did end up buying a ticket, I suppose I bought into that argument. As with the incredibly expensive book, purchased with the promise of a signing later, which might make for a great Christmas gift. Fact is, I am a great admirer of Walesa, and deep down I knew I couldn’t just sit at home, knowing he was in town. Something about the tenor of the times, the ghastly fascist down South, threatening to invade, the masked goon-squads nabbing people off the streets, and the Dictator across the pond trying to conquer Europe. I wanted to hear what an old champion of Democracy might have to say about it all.
Loud advertising bugs at the very best of times, so I was not entirely thrilled with the booming voice in the hall exhorting us all to visit Poland (the glories of which I do not doubt), but I did figure it to be on brand for evening (even if the voice, and its accompanying video did lay it on a little thick). I tuned it out, and turned my attention to the slick little programme they provided me with at the door.
I was gratified to see the beaming visage of the former President standing beside Anne Applebaum, great historian and author of Gulag, Red Famine, and Iron Curtain. She was going to be there as well? Bonus!
On the other side of Welesa stood. . Magda Gessler, head judge on Polish Master Chef.
“One of these things just doesn’t belong here, one of these thing ain’t kinda the same. . ."
I don’t mean to cast aspersions on Ms. Gessler’s doubtless considerable talents, but could not help wondering what her contributions to the proceedings was to be. Pierogi under the regime?
As I read further, I began to notice something: the text in the program matched quite closely the sales pitch being blared over the loudspeakers. This shiny document in glossy maroon with gold lettering was not a program for the evening, but a brochure for the Poland Grand Tour, put on by the History Explorer company. Neither Ablebaum nor Gessler were to be present; rather, for the paltry fee of $12,985 US, I could go to Poland and visit Ms. Applebaum and Ms. Gessler personally. Hey, for twelve thousand dollars, I’d have a total stranger over for tea as well.
(And if I reserved today, I could save $400!)
Something else I could not help noticing: the very expensive books they were selling upfront, under the promise that Walesa would be signing them, were not written by him. They were written by other people. Sure, they were about him, but I always figured it was the author of a book which gets to sign it, not the subject. I also wondered who was buying the souvenir cuff links and lapel pins. . .
The talk was preceded by a “short” speech from the Polish consul general, after which they dimmed the lights and gave us a “short” audio presentation outlining the history of Poland, and Walesa’s achievements, complete with a stirring soundtrack. Funny how they found it necessary – would any of that history be
unfamiliar to anyone who cared enough to buy a ticket to the event?
In case there were any doubts, the audio reminded us that Walesa “did the extraordinary!”, “changed the world forever”, and “guided his nation to a new era of democracy and prosperity” with a “dream stronger than their fear!”. They even dimmed the lights for the occasion. By the time they got to “A Nobel Winning Leader, a Legend. . .” I was beginning to think they were inducting him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Would there be dry ice? Lasers? Explosions? A full chorus of dancing Rockettes tossing flower pedals? Wouldn't have surprised me.
The Legend himself cut a humble figure. With his left arm in a sling, dressed in a plain white button up shirt emblazoned with the solidarity logo and a Ukrainian flag button, he spoke through a translator, who fortunately had a loud, deep voice.
He (Walesa, not the translator) thanked us for coming, for “spending your Saturday evening with a politician.” He spoke with quiet, reassuring confidence of someone who’s actually made history. Whether any of his observations are of any practical value, it is interesting and probably valuable to take note of what he thinks is important. He led mass movements. He brought down regimes everyone thought were invincible. He’s worth hearing out.
His preoccupation was, of course the powers of participatory democracy, and the threats facing it today. In the 80s, the world’s ideological divisions seemed permanent, and it was thought that “only nuclear war could change this arrangement”. Enter Solidarity, and the façade collapses.
But today, democracy is under threat from several quarters. One such threat is technology, changing faster than society can cope – “no nation can control it.”
“They have less control of the technological progress around them.
“We need to do something about it.”
Worse, people are losing faith in democracy. Politicians “without vision” support demagogues and populists. Honest citizens don’t run for office, leaving only the “political dregs” to take charge. We need to organizing, but “demagogues are better at organizing,’ and “we have allowed them to do so.” Allegedly Christian parties abound, but he “can’t see a Christian among them”. On current wealth gaps, “a lot has to be improved”.
Amongst his recommendations strict term limits (no more than two), mechanisms to recall leaders at any time, and complete financial transparency. More than once, he called for a redefinition of Right and Left. Unemployment definitely has to be tackled, with “strong unions to maintain justice”; we needed to create a “system that works for the benefit of all”. Asked how he would promote “universal belonging”, he replied “If I knew, I’d do it already and I’d win a Nobel Prize.”
When it came time for Q&A, he instructed the audience to “As me difficult questions. Ask easy problems, and I will fall asleep.” I’m not sure the audience took his request seriously.
I tend to dread the Q&A portions of these evenings, as they seem to invite every quack in the world to make long speeches and hear their own voices; actual questions, from people who want to learn things, tend to be rare. This event was no exception. There were a nauseating number of Fuck Trudeau types (including the guy behind me who looked like Benedict Cumberbatch).
Disappointingly, I was not able to ask my question of how Canadians ought to respond to Trump’s threats of annexation, figuring that he, as a leader of a nation frequently preyed upon by largely neighbours, might have some useful perspective in this area. (“We have neighbours who like to dabble in military tourism, and visit each other through Poland” was how he put it). Infuriatingly, they gave the mic to the girl behind me, who used to opportunity to bitch and moan about the Liberal Party and the supposed injustices visited upon Tamara Lich.
Imagine looking Lech Walesa in the eye thinking he gave a shit about your Trudeau butthurt! Do these blockheads imagine they could have flown a “Fuck Jaruzlski” flag in Communist Poland? The lack of perspective amongst these people is astonishing.
I liked Walesa’s response though.
“It reminds me of when automobiles were invented. As more people got cars, more traffic accidents happened. So they brought in traffic regulations. A lot of people got angry. But we need these regulations so we don’t run into each other.”
He left it at that. It did not sound to me like an endorsement of the freedom convoy. Did the questioner (and her depressingly large number of supporters in the crowd) get it through her thick skull?
On freezing Russian assets to help Ukraine, Walesa is “in complete agreement”. But he takes a longer view. “If we help Ukraine beat Russia by force, our grandchildren will have to fight again.
“[We need] better methods, so Russians believe in democracy. Russians don’t know how to act any different. We need better methods than these. Only then, peace on earth.”
Possibly. Theoretically. The question then becomes not even “what methods might those be?” so much as “is that even in our power at this moment in time?” I suppose that decades of neo-liberal policies have indeed undermined, even delegitimized, the very concept of democracy in most democracies, never-mind the dictatorships. I don’t doubt it, and could probably write my own treatise on that (admittedly cribbed in large part from Vlad Vexler). It all seems a bit academic though, while Shahed drones continue to land on Ukrainian day-care centres.
It’s food for thought. It’s long-term thinking. If it all seems a bit vague, well, we can’t always rely on heroes of the past to save us again. We may just have to save ourselves – which was probably much of Walesa’s point. Whatever the case, and whatever the commercial shenanigans behind the whole thing, I appreciated the calm wisdom, the historical perspective, and the subtle way he told the Freedom Convoy dolts to get a life. Good stuff.
As Walesa himself put it: “If you cannot find anything useful, you have wasted an hour.”
(Well, there was the ticket price, but point taken).
If you’re going to convert an entire country, if not continent, to the free-market, you may as well go all out.
Tickets to An Evening with President Lech Walesa were not cheap. I suppose the organizers would argue that this is the price you pay to brush with greatness, and as I did end up buying a ticket, I suppose I bought into that argument. As with the incredibly expensive book, purchased with the promise of a signing later, which might make for a great Christmas gift. Fact is, I am a great admirer of Walesa, and deep down I knew I couldn’t just sit at home, knowing he was in town. Something about the tenor of the times, the ghastly fascist down South, threatening to invade, the masked goon-squads nabbing people off the streets, and the Dictator across the pond trying to conquer Europe. I wanted to hear what an old champion of Democracy might have to say about it all.
Loud advertising bugs at the very best of times, so I was not entirely thrilled with the booming voice in the hall exhorting us all to visit Poland (the glories of which I do not doubt), but I did figure it to be on brand for evening (even if the voice, and its accompanying video did lay it on a little thick). I tuned it out, and turned my attention to the slick little programme they provided me with at the door.
I was gratified to see the beaming visage of the former President standing beside Anne Applebaum, great historian and author of Gulag, Red Famine, and Iron Curtain. She was going to be there as well? Bonus!
On the other side of Welesa stood. . Magda Gessler, head judge on Polish Master Chef.
“One of these things just doesn’t belong here, one of these thing ain’t kinda the same. . ."
I don’t mean to cast aspersions on Ms. Gessler’s doubtless considerable talents, but could not help wondering what her contributions to the proceedings was to be. Pierogi under the regime?
As I read further, I began to notice something: the text in the program matched quite closely the sales pitch being blared over the loudspeakers. This shiny document in glossy maroon with gold lettering was not a program for the evening, but a brochure for the Poland Grand Tour, put on by the History Explorer company. Neither Ablebaum nor Gessler were to be present; rather, for the paltry fee of $12,985 US, I could go to Poland and visit Ms. Applebaum and Ms. Gessler personally. Hey, for twelve thousand dollars, I’d have a total stranger over for tea as well.
(And if I reserved today, I could save $400!)
Something else I could not help noticing: the very expensive books they were selling upfront, under the promise that Walesa would be signing them, were not written by him. They were written by other people. Sure, they were about him, but I always figured it was the author of a book which gets to sign it, not the subject. I also wondered who was buying the souvenir cuff links and lapel pins. . .
The talk was preceded by a “short” speech from the Polish consul general, after which they dimmed the lights and gave us a “short” audio presentation outlining the history of Poland, and Walesa’s achievements, complete with a stirring soundtrack. Funny how they found it necessary – would any of that history be
unfamiliar to anyone who cared enough to buy a ticket to the event?
In case there were any doubts, the audio reminded us that Walesa “did the extraordinary!”, “changed the world forever”, and “guided his nation to a new era of democracy and prosperity” with a “dream stronger than their fear!”. They even dimmed the lights for the occasion. By the time they got to “A Nobel Winning Leader, a Legend. . .” I was beginning to think they were inducting him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Would there be dry ice? Lasers? Explosions? A full chorus of dancing Rockettes tossing flower pedals? Wouldn't have surprised me.
The Legend himself cut a humble figure. With his left arm in a sling, dressed in a plain white button up shirt emblazoned with the solidarity logo and a Ukrainian flag button, he spoke through a translator, who fortunately had a loud, deep voice.
He (Walesa, not the translator) thanked us for coming, for “spending your Saturday evening with a politician.” He spoke with quiet, reassuring confidence of someone who’s actually made history. Whether any of his observations are of any practical value, it is interesting and probably valuable to take note of what he thinks is important. He led mass movements. He brought down regimes everyone thought were invincible. He’s worth hearing out.
His preoccupation was, of course the powers of participatory democracy, and the threats facing it today. In the 80s, the world’s ideological divisions seemed permanent, and it was thought that “only nuclear war could change this arrangement”. Enter Solidarity, and the façade collapses.
But today, democracy is under threat from several quarters. One such threat is technology, changing faster than society can cope – “no nation can control it.”
“They have less control of the technological progress around them.
“We need to do something about it.”
Worse, people are losing faith in democracy. Politicians “without vision” support demagogues and populists. Honest citizens don’t run for office, leaving only the “political dregs” to take charge. We need to organizing, but “demagogues are better at organizing,’ and “we have allowed them to do so.” Allegedly Christian parties abound, but he “can’t see a Christian among them”. On current wealth gaps, “a lot has to be improved”.
Amongst his recommendations strict term limits (no more than two), mechanisms to recall leaders at any time, and complete financial transparency. More than once, he called for a redefinition of Right and Left. Unemployment definitely has to be tackled, with “strong unions to maintain justice”; we needed to create a “system that works for the benefit of all”. Asked how he would promote “universal belonging”, he replied “If I knew, I’d do it already and I’d win a Nobel Prize.”
When it came time for Q&A, he instructed the audience to “As me difficult questions. Ask easy problems, and I will fall asleep.” I’m not sure the audience took his request seriously.
I tend to dread the Q&A portions of these evenings, as they seem to invite every quack in the world to make long speeches and hear their own voices; actual questions, from people who want to learn things, tend to be rare. This event was no exception. There were a nauseating number of Fuck Trudeau types (including the guy behind me who looked like Benedict Cumberbatch).
Disappointingly, I was not able to ask my question of how Canadians ought to respond to Trump’s threats of annexation, figuring that he, as a leader of a nation frequently preyed upon by largely neighbours, might have some useful perspective in this area. (“We have neighbours who like to dabble in military tourism, and visit each other through Poland” was how he put it). Infuriatingly, they gave the mic to the girl behind me, who used to opportunity to bitch and moan about the Liberal Party and the supposed injustices visited upon Tamara Lich.
Imagine looking Lech Walesa in the eye thinking he gave a shit about your Trudeau butthurt! Do these blockheads imagine they could have flown a “Fuck Jaruzlski” flag in Communist Poland? The lack of perspective amongst these people is astonishing.
I liked Walesa’s response though.
“It reminds me of when automobiles were invented. As more people got cars, more traffic accidents happened. So they brought in traffic regulations. A lot of people got angry. But we need these regulations so we don’t run into each other.”
He left it at that. It did not sound to me like an endorsement of the freedom convoy. Did the questioner (and her depressingly large number of supporters in the crowd) get it through her thick skull?
On freezing Russian assets to help Ukraine, Walesa is “in complete agreement”. But he takes a longer view. “If we help Ukraine beat Russia by force, our grandchildren will have to fight again.
“[We need] better methods, so Russians believe in democracy. Russians don’t know how to act any different. We need better methods than these. Only then, peace on earth.”
Possibly. Theoretically. The question then becomes not even “what methods might those be?” so much as “is that even in our power at this moment in time?” I suppose that decades of neo-liberal policies have indeed undermined, even delegitimized, the very concept of democracy in most democracies, never-mind the dictatorships. I don’t doubt it, and could probably write my own treatise on that (admittedly cribbed in large part from Vlad Vexler). It all seems a bit academic though, while Shahed drones continue to land on Ukrainian day-care centres.
It’s food for thought. It’s long-term thinking. If it all seems a bit vague, well, we can’t always rely on heroes of the past to save us again. We may just have to save ourselves – which was probably much of Walesa’s point. Whatever the case, and whatever the commercial shenanigans behind the whole thing, I appreciated the calm wisdom, the historical perspective, and the subtle way he told the Freedom Convoy dolts to get a life. Good stuff.
As Walesa himself put it: “If you cannot find anything useful, you have wasted an hour.”
(Well, there was the ticket price, but point taken).
