Karl Marx once said: "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce." To a certain extent this could be applied to the current situation in Catalonia where the memories of how General Franco bombarded Barcerlona and the surrounding areas are still very fresh in people’s minds. It is said that very few individuals, in particular politicians, learn anything from history and events of the past. Perhaps they do and simply don’t care.
But either way, those involved in the Catalan dispute are playing a dangerous game - both sides are laying the ammunition for one massive explosion. The question is - who will be left standing?
And the tension this crisis is causing is filtering down into the bedrock of society. Example being on a flight from Barcelona to Minorca. One of the flight attendants asked a 71-year-old Minorcan woman to put her coat in the overhead luggage bin. She replied, in Catalan, that she would nearer take-off to reduce the threat of wrinkles to her winter warmer. The flight attendant replied by pointing out that she should be addressed in Castilian Spanish. A fellow Minorcan passenger in her early 50s came to the woman’s aid and the situation eventually appeared to die down until the two women were informed that the captain would like to talk to them outside, where they were met by two members of the Guardia Civil. They tried but were told it was too late for apologies, were then documented by the Guardia and missed their flight.
Remember, this is a democratic country, isn’t it?