Young, Restless and their Voices are getting louder ..
There is an uneasy nip in the air these days — a kind of restlessness that’s sweeping across parts of the globe.
Why am I not surprised?
It is mostly the result of decades of apathy, injustice, and bigotry all coming together at a time when climate change is wreaking havoc disparagingly across countries around the globe.
Is this nature’s way of protesting?
Did we think that only humans had the right to protest injustices?
In fact, a decade ago or so, public protests were somewhat rare.
The image of the tank man here serves as a reminder of the famous Tiananmen Square protest, one of the most noted, which eventually became known as the Tiananmen massacre. Nearly a generation ago, a protest that threatened to topple an entire regime was extinguished by the sound of rolling tanks.
Protests, on the whole, could go from peaceful to ugly, dangerous, and sometimes uncontrollable in very short time!!
Activism 2.0
Enter the twenty-first-century world of online activism. Part of the credit — or blame — for giving this generation a wide range of voices can be credited to social media. Virtual protests have facilitated the extensive spread of protests, eliminating the need for participants to step out and face tear gas.
These online demonstrations can now take place on a variety of platforms. Numerous choices are available, including ClubHouse, Facebook, or Instagram. One of the most potent advantages of this mode of communication is that it gives underprivileged communities, or even those who would rather not be seen in public, the space to voice their concerns.
That a demonstration goes viral quickly is hardly surprising, though.
The cacophony is so loud that sometimes it’s difficult to know which side you’re on.
Here are some of the underlying themes I have observed occur around me in this age of restlessness.
This is not your Grandfather’s Conservatism
Traditionally, it was churches, temples, mosques, synagogues, or any other place of worship that drew conservatives together. The average person we are talking about here is devout and value-abiding. He or she is one who puts family above everything else in a world where everyone knows their roles.
That’s why the family ate around the table, went to parties together, went on trips together, and dined out together.
Then this edifice began to slowly crack!
Here is where it gets tricky.
In contrast to a man’s function, a woman’s in the household was traditionally far more confined. The lady managed the household, juggling family, chores, and occasionally misbehaving children, while the man provided the family’s income. This was quite the hassle, and for very little or no money at all.
Not a fair deal at all, one would think.
The feminist revolution emerged from this outpouring of grief, and the LGBT revolution followed a few decades later.
Today, though, one can be conservative and feminist at the same time. Being pro-life can also mean protecting women’s rights and giving them the choice to exercise their own rights over their bodies.
This is why, when the controversial Roe vs Wade ruling was overturned in June 2022, not every conservative Republican was jumping for joy.
The LGBT movement, too, has come a long way from the candlelight marches of the 80’s to the rights and safe spaces that they now enjoy. In some countries, even churches welcome them with open arms and even perform same-sex marriages, along with allowing adoption.
After all, society still views the family as its cornerstone, so the nature of the bond between two people shouldn’t really matter.
You can’t get away with Shit like this!!
It’s not just the nature of conservatism that has changed; it’s also the gross intolerance of injustice!
If you are watching the protests unraveling at Columbia University and around colleges in other parts of the world, you’re probably getting my point.
When Generation X, revolted decades ago, they were shut down.
This time though, it’s different.
The first stirrings, as far as I can remember, started during the Arab Spring revolution in 2011, when thousands of Egyptians flocked to Tahrir Square, demanding the removal of Hosni Mubarak and his coterie of the corrupt. That is the furthest the Arab world has progressed in its struggle for independence.
Around the same time, on February 26, 2012, a second, somewhat smaller but more significant occurrence took place in Miami. The shooting of unarmed 17-year-old Treyvon Martin by a Hispanic named George Zimmerman highlighted the institutionalized racism Black Americans in the US face and sparked public outrage.
The Black Lives Matter movement was formed shortly after this.
When the George Floyd murder happened a few years ago, during the height of the pandemic, they had their opportunity to rise against the system. Protests nationwide and around the globe raised these concerns. Allegations of white supremacy, still prevalent today, began to spread, and the concept of wokeness, as we know it today, emerged.
Adding to this disenchantment is the century-old war between Israel and Palestine, which seems to be a gross injustice being perpetrated in the Middle East with the world’s superpowers looking on with their arms crossed.
If you thought that the resignation of the University of Harvard’s president would quell these protests, you were clearly mistaken.
It is little wonder that the protests at universities across the US are not abating.
Students today are questioning why society, where they have grown up, is rife with double standards.
Simply put, today’s youth are dissatisfied with the way the world operates, and they have no qualms about voicing their displeasure. Thanks to the platforms available at their disposal today, they can organize very quickly and are even willing to disrupt society around them for their cause, regardless of the consequences they may face.
Governments currently classify student protests as temporary annoyances. Naturally, the assumption is that the adults in the room are most equipped to handle any crises or issues, but when the adults selectively get actively involved in some disputes and, in other cases, just fold their arms and opine, it signals a fractured system.
That’s what they’re seeing now.
A fractured system, broken and on display.
Instead of arbitrarily detaining protesters, we must initiate a dialogue with the student body. Most universities today face accusations of brainwashing students with a left-leaning philosophy, which contributes to the problem.
When students see what’s happening in the Middle East, they aren’t looking at events through the prism of history, race, or religion. In their minds, it’s just wrong for this to happen, whichever way you look at it.
Have we been seeing events through this prism for way too long? Is the prism clouding instead of clearing our judgment?
Until then, their voices will only grow louder!
