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OPINIONS.

 

Fight for your right

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The pros and cons of
peaceful protest

Elliot
Chan
Opinions Editor

‘ts opinions@theotherpress.ca

 

hat began as a peaceful

protest near Rexton, New
Brunswick on October 17 turned
violent as armed RCMP clashed
with those opposing shale gas
exploration and fracking. Led
by the Mi’kmaq First Nations
people, the protesters created
a blockade and asserted
they were “willing to die”
for their position. Molotov
cocktails and firearms don’t
necessarily demonstrate peace
or a willingness to negotiate, so
when the smoke cleared, guns
were holstered, and the roads
were emptied, 40 protesters
were arrested and five RCMP
vehicles were torched.

This was a fine example of

a peaceful protest gone wrong,
but has a peaceful protest ever
gone right? Has dissatisfaction
ever been effectively
communicated through
defiance? Do rebels ever sway
public opinion? Personally, I
am a supporter of protest: when
injustice is clearly displayed,
it’s our duty as citizens to stand
up and stand together. The
history books are full of great
examples of effective peaceful
protests. Of course the results
weren't immediate, but those
who banded together sparked
changes and got the rolling

 

eS

Protesters have to pass burning police cruisers to get out of the way to saftey | Photo courtesy of Laura Brown/@01LBrown

wheel of revolution heading in
the right direction.

What some consider
mischief, others see as heroic.
Hell, when put in a high
pressure situation, I hope I have
the guts to march out in front of

a moving tank like the students
did in Tiananmen Square during
the June Fourth Incident in

1989. I like to think that I have
the courage to stand up for my
fellow man when the situation
calls for it. We all like to believe

we can take down Goliath,
and we like to cheer for the
underdogs, but often we simply
bark—what happens when we
bite?

More often than not, we
consider protest to be a waste

of taxpayers’ dollars. Just take a
glance at the accomplishments—
oops, I mean the consequences—
of Occupy Wall Street in 2011.
When done right, a protest

will trigger debates, dialogue,
and meaningful conversations.
When done wrong, it becomes

a spectacle and a shame on the
city, country, and even mankind.

There is a lesson we need
to learn from all of this: lessons
from Mahatma Gandhi's hunger
strike, Martin Luther King Jr.’s
March on Washington, and John
Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Bed-Ins
for Peace. The strikes, boycotts,
and protests garner attention,
but all lead to tragic results.
They effectively call attention
to a problem, thus paving way
for a solution, but we must
recognize that there might not
be such thing as a peaceful
protest: all protest hurts in one
way or another.

As disruptive as it is,
protesting is our human
right—or it should be. North
Americans are accustomed
to their safe little abodes and
often only see the devastation
of violent protests in other
countries. Those people in Egypt
and Turkey aren't uneducated
ruffians causing trouble for the
establishment. They’re just like
us, trying to find comfort and
trying to defend something
they truly believe in. Those
people are “willing to die” for
their cause, and to me that is
something humanity needs.
Protest is an amiable choice and
a potentially horrible one—but
when push comes to shove, only
the cowards are passive.

 

Artwork is work

Does the responsibility
in ensuring a healthy
culture lle in us?

Julia

Siedlanowska
Staff Writer

 

he debate about whether

arts should receive public
funding is a hot one. Although a
part of me wants to believe that
the arts should be able to sustain
itself in a competitive market
based on demand, another part
knows that the government has
a responsibility to ensure the
health of our culture. Some art
institutions providing valuable

services could really use a hand
in starting up. Some artists

are worth developing, and
sometimes that requires a grant
or residency funding. However,
the root of it all doesn’t just lie
in the government—t lies in us,
the majority.

We live in a complex and
fast-paced world—this we
know. Music is abundant and
everyone is a photographer.
After all, when was the last
time you paid for a song on
iTunes? Music downloads are
everywhere on the Internet, you
can pick up the latest print from
IKEA for $20, and everyone and
their dog seems to make artisan
soap and jewelry. In a world
of excess, even the movement
to simplify can quickly be
disregarded, because of its

abundance. There is simply too
much!

Love and passion are not
always enough to make a living;
and yet, we can see a distinct
difference in quality between all
these artistic products available
to us. We only buy a product
if we think it'll add value to
our lives. Perhaps a part of the
problem is that we've forgotten
what really does add value and
how to patronize it accordingly.
In all this abundance, we've
forgotten that there is a person
(hopefully) pouring their soul
and talents into their craft.

Our community is still
developing, even though the
arts have had frighteningly
drastic funding cuts in the
past few years. The Cultch is
opening up the York Theatre on

Commercial Drive in December,
starting the season with a very
appropriate East Van Panto. The
music scene is thriving with DJ's
playing after hours shows. The
burlesque and contemporary
dance scenes are continuing

to grow as well. Vancouver

is developing its own unique
and vivid identity. I, for one,
am becoming more and more
excited to be maturing and
developing as an artist in this
city.

I dreamt of a time when art
could be a community event—
free, without politics or want of
personal monetary gain. Earning
a living has always been a
struggle for artists, and the
extraordinary have made their
mark (sometimes surviving,
sometimes dying in squalor).

Travelling bands of actors

had to go from community

to community to make their
fare. Artists provide a quality
service; however, it’s in our
hands to identify which services
are valuable, and to show our
gratitude in coins, bills, or
plastic.

The arts should unite us in
public events and connect us
with our community in a way
that echoes its original roots
in myth and ritual. It should
engender a pride in ourselves
and our culture. Although this is
something that the government
should value, we should also
prove its value in the way we
live our lives daily.

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