Although I am proud to declare myself as a Laurier alumni, the one glaring aspect of university life I feel somewhat ashamed about in comparison to other schools is the lack of sociopolitical events at Laurier, in that you rarely see any event, protest or causes being promoted, unless attached to some other event (i.e. bar night profits go to hurricane victims).One of the strangest moments for me at Laurier was, in the midst of major news reports of fights breaking out at the campuses of York, UofT and Waterloo between pro and anti-Zionist groups during Islamic Awareness Week, seeing the WLU version of the Week: a tiny table, a few pamphlets, and two girls (I assume Muslim girls...and would at least hope for the cause) playing Go Fish. Trying to find a viable cause at Laurier, whether it be to stop genocide in Darfur or raise awareness of child labour in Indonesia, was like being forced to Go Fish, day in and day out.
But I don't think this should necessarily pigeonhole Laurier for lacking empathy towards causes, although I'm sure the clear lack of racial, ethnic or religious minorities at Laurier (coming from the Token Jew of the WLU Students Union) has an impact. Everyone in our generation, whether we're Gen-Y, "The Trophy Kids" or Gen-SNES (you know you had one), whether just trying really really hard not to be like our parents, or because there's just something better on TV, have buried the lost art of the protest.
The sociopolitical atmosphere of our and our parents' generation is really not that different: both suffered (or are suffering) deep financial crises, both have lived through (or are living through) unjust and ridiculous armed conflicts, and both have made tremendous cries for change. The only difference is that to gain an end to their means, the Baby Boomers did whatever necessary. Marching on Selma. Protesting at Kent State. Passing out pamphlets, organizing rallies and concerts, travelling cross-country to spread their credo, whatever it may be. As for us, however...
While the Internet has given our generation a voice unlike any other prior, and while we have no reservations about making that voice heard (whether its over the War in Iraq or The War At Home), that's now about as far as we're willing to go. Whether its because we enjoy the relative anonymity of freedom of speech without fear of reprisal or persecution, or because we enjoy the relative ease of clicking a button instead of those pesky parts of protest (waking up, getting dressed...walking), we just can't seem to get of our cyber-protesting asses. Getting an invitation to join a cause on Facebook or iPetition, while perhaps noble, stops at that. "100,000 Against The Crisis In Darfur" will not stop the rebels, and while we can dream it might work, "SIGN HERE TO STOP PALIN IN 2012" will likely not work either. And those who claim to be "involved" in these causes often have only gone this far, sometimes even praising themselves for not only "contributing" to this cause, but for getting others to join as well.
This is not to say protest over major causes does not still occur...you can just look to the recent L.A. protests over gay marriage and illegal immigrants, the mass global protest in 2003 over the War In Iraq (although one wonders why the numbers of protestors were so much higher in Europe than North America...), and the ongoing pro-life vs. pro-choice debate. But when you see numbers so much lower than they would have been in any pre-Internet (oh hell, even pre-satellite TV) era, especially in the numbers of youths, it becomes a sad reflection on our culture, our generation, when people choose to witness the fighting on The Hills rather than parttake in fighting The Man.
Now, if only I had some way to let everyone know of my anger and frustration...I assume stay tuned for the Facebook group?
Let our (passive) voices be heard!
2 comments:
sssshhhhh....blogging is dangerously close to legitimate action...you'd better take a break
:-)
ps there have been some real protests, like the battle of Seattle, and of course the worldwide protests against Iraq. There is certainly a perceived difference from the 60's which we may attribute partially to a lack of coverage. Protesting in the 60's was new, cool, and ever so attention-grabbing. Now it's like Super Nintendo: It still does the same thing, but nobody cares anymore.
This is true, but especially at a time when these events are planned months in advance, you have internet coverage that brings it to everyone's attention instantly, and yet people still choose to ignore it...that's where the problem lies.
And yes, lack of coverage is absolutely part of the problem...but those who want to protest should still do so regardless of media coverage or not, not sit idly by because the news has now switched over to the Shiba Inu puppy cam story...but have you seen them? they're sooo cute!
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