Hi there ,
You might be wondering, what does this post have to do with music? We'll get to that in a bit. But first, I want to take some time to talk to you about public protests and civil disobedience.
Pretty hefty subjects these. So I'm going to be honest and straighforward. I believe in a citizen's right to protest. Why not? It's enshrined in our constitution. It's considered a cornerstone of modern democracy. And it gets things done. Many of the rights and freedoms we enjoy today were won through public protests and civil disobedience. Here are a few examples below. You can click on the links for further reading.
You might remember this from your history books. When the British formed the Malayan Union, it was public protests and civil disobedience that got them to relent, and led to the formation of The Federation of Malaya. Which of course evolved into the Malaysia we know and love today :)
"Protest bukan budaya kita!"
"Ini bukan protest ker, bang?"
Yes, about a century ago things were pretty tough. Employees did not have much rights and worked in sweatshops for most of the day. There was no such thing as medical or annual leave. Employees often died or were seriously injured in workplace accidents, and were not compensated. You can read a bit more about the history of strikes and unions here and also the history of civil and labour rights here
This guy had a dream. We're living it.
3. It's only recently women have been allowed to vote, work for equal pay, own property or take a bank loan. Thanks to protests.
It's tough being a woman, even in modern society. There's still discrimination, harassment and patriarchy enough to go around. It's an ongoing fight, but women today do enjoy many more rights and freedoms than their mothers or grandmothers did. And male politicians did not give it to you on a silver plate, either. All these freedoms were hard won.
So you can see by now why I feel protests and civil disobedience are an important part of a just and democratic society. Laws and politics are by nature slow to change, and sometimes we need to give them a little push.
"Oh God, Jeffrey. Look at the traffic jam they're creating. What do women need rights for, anyway? Geez."
We need a guarantee that elections are fair, balanced and neutral. No hanky panky!
Which brings us to our current predicament. You see, as a musician and songwriter, the freedom of expression is very important to me. And I'd like to be able to choose a goverment that protects my interests. And I'd like to do it in a fair and free manner. I'd like to know that my vote counts for something. Because otherwise, what are we calling ourselves a democracy for, really?
But what to do if we complain, but no one's listening?
But what do we do when the people who should be listening to our concerns, aren't? We protest. The ability to voice our concerns in the public spaces that have been built for us, is paramount to the idea of a democracy. It is essential when the system has failed to protect us. It is our duty to our children to challenge what would do them harm.
You could even say that protesting the unjust or unfair is our way of creating a better world for our children, and their children. Because of the civil rights movement, I don't have to sit in a black-only bus. Because of the feminist movement, women today can get an education, work and be independent. Our forefathers gave these gifts to us. It's our duty to keep the ball rolling.
I believe that protesting the unjust is the duty of every citizen. And don't let the insipid comments about traffic jams deter you. Some things are more important than getting to a booty call on time.
Whoever designed this poster deserves an award. Make it so.
Protesting can be safe and not so scary
Tear gas is not fun. Neither is state-sponsored aggression. You might say protesting is a risky thing to do. Or dangerous. You might get hurt. Then again you might also get hurt crossing the street. You might get rear-ended by a truck driving to work. People have fallen into manholes just walking on the sidewalk. Doesn't mean we should hide under a pillow fort all our lives, does it?
Truth is, we live everyday by minimizing risk. We take necessary risks to function in human society. You can be safe at a protest by following some simple guidelines. You can also read a more general guideline here, it pretty much covers all the bases for the more cautious among us :)
You don't have to stare down the business end of a baton
No, really. No one is keeping score. If things get rough, get going.
But you DO have to SHOW UP
In case you think that sharing on Facebook is all that counts, remember, The Revolution will not be Digitized
Really, you have no excuse. Even this guy is going.
What we do in life, echoes in eternity
Yeah, I just wanted to put this here.
We have a lot of things to fix. But fixing a broken election system is a good start. I'll be at Dataran Merdeka on the 28th. I hope you will too.
No comments:
Post a Comment