IT HAS been impossible to escape the media coverage devoted recently to the protests surrounding the Olympic torch relay for the Beijing Olympics. However, I am not interested right now in the issues that have prompted those protests. Rather, I am heartened to see that activism may be picking up again and that once again, it is starting to become acceptable.
The problems surrounding Tibet are not the only issues that people have strong opinions about, not by a long way. As you read this, I would be very confident in betting that each of you has your own viewpoints on a wide selection of issues. However trivial they may seem to you, to somebody else they could be incredibly important.
I have to admit that when observing one of many activists we have seen on the steps of the Students’ Union during the year, this time in March, I turned to my friend using words that cannot be repeated here until the nine o’clock watershed. My issue was that I strongly disagreed with what he was saying. However, it was great to see this person with a loudspeaker by himself, confronting the ignorance or opposition of most around him, including myself on this occasion, imploring them to side with his cause. I wish I could definitively say that I had such resolve.
Getting involved in things that we feel strongly about does not mean that we have to stand by ourselves on the Union steps, in the pouring rain armed with a loudspeaker, being branded a ‘lone loony’. If somebody has the courage to do something like that then fantastic, but there are groups for nearly anything that concerns you. Merely becoming a member and showing support that way makes a difference.
Each of us can make a difference to matters that are important to us by refusing to remain silent about them. In 2003, one million people marched in London to protest against the war in Iraq. The individuals involved were only one of the crowd; but what a crowd. And yes, we did enter into that conflict anyway. But don’t forget the long line of historical successes from activism: an end to the white supremacy movement in America, an end to slavery, successful championing of women’s rights. All of these issues were only resolved because ordinary people such as you and I refused to accept that things continue as they are.
Reject the notion of those who say that activism is only a way of looking cool, to ‘stick it to the man’, to let off some steam, or as some would put it, ‘for the hell of it’. Expressing opinions strongly always has a purpose so long as you want it to. Ignore the naïve views that activism means ‘Anarchy in the UK!’ Don’t be put off by the negative attitudes that it won’t work. Successes usually follow the lessons of failures, and the failure will not come about without taking a punt. As with many things in life, only by trying can we give it the chance to succeed.
I hear you say that you cannot afford to go down to this march in London, that meeting in Glasgow, or to pay this membership to any number of different pressure groups, or that you cannot commit to a meeting every week. And this gets you down because you want to participate. I have been there myself. Then do the little things. If you are brave enough, tell your friends. Or pick up a pen and write about it. Get your words into a publication somewhere. Write Student Direct a letter.
You don’t even have to endure the appearance of a miserable cynic. Activism can, while campaigning to convert negatives into positives, be about the positives as well. But only by breaking silence and taking an opinion further can this progress take place. So please, stand up and speak up regardless of those who disagree with what you are campaigning for.
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