One protest group in Andalucia have taken steps - literally - to make their presence felt. They dance.
By bringing together the fun of flash-mob dancing with the power of flamenco and the vibrancy of scathing lyrics, flo6x8 have really caught the public's attention.
But while they have hit the headlines in the UK, for example, will they have any effect back home? What would you do to get noticed and to bring about change? Or is protest a waste of time and little more than a safety-valve for society?
The way this group of people has protested and transmitted their complaints and discomfort with this situation is admirable. Instead of using violence as many protestants do they have used the beautiful and peaceful method of dancing.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that this will receive no response from the government or the financial institutions. It is sad but true. Citizens are no longer important, their thoughts and feelings aren´t taken in account. That is why I think that now more than ever it is important to show what we, the society, think about this unfair situation. It is totally outrageous to stay with our arms crossed while a bank which has stolen thousands is helped by governments and institutions whilst honest and mediocre people are ignored and forgotten. Maybe protests seem useless and a waste of time because of the fact that there´s normally no responses to it. But I personally think it´s much better to keep fighting until we achieve something than just giving up and letting the government and banks doing whatever they want and deciding on the people´s and country´s future.
I personally hope this situation gets better and people start to be listened. If people continue to be ignored violent protests could start to take place, this is a situation that nor the government or the citizens want, moreover, it would lead the country into a worst state than the one it is in now.
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ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Juliet’s comment and answering to you question, I do think that this is a very peaceful and even enjoyable way of letting other people know how dissatisfied you are with the actual unfair recession.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I would like to highlight the fact that this little protest hasn’t been popular in Spain’s TV news programmes. What particularly surprises me is that, not only it has had much more popularity in other countries, but also it seems to have been hidden in our own. This leads me to think about to what extent do the press media control the information we receive. It is interesting to bear in mind that the protest is against corruption. Should we consider the option of these banks paying the TV channels large sums of money so that they do not present certain issues? We do not know if they do so but it seems quite suspicious to not have heard anything about such an event. Certainly, it is an innovative way of protesting which would gain many supporters really quickly and maybe politicians are trying to avoid peaceful strikes which they cannot do anything to avoid. Moreover, I think governments know that the population in general is quite annoyed with the current situation and are aware that if people go on strike they are going to be a significant number possibly making it impossible for the government to not listen to the rights they are claiming for.
So, I think that it is the best moment to protest because governments are afraid of the powerful crowds of people. Nevertheless, my take on it is that the protests and strikes should be peaceful, original and challenging for the government.
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ReplyDeleteThe (In) utility of protests:
ReplyDeleteEver since Spain was hit with this deep recession the number of protests and strikes has drastically increased. This goes to show people’s discontent and disapproval at cuts, austerity measure and the banking system that, especially in Spain, has many families under strain. But be that as it may, the situation hasn’t improved at all. In view of the aforementioned situation one can only ask himself: are protests a waste of time or a vital action that may end up giving rise to positive results?
It seems to me that, despite making noise, they are hopelessly inefficient, since ultimately, unpopular budgets continue to be taken. However, this stems from the fact that the government neglects the voices of their citizens. If this oblivious attitude from the government lingers, then protests are bound to never bring about change.
My take on it is that the media should spread the narrative among the public in order to attract others to the cause. This way protests would well make a difference, since masses would be going out the street, hence, the impact would be enhanced. The problem with this original “dance” protest is that, innovative as it may be, it makes little noise, so they’ll rarely ever make any difference.
Unfortunately, this is not the case in Spain. As Marina said, there’s media manipulation in our country. Believe me, I am a daily newsreader and never has the media mentioned this. It seems that Cristiano’s sadness is far more news-worthy than society’s discontent. The problem with the media is that their survival depends on the government. Were they to spread the word of this protests and within less than 30 days they would declare bankruptcy. So it comes as no surprise that the government exerts pressure on what type of information is revealed. Summing up, the media eschews this protest since the government turns a blind eye on the situation, and they depend on the government.
Contrary to urban legend not all protests entail violence. Take for example this protest group in Andalucía who are protesting in a novel and totally peaceful way, albeit they haven’t made much of a difference. However, despite this particular protest hasn’t had any kind of effect history proves that protests can end up having devastating effects on government. The best example to illustrate this is the marches organized by MLK which abolished slavery and segregation in the US.
In conclusion, protests are undoubtedly a vital ingredient for social evolution, albeit some, such as these dancing protests, do not achieve their aim. However bear in mind that no significant social, economic or political change has ever happened without some form of protest. Hadn’t it been for those strikes work conditions wouldn’t have changed and we’d all still be working 7 days a week. Moreover, not only do protests illustrate the dissatisfaction of citizens against policies buy they also ensure that the government is well aware of the vehement opposition of their citizens. And most important, they let the government know that, we, society, are not prepared to stand back.