On Protest and "Always-Being-Against"

Note: This content is to be understood as satirical and is in no way directed against any group of people. 

The illusion that everything could be possible in a better form seems to be the last straw that humans (especially the young, insecure sort) cling to in moments of despair. For the young person is bursting with hope and hungers eagerly for the feeling of being able to change something. This species does not merely want to sit helplessly in an empty room and be dissatisfied with neither the economy nor the climate nor human rights in current politics. Instead of collapsing under the weight of this dissatisfaction, the human feels driven from within to passionately go to demonstrations and screams their soul out of their body, holds up a sign that reads: "No Fortress Europe" or "mother earth is hotter than my imaginary boyfriend". People protest against the system, the current situation; they show their colours, they will not be censored, not in Germany. Refugees are people who deserve rights like everyone else, humans are wasteful in meat consumption, CO2 is a catastrophe, get out of coal and nuclear energy immediately. Luxury goods are hedonism, people want first-class education for all, rent should go down, pensions should go up… and other and much more extreme ways of thinking.  

Being perpetually anti is fun for the demonstrator generation, because every protester feels individual and is not as stupid as the rest of a blind nation. Change is attractive, makes us sexy. Protest positively excites the sweating masses. The romanticised idea of fighting together as a group for the right values makes the hearts of many individual confused souls beat faster. The main thing is to be different from how things are right now. And the greatest role model for the vegan, politically engaged, rude but tolerant, sometimes brutal and without exception alternative young people is the legendary 1968 movement. The idea of being free, breaking down all barriers and standing against conservative values has remained almost identical today. It was then, is now and will always remain the same tugging and pulling at the morality, values and norms that make up society. 

And then entire movements form, like the Fridays for Futureprotests and some people sit in front of the television and think to themselves: "Cool. That's actually something worthwhile." On the internet, finally, there are sensible contents from young people for young people – unlike ultra-ugly Snapchat filters or videos of babies riding on dogs and parrots playing the piano. One can almost be proud of the protesting youth who gather in market squares, chant the same phrase over and over and over and over again and then finally reach the so desperately longed-for orgasm together. The kids get one thing that makes their life as an insignificant individual in the demo group worth living: attention. And for a worthwhile cause too! Finally they are seen, even if they have to pick a fight with older, right-wing conservative, white men on the street or exchange hostilities with police officers. And they socialise, talk about common goals and get each other maximally riled up. Inspiration leads to innovation and improves all outdated, crumbly values. It is like a big shared clean-up in society or, from another perspective, the exorcism of poisoned, devilish norms from the past.

Is it not outrageous that women still earn a full 21% less than their testosterone-laden colleagues? That animals lead a life without dignity and suffer a cruel death before they are honoured to delight humans as steak or salami? That the refugee flow is used by the Turkish government as a weapon of inhumanity to make the overwhelmed moral crusader Europe compliant? Many say: "Yes, it is", and it is wonderful that young people are getting involved. Really. And it should have an effect. None of it is trivial and young people are the only ones who can make such fools of themselves for the improvement of the world. Because they are the future after all. 

Yet the tendency to exaggerate becomes the downfall of youth. Staying peaceful is not always easy. And when protesting, suddenly everyone has a criminal charge for spitting on a passer-by, a police officer or a pigeon hanging over their head. This is followed by insults, riots, the first fist is thrown, the first person goes down. Hatred arises. "The authorities are to blame!", shouts the lawyer's son. "Possession and consumption are delusion!", rants the young student who heroically boycotts wearing a bra. Best to have anarchy right now. Or back to dictatorship? Right, left or diagonally-wavy, blue-red-striped wings form. Radical groups split off. Dissatisfaction feeds their hatred. The goal of improving something becomes a pretext for using violence. Violence conveys a sense of power and is proven to be arousing. We must be careful, always question whether we are fighting for the right cause and whether there are fair means for it. Unfortunately, politics does not change overnight. 

But do not worry, there will always be a group full of wildly inspired minds who sweep us along, scribble on cardboard signs and camp for weeks, months, years in front of animal shelters or the Bundestag. Peaceful lateral thinkers. That is how we like them best. Because then we have something to observe and gossip about, to smile at and admire. And we know that we need change for the sake of progress. In the past, so much effort was made to ensure that protest is legally permitted and thus the whole of society has been given the wonderful opportunity to be heard. This means that if there is something to say, he, she, they etc. nowadays have the opportunity to express themselves and complain. This is not a given, but a hard-fought privilege. Whoever does not use this, does not make themselves look ridiculous for their own goal and thus throws themselves to the mercy of the judging public, ultimately only stands in their own way.

Charley R.