Positive Space
The past few months have given us, humble Ateneans, plenty of opportunities to voice out our concerns to the world. Most of us speak through the online arena, engaging in healthy discourse with other individuals and seeking various points of view to come to a good conclusion. Some of us take a step further and raise our voice to the people in power themselves, questioning the ways and means by which they go about their business if we deem those questionable. The apathetic Atenean has started shedding its skin; a renewal of our commitment to “Down from the Hill” is taking place. The Atenean is now starting to grab the world by the horns to make it his or her own.
Of course, there is merit in speaking out. If no one did, then we all would get nowhere. Everyone would be a martyr, just shrugging off the oppression brought upon him or her by the people who thought of abusing power first. I believe the world is a better place with a few protesters in it.
Allow me to emphasize some words from the point I just raised: a few protesters. Not everyone, not even the majority. Just a few.
Today’s protesters are not all out on the streets. If anything, the advent of social media has proven to us that the online arena can be just as, if not even more, effective than taking the protests outside. Online, one does not have to show his or her face to the people he or she is dealing with.
A tiny profile widget is enough to represent one’s self in the online world, and ironically enough, that small photo gives one enormous confidence to present his or her views to everyone else. However, it is up to the user what he or she does with society’s newfound freedom of expression online. Some raise valid points, while others deliberately choose to berate every argument for argument’s sake. Some choose to defend their ideologies, while others just decide to join in on the bandwagon, divided in choosing their own sides but united in contributing senseless noise to the conversation.
In the world outside of our computers, it is a bit harder. The protester is more exposed, and there is a very real chance of getting hurt. The Atenean, however, seems to have taken the safer approach to protesting: by starting noise barrages and by posting tarpaulins by school fence, among others. Sadly, these protests not only look like feeble attempts to get through to those in power; they only add to the noise that bombards us every day of our lives.
Now, I might be wrong. I don’t know if the noise barrages that were staged are meant to increase awareness or simply to protest. I don’t know the intentions of the protesters. Most definitely, I am not asking them to stop fighting.
All I want to say is that sometimes, whether online or in real life, we have to take a step back and look at the bigger picture before we decide to put our own stamp on it. Sometimes, aggressive pragmatism just isn’t the way to go forward. The value of being silent is in the peace of mind that it brings and the senseless confrontations that it avoids. In silence, we might find other alternatives to our desired end—possibly something even better than what we first had in mind.
