When Silence Speaks Louder Than Words
The Occupy movement at UC Davis is widely known by now because of the controversy surrounding the way the police dealt with the protesting students. Pepper-spraying a bunch of protesting students in cold blood did no good to law enforcement’s already tarnished image, sparking shock and outrage among many individuals.
Yet, there is also the flip side to the story, in which the bulk of students can be seen antagonizing the police for about an hour, to the extent of forcing their hand. Daniel Sonabend‘s article Did YOU Really SEE Davis? boldly proposes that the police may have, in fact, not been left with any choice but to use force to break out of the circle they had found themselves in. Reprehensible as the pepper-spraying was, goes the argument, there was reason for it, one which we may or may not be inclined to justify, depending on our point of view.
Beyond this widely viewed and covered incident, there was also the aftermath. Namely, the students, distraught at what happened, sat on campus grounds, waiting. When at some point later in the evening chancellor Linda Katehi walked through them, on her way to her car, they displayed their outrage over the earlier incidents by just sitting there, in silence, watching her pass by. The effect was extremely powerful and effective.
Linda Katehi eventually apologized for what had happened on campus that day. She claimed that she did not want to be “the Chancellor of the university [they] had on Friday” anymore than the students did.
Yet, despite her apparently good intentions, it seems that this is not up to her. As long as the problems persist, the students (and people around the world) will keep protesting them, and the police will keep being summoned to counter them, and the heat will be mounting. The situation, as it stands, is such that no reform seems apt enough to tackle the underlying problems, and no politician appears bold enough to see it through, should it ever be proposed. For this reason, it is this writer’s prediction that this confrontation will subside only after it has been battled out. Unless, of course, people round the world gather up and give their representatives a long, massive silent treatment that will render this world speechless for as long as the problems in question are not addressed in earnest.
Featured image: http://www.latimes.com
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