The glorious year of the powerless?

‘The protester’ might have been elected ‘a person of the year’ by the Time magazine, but it’s a rather gloomy end to the hope of people’s power in which we believed at the wake of the 2011. I wish this year could be remembered as the year when humanity spoke up against the oppression and people’s voice became more powerful than the arms of the dictators. As it slowly comes to the end it’s hard not to feel slightly disillusioned. The only hope that still remains is that it will be remembered not as the year in which the realpolitik killed the grassroot idealism that spread out accross the world.

This year has brought amazing changes to the region that was ‘expected to’ behave and remain locked up and prone to any uncontrolled change of the game. Yet, despite the initial disbelieve about the scope of possible revolutions, the bottom - up people’s protests did spread out across the region and managed to bring down couple of most cruel dictators on the planet. From the streets of Sidi in Tunisia where Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire, to the voices on Tahrir Square screaming ‘down with Mubarak’ this year saw the greatest and the bravest resistance against the oppression in North Africa and Middle East and the most radical cry for political change.Yet, as the year comes to the end we hear more and more from the troubled cities of Homs and Homa in Syria, where the people are tortured daily in fight for their dignity. And when we see how the ‘people’s revolution’ in Egipt is being hijacked by military and the violence spreads on the streets of the Cairo its hard not to feel powerless and resigned. 

Meanwhile, not trying to draw any parallels in terms of cause or compare the level of bravery, the bitter - sweet 2011 saw people of the “rich” and “democratic” world standing up to the way in which the West is framed today: to the rising inequalities, to the current abuse of the capitalism, to the political institutions that no longer speak in their name. Most of these protests have been terribly misrepresented. The July “riots” in London ended up being framed as the ‘protest of spoiled kids wanting better TV sets‘. The Occupy movement has been defined as the ‘incoherent’ cry of the generation that will never have better life than their parents and fall into ‘brand Marks' having lost their chance to work 'like everybody else' and shut up. When I see how much the politicians, media and the elites have conveniently preferred to dismiss the protests and how much the bankers got away yet with their Christmas bouses once again and how much Merkel and Sarkozy remain the ‘survivors’ of Europe with their little steps policy  - it’s hard not feel powerless. And resigned.

Yet, there are few sparkles which clear my gloominess.

I believe that the events of 2011 - from Tahrir Square to Zucotti Park to even Blotny Square in Moscow show the emerging new power in the politics. And yes, I am talking about people’s power - unorganized, not institutionalized, grassroots wave of people courage, bravery and desire to change the world they inhibit. All these movements have certainly been very different - with different causes, different motivations and different stories. And yes, many of them have been ignited by the basic lack of means to live a dignified life and not necessarily by the cry for ‘western- like’ democracy. But all of them are united in the fact that they emerge from complete dispersion and operate beyond and across the existing institutions - of power, media and representation. It is not the organized opposition parties that that lead the Arab Spring revolts (like it happend in the late 80 ties in Eastern Europe). It is not the trade unions that speak for the protesters in the West. And it is not traditional media that represent their causes.

We see the rise of the new structures that are pushing slowly the emergence of new world order with new institutions and new actors that enter the world scene.

As much the old and traditional structures of power and privilege remain unshaken in the end of 2011, we see the rise of the new structures that are pushing slowly the emergence of new world order with new institutions and new actors that enter the world scene. With the rise of the spontaneous grassroots local and global activism we see the potential for a new institutional order - both in politics - though the waves of people bottom - up activism, and in society - though the massive rise of new media and new journalism that have been instrumental in giving the voice back to the people - helping them to get get together, get organized and to speak up. These new institutions have very loose structures and almost no hierarchy. Yes, they are vague, dispersed and perhaps still better in pointing failures and pulling down dictators that proposing new solutions for saving the euro. Its difficult to navigate them, but so it is to control them by traditional structures of power. Yes, they might not be tied together for good and forever. But they have amazing power to be flexible and to motivate thousands of people that need nothing to join in, put the pressure on the government and spread the message. And they have amazing power to represent the voices that had remained unheard and silenced cause they were not a good enough story for ‘big press’. These new institutions easily can operate within and across societies, ethnic groups and religions. They are based not on the structure of power and hierarchy, but on the model of openness and inclusivity and interdependence. Sharing is their new currency.

Sharing is their new currency.

So, while people’ s revolutions might be loosing at the end of the 2011 and the picture is gloomy for now it’s perhaps not the last word. Vaclav Havel, the great hero of the Eastern European revolutions and great Czech intellectual, who passed away on Sunday, was writing, back in the late 70- ties, in the essay called ‘The power of the powerless’ that any oppression works only as long as people are willing to live with the lie. When individuals dare to overcome the fear and speak - up and break breaking the rules of the game, the whole system based shakes. Havel was writing of the importance of the maintaing personal sense of freedom, dignity and responsibility that allow to resist oppression despite the overwhelming inhumanity. The events of these year give really new meaning to his words. 2011 has indeed been a year of the power of the powerless. And this is perhaps Havel’s greatest legacy and the hope for future.

2011 has indeed been a year of the power of the powerless. And this is perhaps Havel’s greatest legacy and the hope for future

Photo by: Kemal Yayali, (CC)

Ortalionowy namiot na salonie. Lista grzechów głównych demonstrantów sprzed Św. Pawła

Po tym jak przez cały tydzień pojawiały się głosy o zbliżającym się siłowym rozwiązaniu problemu sunięciu namiotów demonstrantów sprzed Katedry św. Pawła w Londynie, ruch protestujących odniósł niespodziewany sukces. Korporacja londyńska, która zarządza londyńskim City, zapewne w obawie przed obrazami policji usuwającej pokojowe zgromadzenie sprzed świątyni, pozwoliła demonstrantom zostać na miejscu aż do Nowego Roku. Protesty, zupełnie niezamierzenie,  zmusiły też podzielony Kościół Anglikański do zajęcia jednoznacznego stanowiska  - nie tylko w sprawie samego obozu u stóp najważniejszej londyńskiej świątyni - ale w sprawie potępienia ‘niektórych najbardziej ekstremalnych praktyk neoliberalnych’. To całkiem dużo, jak na ruch, który media nazywają ‘obozowym festiwalem, którego uczestnicy nie mają nic innego do roboty’. 

Tymczasem media konserwatywne (murdochowskie i nie tylko) oraz konserwatywni politycy do znudzenia powtarzają te same argumenty, które w swojej próbie zdezawuowania protestu ‘racjonalnymi’ argumentami, pokazują jak bardzo przywiązane są do bronienia status quo w sposób pozbawiony cienia krytycznej refleksji. Lista argumentów, której używają jest ciężka i niezwykle imponująca intelektualnie:

Po pierwsze, ruch Occupy London, w swojej krytyce kapitalizmu, a w szczególności systemu bankowego, nie proponuje żadnych konstruktywnych rozwiązań. Demonstranci sprzed katedry nie przedstawili żadnego ‘koherentnego’ (coherent - to ulubione słowo mediów) planu reformy globalnej gospodarki neoliberalnej i nie ‘wyartykułowali’ (articulate - jw) jednoznacznego manifestu programowego. Serio? No nie, to skandal! Całe szczęście, że jesteśmy w rękach panów z Goldman Sachs, którzy dokładnie wiedzą jak sprawić, żeby nasz świat był lepszy. A pomoże im w tym Sarkozy i Merkel, którzy rach ciach mają pomysł, receptę i plan.

Po drugie, jak to możliwe, że ci ludzie z tego ‘festiwalowego obozowiska’ w ogóle mają czas na demonstrowanie? Jak to możliwe, że nie są w pracy? Czyżby nie pracowali ciężko na swojego bonusa (tak jak ‘my wszyscy’ - doprawdy dziwi mnie ta symbioza prawicowych dziennikarzy z interesami bankierów)? A może w ogóle nie mają pracy? A jeśli nie mają pracy, to w ogóle dlaczego warto byłoby ich słuchać? Ludzie, którzy nie wiadomo z czego żyją! To muszą być wakacje jakichś hipsterów. Na dodatek, o zgrozo, okazało się, że część demonstrantów nie śpi w namiotach, a cześć z nich wychodzi z obozu w ciągu dnia załatwiać swoje sprawy - odprowadzić dzieci do szkoły, zapłacić rachunki za prąd, pójść do pracy czy na spotkanie. Inni demonstranci za to, pracują na miejscu w swoich namiotach. ‘O jaki skandal’ - wykrzyknęły media - czy można demonstrować ‘na pół etatu?’. 

Po trzecie ten cały ruch działa jak jakaś podejrzana komuna! Mało tego, to okropne obozowisko ze swoimi ortalionowymi namiotami ‘zakłóca’ (disturb) harmonię przestrzeni publicznej i pewne jednak konwenanse społeczne. Coś co estetycznie nie wygląda dobrze, nie ubiera się w garnitur i nie podpiera się wizytówką żadnej ‘szacownej’ instytucji nie tylko jest nieładne, ale też nie może być przecież poważne. Nie ma tam żadnej hierarchii i wszyscy współuczestniczą w decyzjach. No słowem, nie wiadomo jak to coś ogarnąć. Taki różowy słoń na salonie, którego nie da się zignorować, a nie wypada traktować poważnie. I jeszcze na dodatek nie ma się do czego przyczepić - obóz ma własny system sortowania śmieci, latający uniwersytet, i wielowyznaniowy namiot i korzysta z nowych technologii, o których nie słyszano w The Evening Standard.
Nie próbuję tutaj twierdzić, że wszyscy (jak ja - nie ukrywajmy) powinni lubić ruch protestu i widzieć w nim szansę na zmianę świata na lepsze. Postuluję jednak o choć nieco więcej niezależności i intelektualnej refleksji w formułowaniu krytycznych opinii. Więc, jak powiedział Borisa Johnson, burmistrz Londynu, do demonstrantów, chciałoby się rzec przede wszystkim do konserwatywno - liberalnego establishmentu - move on!

Photo by: Andrew Winning/Reuters

Student protest in the UK: Where are the brands when people really need them?

In what might become the defining experience of the generation of young Brits, brands, that normally call for ‘breaking the norms’, ‘being rebellious’ and ‘fighting for your rights’ are dramatically silent.


Amazing opportunity for brands to help young people to tell their true story of their protest in the times when Tory -dominated big media are framing demonstrators as violent disruptors of social order. Yes, it would mean political involvement. Yes, it would mean making some enemies. But in the times when brands want to ‘engage in conversations’ and be part of ‘real lives’ of people they cannot simply stay silent. And pretend that nothing happened. Conflict is part of real life of real people. If brands want to get closer to them they need to take sides and support their consumers when they need it.

Britain is facing the largest student demonstrations in decades. Young people, including pupils in their early teens and students from various colleges are protesting against the planned government cuts in education. Proposed changes mean end of large public investment in the higher education and dramatic rise of university fees. Many economic commentators suggest that these cuts have nothing to do with the savings. They are purely driven by conservative ideology. Tory rich mummy boys can pay for education. Working class kids do not have to go to university. Right?


So kids are on the streets. And it is not just about leaving classroom for few hours. This is serious stuff. The Tory plans mean that for many of them getting a degree will be just too expensive or they will end up in debts for the rest of their lives. So no, contrary to government line of spin and Tory press these are not just ridiculous demonstrations captured by extremists or anarchists. This is about real future or the generation.

And when tens of thou sands people are protesting of course there always will be acts of violence! Yes, someone will scream f*** the police! And some will get really angry. So far they protesters destroyed few shops and 1 police car. This is not terribly bad? In large this is a peaceful manifestation of justified discontent. Led often by female pupils. People march with posters like “I will not have chance to meet my prince at uni” or “Tory farce kiss my arse” or “How will I learn to spel?”. This is not anarchy. This is young people’s legitimate protest about things that matter to them.


I am shocked by the media response. I am shocked as I thought they should be proud of the people that actually bother to do something political. That in the age of meaninglessness they fight for something and do things that mean something! That actually they want to take the future in their own hands instead of counting on parents’ support. Or go to pub presenting themselves as ‘lost generation’.

I am shocked by Labour party response. In theory they support students. But they so much lack the focus of their policy that their voice remains unheard these days.

I am shocked that brands are not using this obvious space. And do something good for their most promising future consumers and trend- setters.