In Protest Or In Addiction, study by
Dipanwita Bhattacharya; Author, Teacher
Sayan Mukherjee; Author, Teacher
Abstract: An act of protest based on sense of justice is worth committing. But if it is based on mere addiction, then introspection needed.
Keywords: Protest, Justice, Addiction, Violence, Identity, History, Joan of Arc.
It demands a protest against all evils. Our unforgettable heritage of History, in terms of Mass Protest can veritably claim a position, and it was not in vain that the mass had its triumph over evils, if not always so, as it was also evident in History that the presence of Mass Hysteria could well defeat the honest and the honesty. And it was also evident that human folly would ultimately add to the ruining of the society. But if we ruminate upon the panoramic view, we rarely fail to appreciate the honest efforts of human beings, collectively, as protestors, that could well subdue the undue power of the evils. Our point of discussion will cover the ilk of ‘Protest as Addiction’, as a symbol and symptom of Paranoia. It is in human personality ingrained the urge for an eruption of rage long withheld within. And no audacity will be here in saying that often we find the way to drain out this urge. At times, and many a time, the issue-mostly social or political, emerges before us for bellowing the fire. It is introspection that human being should every moment be allowed to do. When a car hits one on the road, we find gathering of protestors around the driver-but if analysis be allowed, especially a psychoanalysis, then we shall be very apt in finding out that for the majority the protest has remained an amusement rather than a real one from within, after evaluating the sense of justice. An addiction it proves. At times, war is necessary-but more for self-gratification than for bringing forth justice. We find pleasure in indulging the beast within us. It was the ape as we were that had the instinct of fierceness the successors would be carrying as human beings, that would ultimately gratify in war, in killings and in mass destruction and in vandalism.
The article proves discourageous? Not at all. Against every evil a protest there should be, as the world cannot afford to bear by-standers upon its shoulder. What we claim is a little doing if introspection. Are we protesting for the sake of adherence to justice, or for mere gratification of our beastly urge? -the question remains to be evaluated.
When Joan of Arc was burnt as she was defamed and condemned to be a witch, it was the mass-rage against Saint Joan; but that protest remained the black chapter in World History. It was a protest against the right to live and right to live with dignity. Protest of this sort to be marked as mere temptation towards showing muscle power. To protest is not to show off about muscle power, to protest is to stand upon honesty and to disapprove dishonesty. Protesting is not to be a tempting offer, but it should contain the spirit of humanity within its core.
We urge, for the sake of humanity, all to protest against all evils- and all to introspect, whether we are protesting based on the factual sense of justice, or to ejaculate our grudge unrelated to the main issue, and merely placing ourselves being tempted and addicted. We often watch the act of protest that can well be considered mob violence. It is not the protest that we are showing against evils, but it is our violence that we are performing in the name of protesting. It is out of identity crisis. “If identity-based thinking can be amenable to such brutal manipulation, where can the remedy be found?”-Identity and Violence, The Illusion of Destiny, Amartya Sen. Through the act of violence some are trying to establish their identity otherwise remained unidentified or insignificant; and they are naming this act as ‘protest’. We want war not for actual reinstatement of justice, but for observing ourselves as War-heroes. This remains true worldwidely. Time has come for us to introspect. This moment to be considered high time.
