When I asked Amy Goodman, the executive producer and host of the news program Democracy Now!, about persistence in a social movement, the answer was surprisingly yet reasonably simple: “Just stick to it.”
And my confusion since the beginning of this week disappeared. Nobody says changing is easy, but the answer to it is that simple.
Just stick to it.
On last Monday’s anniversary of the “Occupy” movement, I had my first experience standing inside a protesting parade, scared yet excited. On my way to Zuccotti Park, the helicopter, the motorcycles, the horses, and the plastic handcuffs on the waist of each police officer were all spelling one word: order.
Something reminded me of where I came from. The tips of dealing with detention and arrest given by several protesters on Foley Square the day before were still tumbling in my brain. But the voice of the people around me was louder.
“All day, all week, occupy Wall Street!”
I had never felt this encouraged to be part of something big. It was a big party — a celebration of liberation and awakening of the people. I had never felt this close to strangers because everybody around would be each other’s megaphone if anyone spoke up.
Watching people being arrested in front of me prompted me to get even edgier. I put aside my worries of being a foreign student and started to shout along with others: “Tell me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!”
Then in Madison Square Park on Wednesday, after a stormy and gloomy Tuesday, the Occupiers were much calmer. There were no crazy protesters yelling or confronting the police, but discussion groups exchanging the strategies of what comes after.
As Amy Goodman put it today, “It’s not gone, just taking other forms.”
I met David and Da’ud, who were trying to turn printing inspiring T-shirts into their full-time job. I met Summer, who never gave up her activism despite money shortages because she gradually found out that she didn’t really need much. I met a woman urging the crowd to educate themselves about the truth behind the 9/11 tragedy.
Passers-by may always pass by with their busy moneymaking schedules, disregarding your passionate voice. But there will always be one inside each and every crowd who is inspired, just like me.
When the guy inside the huge “Bain Capital” puppet was exhausted during the parade, I helped him carry the puppet’s right arm. When I saw Spin Art artist Joe Dillon’s paint being taken by the police, I bowed to him like a comedian showing the imaginary hat. I couldn’t have thought about this without the inspiration I got from other Occupiers. Even as an “irrelevant” foreigner, I am changed by simply observing the Occupy movement.
If you are changed, it is already the greatest change that can happen, in your world. If you are changed, democracy has come, now.
Bingxin “Sophia” Huang is a master’s student at Ohio University who is studying at the University of Leipzig this semester and a columnist for The Post. Send her your thoughts at bh586611@ohiou.edu.
