(Punk)Rock’n
Solidarity
(Silence
Does Not Become Me…)
I just had to give a shout out to Nadezhda Tolokonnikova,
Maria Alyokhina & Yekaterina Samutsevich of the Russian Punk Band Pussy
Riot and show my
support because these ladies
rock! I‘m a firm believer in speaking my mind (yes, you’ve probably noticed that with the incredible length of some
of my blog posts) and thank goodness I was born in a free country or I
would really be SOL if you know what I mean.
So here’s a heads up, it’s about
to get a bit loud in here…
And I know what you might be thinking, what on earth does
this have to do with crafting?! The answer is nothing really, and yet it’s my blog and I can do what I want and
the truth is this concerns you just as much as it concerns me, you just might
not recognize it yet. Not everything can be viewed in black and white, but some
aspects can and in this case, the honest to God truth is that when you remain
silent, you are supporting the opposition. The opposition in this case is a
government in which three women have been imprisoned for ‘hooliganism’ and two
of which have been threatened with having their young children taken away based
on those protests. That old rule ‘If you’re not with us you’re against us’ absolutely
applies in this case and let’s not fool ourselves here, this is a human rights
issue and it should concern us all.
I can see how if you were in the business of control the
idea of removing dissidence would be your best bet, but when you’re looking for
freedom of expression and liberation from outdated models for the way in which we
live our lives, sometimes you need to tear down those barriers in order to bring
about change, specifically because working within the confines of those perimeters
is no longer possible to the state of your well being. On November 9th,
1989 the Berlin Wall was torn down piece by piece and it was radical political involvement
that made that happen. That wall would have stayed up, separating families and
friends perhaps indefinitely if protest had not taken place. The GDR would never have allowed that wall to
come down if the radical voices of the people had not grown until it reached a
tipping point. I remember the very moment crowds of people rushed at that wall,
tearing it down with their bare hands. A poignant memory for anyone watching the
tv coverage at that time and certainly one I will never forget.
I suppose that is why I am so offended when I read about the
wall being erected to block Mexico and the US. I hate to bring politics into it
and I recognize that I may be limiting my audience, but I’m not one for
barriers and so it is with utmost sincerity that I voice my opinion here, because
if I am silent, change does not happen. If you are silent, we remain locked
within the confines of a social structure that specifically does not offer the
strength and freedom we as a collective need in order to bring about progress.
And isn’t that what we’re all here for anyway? You recognize that nothing in
our world is intended to remain the same right? Tell me one thing that is meant
to remain static in our environment. Go on, I’ll wait…
You couldn’t come up with anything could you? That’s what I
thought. It would stand to reason then that if our world is not meant to remain
the same, that change is a natural and expected aspect of our world. Since
it’s going to happen anyway, I say let’s direct that change towards some major
progress!
You might be saying to yourself ‘they were protesting in an
orthodox church for goodness sake!’ as though for some reason that just doesn’t
seem like a very good idea. It’s funny because in my opinion, that is exactly
where the protests need to take place. Ohh I can hear you getting your brain
waves all in a tizzy…just hold on! I’m not finished…
So yeah, I said that and no
I’m not going to take it back, and don’t get me wrong, I’m not
anti-religion, but I will explain a bit further so don’t pop a valve. You see, years
ago I traveled to the Middle East and though it was an incredible opportunity
and one of the most beautiful trips I have ever been on, I learned a great deal
about myself and the world around me. I realized that I am without reservation an
independent, strong willed woman and I believe that *I and all of you should
have freedom of expression and an opportunity in which to live our lives as we
want them, without fear of persecution, and without prejudice. A tall order? I
think not.
The real deal is that despite the seen and unseen walls that
bind our countries, we’re not all that different and I like to believe we have
reached a point in the history of our humanity in which those old rules should no
longer apply. Another aspect I recognized on that trip was that some of the
true barriers-those seemingly impenetrable ones-are those of the traditional
values set forth by the church as they have remained untouchable in a sense,
where as other aspects of society may have in some ways changed. I don’t mean
to offend anyone and I certainly mean no disrespect, but I have to be honest, I
was unseen in many of their eyes, as unseen as the blank face on an Amish doll, and that
is no way for a person to live their life, especially when that traditional
structure is dictating the actions of the people and directly resulting in the oppression
of their lives.
And you might even say that with all of the problems we face
today why should the protests and sentencing of these women directly affect you
but I will remind you of one specific point and that is the idea that control
is a tricky element, and one which prides itself on distractions and division
among the people. The oppressions of our neighbors will naturally result in the
oppression of ourselves if we remain silent to the revolt of those speaking out
around us. We have a choice to lend support or allow the traditional controls
that binds us to persevere. The latter leaves little to no room for who we are as
individuals and who we want to be as we move forward. The former brings about
positive change and quite honestly, I can’t help but think that once we have
brought an element such as civil liberties into our reality, we should have an
opportunity in which to apply that to any situation we may find ourselves, regardless
of location. It now exists, all we need to do is claim it. That’s not to say
some don’t pay the price for initializing the breaking down of those walls. These
women are most certainly paying the price for attempting to claim that right
for all of the people in their society. Those that stand in solidarity with
them seem to recognize that.
So when Pussy Riot stood up and protested, with covered
faces as though they were shouting ‘We might not be seen but we will be heard!’
I was so very proud. I could not help but take it as a very poignant aspect of
where we are as a collective and how we want our future to unfold. Control does
not bring about greatness, only unrest. Greatness comes in believing we can create
the reality we desire, and having the freedom in which to do what we believe is
important for our well being. And when
you are unseen in your community it leaves a scar, whether anyone of us are willing
to recognize that or not.
We’re more connected than any of us realize, and despite the
differences in culture or location (or any other differences you may so
conveniently want to materialize in which to argue this point), the truth is we’re
stronger in numbers and this riot is not just for the girls, not just for the
Russians, not just for the feminists and not just for the radicals, but for
every single one of us. Trends in human conditioning are not subject to the
same perimeters that the boundaries of countries are, and with that, we all
have to remain vigilant when creating and maintaining a future in which we have
the freedom in which to be ourselves and speak our minds, as well as change
that which we truly recognize as no longer valid to the way in which we want to
live our lives.
And so, out of respect for these women who had the guts to
stand up and speak out, I say Free
Pussy Riot!
And for those of you fearful that your voice will indicate
radicalism, feminism, whatever your preconceived notions may be, I offer you an
alternative, to simply put away those fears and open your minds to what you know
to be right. And then remember this one rule…
Silence does not become you.
Lindsay
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