Symbols as representational images matter. Whether casted as monuments, flags, currencies, or other icons of the nation-state, they shape perceptions of who we were and who we now claim to be. They always speak to us, because they are co-defendants in the myths upon which our lives (r)evolve, rotating like that caged hamster on the wheel. Symbols keep us on that wheel, as if we have a real stake in “our democracy,” the democracy that dispossesses those who cry out its name. Symbols matter because even if the hamster in us wants to get off the wheel, realizing its energies are spent to remain in place, there’s the cage.
social movements
A Note on “This moment is different”: Is it?
EssaysCommentA chant, “this moment is different,” has been heard, seen and printed from these weeks of protest. Protesters have embraced this chant, echoed in the mouths of Obama and official spokespersons for Black Lives Matter. Attached it to another, that declared, “unlike our ancestors, we will not sit down.” The two slogans are related. Their message has one target: the efforts of ancestors. But this is what they suggest: that somehow those in the present moment are more strong-willed, more prepared, more tactical to seize a moment their ancestors might have accepted, or to which they would’ve acquiesced. Organizing a protest of 150 deep in a small Texas town known for Klu Klux Klan activity, they felt embolden, especially after a planned counter-rally by the Klan never materialized. They have also had enough, “unlike our ancestors.” That’s why “this moment is different.”
“The March had already been co-opted”
EssaysCommentOn their website, the Movement for Black Lives coalition claims to be anti-capitalist. Google lists their “type of business” under “social movement.” In the past month, they have raised over $100 million from a billionaire, foundations, and the same Democratic Party for which they disavowed any affiliation in 2015. The ante of pledged financial support is now close to two billion dollars.