Why Are Protests Happening All Around The World
Protests are a way of demonstrating objection towards an idea or an action. It is a form of public expression and outrage and is traditionally found in a political situation.
There is nothing new in the various forms of protest, people since the early modern ages have done that and it has been studied substantially and taught in history classes all over the world. People understand that often time it tends to work.
The pandemic has ruined many nations. It has ruined people’s lives and the common people have had enough of it. It developed a sense of frustration among the masses, they felt that they were being wronged; by their governments and by the corporations. That frustration led to many people talking about issues regarding healthcare, law enforcement, COVID-related issues and eventually leading to issues that weren’t COVID-related.
BLM & Farmers’ Protests
2020 saw the world as it was in the history books; a remarkable year for people all over the world. It saw the rise of a pandemic that still exists and also the demand for justice all over the world. For instance, the Black Lives Matter movement; originated in the United States as a result of the murder of George Floyd, it spread over a considerable part of the world including nations like Germany and the United Kingdom. Another example is the Farmers' protests currently going on in India. The farm acts (which were dismissed by many farm leaders in India) introduced in 2020 triggered the protests as local unions in the state of Punjab and Haryana began a movement called ‘Delhi Chalo’ and it hence set forth discussions and talks between parties involved which on one hand were the farmer unions opposing the act on the other the Government of India. These are in contrast with each other being completely unrelated because in both situations there was a demand for policy changes and both were intended to be peaceful but violence erupted anyways leading to a change in perception and how the media presented them.
Pandemic Indignation & Corruption
The pandemic also set off demonstrations almost in all heavily affected countries by the virus. Numerous protests have been taking place in countries like Australia, Argentina, and the USA to name a few. These are taking place because many people don’t agree with the government’s policy on handling the pandemic. The main strategy of every government was to ‘lockdown’. The lockdown policy affected so many people, it took away their jobs, their basic need of income, and many of them were not looked after through schemes and government plans. They were abandoned by their own leaders. That’s why they took it to the streets and started protesting. They were against how their government handled the crisis, how they implemented shutting down of businesses, and how they deserted their casual workers and laborers. The pandemic fueled global discontent and people lost trust in their authorities.
There were also protests tied to exposing several countries’ systems of corruption and deceitful behavior like Argentina, Bulgaria, Belarus, and the USA where the intent behind protesting wasn’t only related to the pandemic but also to hold people accountable for their misconduct and manipulation of the public. Protests are the way people can be aggressive, they want to make sure that they are heard by others from all over the world; there are also counter-protests and crackdowns by the government like the ones in Hong Kong, Myanmar, and Iraq.
Arguments and political discourse will always lead to contention amongst the public, which will lead to ideological argumentation and difference of opinions. To express that opinion they will want to make themselves heard. This ends either in parley or continuous violence and suffering.
Originally written on 4th October 2021 for Namaste MIT.
