Many of us feel angry and sad and fired up. The trial itself has been utterly absurd and bizarre to say the least, and the outcome is very real and very scary. Other news also seems to suggest that gay pride in Moscow is to be banned for 100 years.Terrifying.
And whatever your stance may be, it's actually been pretty great to have such public interest in this news story. It's not often I get to have conversations with my family and co-workers about politics and feminism etc. It's rare that something I'm angry or sad or upset about is headline news in such a way that my Nan has heard about it and wants to voice an opinion. Whether you think Madonna's publicity stunt, and other celebrities like her, had real substance to it is beside the point ( I thought it was ace!), my Nan is talking about it, that means something!
I'm really interested in the 'We are all Pussy Riot' element of this story. Pussy Riot have encouraged their supporters to don balaclavas and to spread the idea of Pussy Riot. The idea is that when Pussy Riot are sentenced, that there are more of them. You can't kill the idea, and the idea of Pussy Riot is now global. It's been pointed out that no, we are not Pussy Riot. We don't live in fear of expressing ourselves to such an extent and we are not facing prison for our art or our activism. We enjoy certain amounts of privilege, and we will never experience what they have experienced. And that is true, and that is why Pussy Riot are heroes and very brave indeed. Absolute. Fucking. Heroes.
But I kinda disagree. I think the WE ARE ALL PUSSY RIOT is an important statement to make. I wouldn't assume for a second that my experience matches that of Pussy Riot, but the overall message is something that I believe and I love the way that through our different experiences we are appropriating it in solidarity. I enjoyed seeing it on so many banners and t-shirts and posters today at the demo in London and also in pictures from around the world. I think it carries real strength. I think it allows the idea to grow beyond a group of individuals and become something bigger. It goes towards desconstructing ideas of hierarchies in activism. It would be very easy to put Pussy Riot on a pedestal and think 'I could never do what they did'. By saying we are all pussy riot I like to think it encourages people to think beyond those hierarchies.
Although it was a small turn out at the London demo, it was amazing to see lots of very enthusiastic people at the demo. I really don't want to make assumptions, but there were quite a few young girls who I'm assuming that it was possibly the first demo they had attended. If so, then that's brilliant. Whatever your entry point is to activism, then that's brilliant. A lot of us wore balaclavas, some didn't, some wore bright colours, some didn't. Whether you shout and have a placard, whether you stand in silence and create visibility by your presence, it's all ace.
The WE ARE ALL PUSSY RIOT slogan is also a useful tool to think about localised versions of oppression whether it be the blatant racism in stop and searches in the UK, or whether it's the way our own government and justice systems deal with specific crimes such as for protesters or those found guilty of taking part in the UK riots last year. It's very easy and misguided to think that we live in a 'free' society where this could never happen, as though it's just Russia that is fucked, and not everywhere else. We are all Pussy Riot is just another way of making these things accessible to us here in the UK.
Pussy Riot still need your help. You can donate money to go towards the cost of their legal fees here
There are also some benefits coming up in London soon, such as the Savages and Power Lunches Pussy Riot benefit on August 22nd, and also the Positive Action benefit Positive Action benefit in September.
Pussy Riot have also released a new song here http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/video/2012/aug/17/pussy-riot-release-new-single-video
No comments:
Post a Comment