Darkest before dawn.

I have had it.

As I watch the London riots unfold, I, at first, thought how could people do this? and I thought why the violence? can’t they change things non-violently? with words and peaceful protests? But then I started to really think about it some more.  I put myself into their shoes. I thought about how their government has all but ignored the poor and undeserved in London, except to view them as criminals.  And I thought about how when you’ve reached a point of such dehumanization in the eyes of your government, peaceful protest will be all but ignored. The government doesn’t think about these people when they’re making laws, so why would they come to mind in the midst of a peaceful and positive protest?  The British government has brought this upon themselves, and now they are reaping what they sew.  But, what will the rioters get?  In all honesty? Probably nothing.  They’ll be viewed even more as criminals (which, for some is rightly so - looting doesn’t help your cause even in the slightest).  The police will crack down even more. Lives will be disrupted and the poor and down and out still will be denied the rights of the rich and prominent.

And yet, I can’t help but sit here and think that American needs a little bit of that indignation the London rioters are showing.  We need to have the fire under our asses lit.  We need to allow ourselves to throw caution into the wind and fight back.  As I sit here, I have exactly -$8 in my bank account, and I owe about $65k in student loans, which, considering I have a master’s degree, isn’t that bad in the long run.  I have a decent job, I live in a good apartment, and I have health insurance. I honestly, other than my money woes, have nothing to complain about.  I have a great boyfriend, I have amazing friends, and my family is some of the most supportive people I’ve ever met. And yet, I am so frustrated and angry and disillusioned.  I can only imagine how people who are less fortunate than me are feeling at this moment.  In a country where being poor has been criminalized and where the richest American’s have been saved from tax increases, but the graduate students are being forced to pay back the interest of their federal loans while working on being educated; in a country where balancing the budget means breaking the backs of the lower and middle classes; in a country where no one in the government will bother to actually fight for those of us who need fighting for, how, and why, are we just sitting back and waiting to see what is going to happen? 

I know what is going to happen. Things are going to get worse. Much much worse. Our country has lost it’s way from the vision of our Founding Fathers, who’s words, dreams, ideas and images are being corrupted by the faithfully blind and the politically bizarre. And what’s worse is that we are letting it happen. Our government is corrupt, and we have no choice in the matter.  We can’t vote out those we don’t agree with, because to do so, we would have to find someone who hasn’t been lobbied by big business and who hasn’t relied on money from specialized donors.  We’d have to find someone who actually cares and understands the rest of America who aren’t in the upper 1%.  Voting used to be how we showed our disapproval, our anger.  Voting used to be how we told people what we wanted, what we liked, and what we were willing to put up with.  Voting now seems like an empty act that we pathetically participate in every year or so in a vain hope that maybe this time there really will be hope and change.  We tell our young and our new citizens that in America you can decide who represents you in your government - you have a real say!  But that is the biggest lie we’ve been feeding ourselves for far too long. 

Peaceful protest, while a lovely idea, will get us no where but to the streets of Washington DC, which, for some of us, is a bus ticket we can’t even afford.  Walking on the streets of DC means nothing to anyone - it doesn’t cause anyone hardships (other than those of us paying to get down there and those who might be late for work due to shut down streets).  Peaceful protest doesn’t make anyone go “Hey, you know, those kids are right, this is stupid, we should change what we’re doing!” Why would they?  It’s not like they’re being actually affected by protestors.  I’m not making a call for violence as is seen in London today, rather, I’m making a call for the types of protests we saw back during the years of Vietnam.  Where are our building occupations? Why aren’t we shutting down the government? Why aren’t we boycotting? Why aren’t we fighting?  Why have we given up on our right to actually mean something? 

I, for one, am done with this government. I am done with being treated as a cash cow, yet refused the ability to actually make money.  I refuse to be sad, and angry, and fearful any more. I refuse to allow some millionaire from Ohio, who is getting paid regardless of what happens, tell me that I am less important than big businesses.  I refuse to be dehumanized any more than I already have been.  I refuse to watch my fellow American’s be dehumanized to a point of no return. It is time to stand up. It is time to say no. And it is time to really make sure we’re getting our voices heard.