Time for Action!
The past few weeks, I have watched in horror as prejudice and hate have risen like a geyser in the peaceful world I love. I’ve seen bans in my neighbouring country on a people simply for their religion and race, women’s rights and health care threatened to be abolished, the LGBTQ community terrified of being “more” persecuted than they already are, science suppressed and censored, land, water and wildlife imperiled by the greed of corporations, and temper tantrums that ripple through foreign relations and put global peace on a tenuous thread. Last week, I mentioned that this would lead to atrocities, never thinking the first one would be in my own diverse and usually content country.
I’ve written about these things. I’ve extracted information about World War II from my own parents, who were rather reluctant to talk about it because it is such a painful topic. They lived as children in The Netherlands, a country that watched the same rise of hate in its neighbour, encouraged by a dictator, and bolstered by propaganda. It also infected nearby countries to a certain extent. My own books often warn about this tribal instinct to distrust and fear people we don’t understand. But to see this disease start again, with my own eyes? It’s left me speechless, and incapable of writing.
But no longer. As women are fighting back, as courageous young people are fighting back—Teen Vogue, I love you!— as scientists are fighting back, so too should I. So should everyone with a heart and conscience. My daughter and I thought of all the fictional stories that uncannily resemble the real world today—no longer fantasy and science fiction. She drafted a resistance banner with seven symbols. I’ll briefly explain each one.
In the center is Rogue One, the latest Star Wars episode. In Stars Wars, as most of you should know, an evil empire based on the dark side of the Force—a life force that permeates every creature—has arisen and taken over a galaxy far far away. A resistance movement called the Rebel Alliance has chosen to oppose the Empire, which is strong and brutal, but it is still reluctant to make a stand. In Rogue One, Jyn, the daughter of a scientist coerced to work for the empire, and a small group of companions, risk their own lives to fight against this evil. Their effort encourages others to stand up to the bullies.
To the immediate left is the raised fist. This is a symbol of defiance and resistance that dates back to ancient Assyria.
On the left side we have the symbol for Dumbledore’s Army. I’m sure most of you are familiar with the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. But in case you’re not, here’s a summary. Dumbledore is the headmaster of a school for witchcraft and wizardry. Some wizards and witches come from wizarding families and some do not, and those who don’t are labelled Mudbloods by prejudiced people. There is a danger of this prejudice and hatred spreading, but most families are complacent and don’t take it to task. They think there is no chance of the Dark Lord, Voldemort—an evil leader who thrives on hate and murder— returning from the dead and seizing power again. But he does—in a different form, at first—while his loyal followers gain positions of power within the school and in the Ministry of Magic, exacting increasingly brutal laws and subjugating the people. But those who believe in goodness, kindness, and the acceptance of every person follow Dumbledore’s wisdom and eventually fight back as his army. They are The Resistance.
Below Dumbledore’s Army is the symbol for Overwatch, a video game whose story also led to a resistance movement. It begins thirty years after the Omnic Crisis, when humans developed artificial intelligence called Omnics. These robots eventually became hostile to humans until the United Nations formed an international task force called Overwatch. It quelled the robotic uprising, but was later disbanded. In the wake of the Omnic crisis, omnics are feared and hated despite the fact that they too are sentient beings with thoughts, feelings and personalities of their own. Preying upon this general mistrust and fear, a terrorist group by the name of Talon seems hell bent on starting a new war, a new Omnic Crisis. Overwatch must band together once again to combat this new threat and attempt to preserve peace for both humans and omnics.
On the right side, beside the Rogue One symbol, we have a leaf veined with silver that denotes The Fellowship of the Ring from the classic tale, The Lord of the Rings. This brooch was fastened to the Elven cloaks that Galadriel, a powerful elf, gave to a small group of very diverse people—elves, hobbits, dwarves, mankind and a wizard—whose mission it was to save the Earth (or Middle Earth). A powerful dark lord called Sauron had returned and was hell bent on destroying the environment and the people in it. He mutated followers (orcs and goblins) and instructed them to destroy everything that was good in the land. But a small group of resisters banded together. Sauron's evil and hate permeated the ring, and Frodo, the bearer, was almost seduced by it. The small band eventually gathered armies to fight the darkness of Sauron.
To the far right sits the Assassin’s Creed symbol. Assassin’s creed is a video game series that tells the story of a centuries-old struggle between the Assassins who fight for peace and free will, and the Templars, who want peace through control. The main character is Desmond Miles, a bartender who is a descendent of the Assassins. He is kidnapped by a megacorporation whose real identity is the Knights Templar. They are seeking to discover several artifacts of great power (buried in Desmond’s memories), so they can control mankind, bringing humanity into one single unified group. Eventually Desmond dies to keep these artifacts a secret and ensure the Earth’s survival. And the Assassins continue to fight the Templars.
On the bottom right is the Mockingjay symbol. This comes from the series The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, one of my favourites. In this dystopian story, the rich and powerful have taken over the world and there are districts or communities of slaves, that must sacrifice a child each year to participate in the games—a fight to the death—just to entertain the elite who live in the Capitol. It is a story of greed and brutality, and at the head of the elite is a man who will do anything to keep the poor subjugated. But Katniss Everdeen begins to defy the order by volunteering to participate in the games to save her sister. She forms alliances within the games, and when one of her friends is killed she performs another act of defiance by devising a memorial for her. In the end of the first book she changes the rules of the game by refusing to kill the other survivor. The Mockingjay was her tribute token and it became of symbol of resistance to this horrible regime.
So there you have it. This is the first of our small effort to resist the tyrannical regime that has sprung up in the country of our friends and neighbours. Symbolism is important. Our fictional tales have warned again and again of the dangers of prejudice, greed and too much power. History has spoken to us, from the graves of Holocaust victims, but we still didn’t listen. As artists, we will no longer warn, but will actively protest. We will resist; we will fight injustice; we will support and protect the people who need us.
We are The Resistance.
