Can Patterns make Progress?
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown” — H.P. Lovecraft
This fear is a part of a pattern, and combined with anger yet hope this pattern, overall, lays out to be a necessity for change. In order to make a movement, people need to fear something to the point where anger takes over, and if there is hope for change then the movement can come alive. Social movements, more or less, come down to be emotional movements because it is these previously mentioned emotions that root social change. Today, in our vastly growing globe, people continuously crave change and movements are made to make these statements since, we’ve all been told, actions speak louder than words.
Just within China today, a change is desired. The Washington Post provides an article written by Simon Denyer, titled “Strikes and workers’ protests multiply in China, testing party authority” that explains a situation where anger has arrived and, with hope, is fighting for a change. In Guangzhou, China, manufacturing plants and stainless steel factories are laying off workers and reducing wages, and police had arrested those who have tried to defend workers’ rights in a peaceful manner (Denyer). Problems began when a Chinese state-owned company bought the factories (Denyer). The China Labour Bulletina recorded 2,774 strikes or protests in China within the last year- twice as many as in 2014 (Denyer). Most disputes were due to the drop in wage prices, which the overall economy was not helping with. This organization tries to go out on the media, but no one would cover them (Denyer). Now, it can be assumed that this is because, with the power of the media and its many viewers, once people see what is happening and an emotion is felt, they may get angry and get involved. These workers dream to be back together with their family once and for all, but, to them, that chance can never be certain.
However, that dream is what brought them together and keeps them fighting. With these workers’ fear in not knowing what their futures may hold for them and their families, so anger came out and is fighting with their hope for change. Overall, once the feeling for this situation was shared, fear had been overcome by identifying with others and this action brings together a community. A community in which agrees in anger, and acting on this anger shifts a community into excitement.
A community's call for change fights for large matters as they speak for a greater change in their environment, however this concern will always stem from a much smaller, personal matter. It is this smaller, personal matter that has the greatest impact. Within the article “Political Sociology for a Globalizing World” written by Michael Drake, the factors behind a social movement are stated as it says, “social movements are explicitly political, though they operate in areas of concern that are at least initially outside the agenda of formal politics”. It is the concern that emotionally connects with others, and fuels the fire of a social movement.
We are fortunate to have tools today that help us share these concerns in a much greater manner. Large sources of global communication, such as today’s internet, allow us to connect with others who are across the ocean. This creates an abundant amount of opportunities to speak out the many concerns people have with one another. Wanting to go on the media, the Chinese plan to connect with others and share their concerns, hoping others agree in this frustration and act on it. Throughout these many situations, the fear and anger, is real, but so is hope- a pattern can’t be doubted.
