Give Our Young People Credit

No one should be throwing stones at the police, or the police quarters. No one should be breaking windows, setting things on fire and defacing the national flag and insignia.  It is wrong to prevent travellers from taking the airplane.  The young “forceful” protesters made many mistakes while protesting against the wrong doings of the government.

On the other hand, many people argue that the young protesters are being directed and manipulated by foreign countries, pointing to how well organised, and how well equipped they are.  They seem to think these are children who cannot think for themselves.  

The reality is that the equipment of the protesters are nowhere near the level of the robotcop-like gear of the police.  And there is plenty of evidence that much of the protesters’ gear were purchased by themselves or donated by well-learning local people, many of them adults.  

There is also no apparent systematic hierarchy among the protesters. They often argue among themselves what to do: to block or not to block the travellers,  where to strike, to break windows or not to break windows, …, etc.  Yet they have learned to develop fluid strategies just like the way that Lao Tsz described water in Dao De Jing.  In the beginning they confronted the police at announced specific sites, with many casualties and many arrested.  They then developed a strategy to strike and withdraw swiftly, disrupting while reducing casualties and arrests.  

Many of them seem to realise that their problem is with the government, hence they  should target the government, but should avoid hurting the citizens and travellers.  It is far from a consensus. But there is evidence that the majority believe in it.  The challenge is to convince the minority to also adopt the moral high ground, instead of stooping to the violent tactics of their opponents. 

What is most admirable is that they can reflect on their actions, and have the courage to admit their mistakes.  Some have openly apologised for the disruption upon the travellers.  I hope they can build on this valuable capacity of self-improvement.  

These young people are idealistic, impulsive and made many mistakes. However, their ability to learn and be self-critical, the courage to admit mistakes, and the faith in justice  and democracy are not qualities that we can used to describe our government, and many in the establishment.