How People Can Navigate Through Social Injustice

People across the world are speaking up in response to the murder of George Floyd and the continuing issue of unequal justice in the United States, standing for a real change.

As we progress, we have to understand that the problems are not always the same, and it is up to new generation activists and leaders to come up with adaptive solutions that are fit to solve these issues. However, there are lessons that we can learn from history that are worth considering. Credits: Barack Obama; Khor Jing Ying

Nonviolent resistance are powerful (and they save the innocent)

“Nonviolence is an intensely active force when properly understood and used.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Protests are great way to provide voices for the unheard, especially when they are able to get attention from the media. It represents real frustrations - usually over policies or practices. In the case of United States, it is the lack of reform on police practices as well as the criminal justice system.

Peaceful protestors are inspiring - they deserve our respect and support. However, there are several protestors who resort to violence - maybe it is out of genuine anger or just bare opportunism, who are placing innocent lives at risk regardless of their intentions. In 2016, when the taxi drivers in Jakarta blocked the city's main thoroughfares to protest against ride-hailing app services such as Uber, 10 million people suffered the massive congestion. Similarly, in the case of United States, a small percentage of protestors who resorted to violence are making the innocent lives harder by damaging neighbourhoods that are already short on services. Based on past experiences, these businesses may take years to recover.

As protesters engage in violence, they lose sight of the fact that they are working against their main cause and interests. While it is an understandable response to state repression, violence is not an excuse, or something that can be rationalized. The purpose of protesting is to raise public awareness and to put a spotlight on the point of injustice so that elected representatives can take the necessary actions to remedy the issue.

Understand that local elections matter

When it comes to politics, majority of us focus on the leader and the federal government - and pay little attention to local officials that have the authority to solve many of our problems. It is for the president and federal government to recognise the ongoing issues and to take action, but there is no level of government that is directly responsible for serving the community than the locally elected officials. In the case of United States, local governments are responsible for holding the police accountable.

Unfortunately, the voter turnout in these local elections are very low, especially among young people - which should be addressed and worked upon because these offices have direct impact on social justice issues.

Real change is politics + protests

"The ballot is stronger than the bullet." - Abraham Lincoln

With many social injustice that are happening across the world, protesting seems like a better option, faster and more effective than casting votes and relying on political reforms that may take months and years to take place. However, protests alone are not enough, policies and protests need to work together to ensure that the cause we are standing for becomes a reality.

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. - Barack Obama

People are the real change makers, and protests and dialogues are great way to mobilize the larger community to work towards common goals that eventually solve major problems involving our community. As more people become aware and concerned of an ongoing injustice, it develops a culture with greater understanding and results with more reform efforts.

As mentioned earlier, we have to mobilize proper protests to raise awareness among the people - and we have to organize and cast our ballots to make sure that we elect candidates who will act on things that matter to us.

Tailor action plans according to the community

Building a reform agenda involves the process of identifying the issue, locating key points for change, mobilizing different organizations to join in a collective action program, generating policy recommendations that is later used for advocacy campaigns as well as for political leaders who can act upon the reform agenda.

Hence why the content of reform agendas are different for various communities - similar issues in different communities require different approaches to solve them. Town A requires one set of agenda, whereas Town B may require another (the 'one size fits all' approach may not be the best with regards to political policies and agendas). As reforms are tailored based on the communities they are made for, it will require various players and stakeholders, including local activists and organisations to conduct researches on which agenda works best in order to achieve real change.

Hope these lessons help you to navigate through social injustice within your community!