Many of us have been criticised here and abroad – for not “shutting down” the country, filling the streets and carrying signs since GST was forced on us, and now, as casino plans gamble our future.
Silence vs. Silent Protests
The phrase “Silence gives consent” has been attributed to the Greek philosopher, Plato, who asserted that “failing to speak out against injustice is tantamount to condoning it.”1 That is, a moral obligation to challenge injustices and other violations of shared societal values.
However, “silent protests” have historic roots and have been increasingly employed amid authoritarian trends eroding democratic norms. They do not imply consent by any means. They include “organized effort[s] where the participants stay quiet to demonstrate disapproval… such as not showing support to a certain product, attending mass parade[s], having symbolism, and educating and encouraging other people to join the protest.”2
…and Petitions as Silent Protests
Arguably, signing a petition is also a “silent protest” whereby one “shows up” in the petition, much as people physically participate in peaceful marches, boycotts, and using gestures and symbols. Harvard Magazine described petitions as, “an expeditious democratic tradition… [to] bring issues directly to governments…and demand a response from the powerful – affirmative or not…”3
However, the author also noted, “’…petitioning becomes weak when the populace feels that their political representatives will no longer be responsive’.”3
Unspoken Petitions Giving Voice to Pleas…
The right to petition in England was “recognized indirectly as early as the Magna Carta (1215) and reaffirmed in the Bill of Rights of 1689”; and it was ensconced in the US Constitution in 1789.4 Thereafter, “more than 537,000 congressional petitions [were presented] from 1789 to 1949” in the US; however, “petitioning in the South…declined steeply… before the Civil War and again during the Jim Crow era from the late 1870s to 1965.” 3 Perhaps due to perceived responsiveness, or lack thereof, as above.
…and Silent Protests When No One Is Listening
A lack of responsiveness undoubtedly led Mohandas (aka Mahatma) Gandhi to advance an alternative approach for expressing grievances in 1906. While known for peaceful protests in India, he is credited with leading the first silent protests from “the South African movement for Indian privileges” while living there, before returning to India.5
In the US, absolute silence made another historic statement about a decade later when some “10,000 citizens, organized by religious groups and the NAACP [silently] marched down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan to protest racial violence and discrimination” in July 1917.6
Shouting in Silence with Symbols and Signals
As civil rights movements advanced into the 1960s, “tens of thousands of students staged a silent march…for greater democracy in Mexico” while symbolically “exposing the illegitimacy of the regime” by carrying national flags in 1968.6
That same year, Tommie Smith and John Carlos silently “raised a clenched gloved fist in a call for global human rights” during the Summer Olympics awards in Mexico City.6 About 50 years later, Colin Kaepernick inspired many silent protests by refusing to “show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color” in 2016 by sitting, and later kneeling, during the national anthem. However, it took the protests following George Floyd’s murder to move the NFL commissioner to apologise to Kaepernick four years later. 7
Recent silent protests have also included hundreds of thousands of Iranians in 2009; Saudis in “solidarity” with dissenters held without trial in 2011; yellow umbrellas in 2014 – and 2,000 lawyers wearing black in Hong Kong in 2019; and millions carrying “solidarity” flags in Poland back in the 1970s, although, not always in silence.5,6
Paper Protests and Paper Petitions
After using the Covid epidemic “to strengthen social control and maintain domination” as reported from a Chinese government website6 – a University of Hong Kong student began a “blank paper demonstration” on November 28, 2022, identifying with lockdown protestors in mainland China. In 2020, blank paper was also used to silently oppose a “security” law, whereby a man was “sentenced to nine years” for holding a flag of a banned liberation slogan. And, while perhaps not jailed, Russians protesting the Ukraine invasion were “roughly removed from the streets after holding up blank pieces of paper” to mock the law forbidding the word “war” to describe it.6
In fact, “When a protester joins a crowd and says nothing, they deny the state the tools to suppress. A silent citizen’s words cannot be taken away or used against them.”6 As silent protests evolve, the presence of nameless people holding pieces of paper – and people making their presence known by putting their names on them bear striking similarities.
Petitions and Silent Protests in Anguilla
Prior to the undemocratic GST vote – and immediately after, two petitions circulated here: first, imploring government to cut spending 10% or adopt alternatives to extracting $22 Million more from the People every year – and then, asking the Governor not to sign it, only to learn a 7-day review period was ignored. Everyone remembers “the letter” going into the “jacket pocket” after the march8 when imposed – despite having exceeded their GST goal with existing taxes, before they forced the rest of us to cut 13%, while pushing people into poverty.
And now, casinos are raising the stakes. Another “silent protest” petition has been circulated. If GST past is prologue, the assertion that a tenfold majority of Anguillians want casinos, speaks volumes. Such responsiveness, or lack thereof, poses long odds of reversal, whether hundreds or thousands of names are added.
Still, there is a difference between silence as consent and silent protest. No matter the outcome, adding one’s name is a silent protest. This reflection teaches us, “Protests are usually thought of as big, noisy, sometimes raucous affairs, where agitated participants clamor for change with catchy chants and splashy banners. But silence can be an equally effective tool for sparking change.”6
Notably, a commitment to impose GST ousted our previous leadership. Might another bet on GST double down with gambling to “spark change” at our next silent protest? That is, our next election.
Ask your Minister for a motion to repeal GST – and to vote No on gambling!
This article reflects cultural and economic issues raised on July 5, 2021, at the House Select Committee on GST Public Hearing. 1 https://www.allriot.com/blog/heres-what-plato-meant-by-silence-gives-consent; 2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_protest; 3https://www.harvardmagazine. com/ 2021/05/right-now-power-petitions?page=all; 4https://www.britannica.com/print/ article/454043; 5 https://www.nspirement.com/2023/02/08/ the-silent-protest.html; 6 https:// www.smithsonianmag. com/history/a-brief-history-of-silent-protests-180981262/; 7https://www. britannica.com/print/ article/2179931; 8https://theanguillian.com /2022/07/gst-protest-march-to-premiers-office/
