I just discovered a website called Listserve that specializes in top ten lists. Most of them are pretty random, like “Top 10 Failed McDonald’s Products” or “Top 10 Fascinating Facts About Cheese.” But there are some serious ones too. The one that naturally caught my eye was titled “Top 10 Individual Protests.”
Given the recent success of Aminatou Haidar’s hunger strike, I thought this to be a wholly appropriate time to share the list and see what people think. Who else should have been on it? Once you get beyond some of the obvious names it gets tough.
In general, I think Listserve did a great job. I learned about two people I had never heard of before: Zackie Achmat, an HIV campaigner who refused to take antiretroviral drugs until all four million of his fellow South Africans had the same opportunity, and Vedran Smailovic, who played his cello in public during the midst of the seige on Sarajevo in 1992. Nor did I know about Louis Armstrong’s refusal to represent the US in Russia because of what happened in Little Rock.
I look forward to reading what other names folks come up with…
I just came across another name I’d never heard before who waged a great act of individual protest. His name is Alexander Grothendieck and he’s a German mathematician, who, according to Wikipedia, “gave lectures on category theory in the forests surrounding Hanoi while the city was being bombed, to protest against the Vietnam War.” Read more about him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Grothendieck
Cheers, great link. Was looking for a list of eye catching protests to inspire my RE class.
last but not least learned somewhere with some useful particulars. thanks alot and hold it coming 🙂