Document the silence, comrades.

Recent events in the United States have moved me from idleness to action. From apathy to sympathy. From darkness to clarity, and the tranquility snoozing within.

While narcissism is not new for me, in the last year it has grown tenfold and gone virtually unnoticed, received little to no media coverage, and a limited community response.

Thus, I am asking each of you to wear a white armband with my name in big, bold letters this Sunday to help me cope with my severe narcissism. I don’t know if anything will change, but I do know this: I will definitely be wearing one.

Remember: If we speak, I will no longer be invisible.

After all, nothing alleviates the plight of a disenfranchised group quite like a fashion accessory.

Arrogant, elitist know-it-alls spend a good degree of time pretending to care about problems that in no way affect them. Why do they do it? Surely it can’t be to effect change — standing in a circle and holding signs accomplishes nothing. Same with fashion accessories, be it shirts, ribbons and armbands — black for Jena 6 and red for battered minority women.

It makes them happy. It’s a self-esteem boost. They dwell under the delusion that by doing nothing they accomplish something, that they take another step toward perfection, which is preposterous to even consider in an inherently imperfect world, and that they — and they alone — are the architects of the coming age of Aquarius. Protests, marches, armbands, ribbons and so on share a common goal for these people: glory.

They take it. All the glory they can get their hands on.

To this end, they exploit various tools, wounded minorities being one of their favorites. On Oct. 31, people wore red armbands and red shirts to document the silence on battered minority women. How about battered women in general? Many of these same women participated in “Take Back the Night.”

Isn’t it interesting how these same people participate in “Take Back the Night,” an event that focuses on all women, and then participate in events like these which diminish the overall suffering to appease the selfish desires of a select margin? Part of their scheme is to claim there is a “silence,” or some type of oppressive, nearly invincible force working against them to convince people that it is a worthy cause. There is no “silence” on battered minority women, just as there is no “silence” on battered women in general.

There is a tolerance, tolerance from a society that breeds abusers and tolerance from the women themselves — women who not only enter into these types of relationships despite clear signs beforehand that their husband-to-be isn’t too tightly wrapped, but after the first punch, continue to stay with their husbands, some even going as far as defending them.

Activist groups promote individuality while enforcing conformity.

It’s the place where individuality goes to die. You cannot join one of these groups and retain your individuality, for at some point you will have a choice to make: sacrifice your individuality for the good of the group or be true to yourself and incur the drones’ wrath.

Because everyone fits into one category or another. People slap labels on each other all the time and form behavioral expectations based on those labels. Violating these expectations via usage of your brain (a lost art) provokes confusion, desperation and often rage.

“Liberal” and “conservative” are the two biggest labels. The media is too liberal. No, it’s too conservative. You can’t stand the liberal hippies, or you can’t stand the conservative fascists. No need to actually talk to people; simply figure out which label applies and form your judgment from there.

No person completely fits under either category, yet that is exactly what the media promotes on a daily basis. It presents the world as a shattered domain of strife, and pundits pretend to subscribe to either a liberal or conservative viewpoint and portray the opposing side as evil, which in turn gives viewers the idea that they cannot trust each other. They can’t.

Put your faith in your rulers. Trust them.

Everything is under control.

Protest and march all you want. Wear as many fashion accessories as you want. Join your various groups and make a comfortable bed in your fantasy world. The government has done what they want, does what they want and will continue to do what they want. You do not participate.

You simply watch.

Have fun.

— Travis Lee is a senior in French. He can be reached at [email protected]