As annoying as this Guy Fawkes mask is, it’s become an international symbol linking protests around the world & we’re gonna be stuck with it for awhile. Chalk it up to cultural differences between youth & seniors. That goofy face does however become far less annoying if you see it as an expression of the contagious spirit of rebellion against injustice & tyranny.
Some associate it with anarchism as a political current but it’s actually much broader than that. It showed up in the Wisconsin labor protests a few years ago, in the Occupy movement, & in protests around the world including the Americas, India, Thailand, Turkey, Bahrain, & all over Europe. This masked fellow was part of a protest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Monday.
It was banned in the United Arab Emirates & last February was banned by the government of Bahrain. The Bahrain ministry which banned its import called it the “revolution mask.” That was taken as a recommendation & its use increased in protests following the ban. Oh the glorious defiance of youth!
(Photo by Felipe Dana/AP)
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