Fighting Injustice with Ceasar (No, Ceasar the Ape).
I am writing this small piece as a married man with 3 children under the age of 4; being that I have so many kids (It's amazing that 3 kids is a lot in 2011) it is difficult for my wife and me to make it to the movie theatre. Instead we wait patiently until the movie is released on DVD. At this point most of our friends have forgotten about the newly DVD'd movie and nobody wants to have a discussion about it anymore.
Recently the movie, Rise of The Planet of The Apes, was released on DVD. The more I reflect on the movie the more of an impact it makes on me, especially regarding injustice and the continuing fight to end all oppression.
There is one scene in the movie where the animal keeper is trying to wrangle the star ape, Ceasar, back into his cage. At this point Ceasar grabs the keeper who responds by yelling, "Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!" By the way, this quote was one of the famous ones from the original movie. Anyway, when he shouted this Ceasar straightened up, looked him straight in the eye and said,
NO!
At this point me and my wife were cheering as if it wasn't just a movie. Later on in the day I was thinking about this moment in the film. I began considering why that moment was so pivotal in the film. It seemed as if everything turned on this two-letter word, "NO!"
I came to the conclusion that the moment held so much weight because Ceasar did what nobody expected him to do; namely, he spoke! The animal keepers were fine with the apes beating on the cages, making all types of noise, fighting amongst each other, throwing fits, whatever. They didn't mind that type of resistance; in fact, one of the keepers seemed to encourage it. But when Ceasar spoke his word introduced an element that nobody was expecting; both the humans, and the apes became statues upon hearing the simple yet powerful statement, "No!"
Well I must apply this. It seems to me that we (society at large) have become monkeys in cages we call societies. Some are content to live the way society at-large dictates, others spot the problem and react as best as they can. But few are they who introduce the "No!" element. That element is the moment where we stop protesting the way they (whoever) deem proper (picketing, writing letters, signing petitions, forming tea parties and occupy movements) and begin going to the point of risk; or better yet, the point of being ostracized, and even beyond.
That's what Ceasar did, no? When he spoke he ran the risk of being viewed as a threat by humans and other apes alike. Those two letters, for Ceasar, became a point of no return. "Either obey and return to my cage to continue the pre-sanctioned form of resistance, or show them how serious I am about change."
We have seen glimpses of individuals or groups that displayed such gumption. Resisters who would march and boycott but then go beyond that, if necessary. I need only mention, MLK and the huge list of those who did so during the civil rights movement. But in this day and age it seems that there are no more Ceasar's. There are plenty of protestor's and folks that recognize the problem, but few that are so passionate about seeing change that they will risk their own identity.
Maybe I'm reading too much into the film, I do tend to do that. But it made a mark on me. I, too, am often part of the crowd who resists to a point. I pray that I develop the passion to speak, be silent, refuse, or whatever it takes, the next time I am faced with an injustice.
Gotta go now. Probably going to re-watch the movie.
By the way, I probably should have prefaced this with a SPOILER ALERT! But nobody reads this anyway.
In foolishness,
God's Court Jester
P.S. In my opinion violent resistance is not resistance at all, it's just a cleverly disguised form of revenge.