I work for an NGO that runs a program during detention sessions at high schools. During one of the recent sessions I ran, students were on detention for what they called, in Afrikaans, ‘massa bunk’. This is where a whole class will choose to stay away from class for a period. When I heard this my initial reaction (which I had to hide from the students!) was one of delight.
When I was at school, I remember trying to encourage my peers to join me in a mass-action bunk but their response was horror that I would think to defy the system and those in authority. I grew up in Apartheid South Africa where blind obedience to authority was the norm (this may be some of the context for Kevin’s recent blog post). It appalled me that so many people so easily bought into the system without questioning it and that my teachers at school had such absolute power. So the recent action on the part of these students seemed creative and courageous to me.
But on further thought I wonder if blind obedience to authority hasn’t been replaced by blind obedience to one’s peers. As we enter our postmodern period, there is an increasing mistrust of the system and of those in authority. This is clearly evident in the behavior of young people in the context of the school system. But it seems to me young people may have filled the gap of authority figures and rules with the authority of their peers and group-think.
I’m not one of those people that see any shift in society as negative. I know a lot of people bemoan the fact that young people don’t respect authority as in the good old days. I’m rather cynical of those days, as it went hand in hand with obeying unjust systems unquestioningly. The question, though, is how to handle this shift in who young people follow. I wouldn’t like to force young people today into strict authoritarian structures but it probably isn’t helpful for them to thoughtlessly follow their peers either. Mass-action bunk has something wonderfully passive-resistant about it (in the way of nonviolent resistance as practiced by Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jnr.) but somehow students need to learn how to use this tool constructively and in a way that benefits themselves and the world around them rather than merely kicking against the system for the sake of kicking. Any ideas how?
Monday, September 07, 2009
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2 comments:
When I was at primary school (Std 3 & 4, Grades 5 & 6) our whole school went on strike twice. We were inspired by newspaper reports of strikes by the Garment Workers Union, and other unions. I forget what the first one was about, but the second one was about a very authoritarian Afrikaans teacher, a Mrs Barr. When we returned the headmaster stood at the door of the biggest classroom and beat the entire school as we went into the classroom, where he made a sexist little speech saying that some women were funny and we needed to realise that. Even at the age of 10 or 11 I thought that was a bit off. We weren't striking against her sex, but against her authoritarianism.
But the peer group pressure is another thing. In my youth (older youth now -- 20-something) we rebelled against conformism and consumerism. We were scathing about advertising and brans and status symbols. "Cool" back then meant that you didn't buy that stuff, neither the brands nor the mindset that supported them. But it seems that the youth of today regard as "cool" someone who is a dedicated follower of fashion, and wears all the "in" brands. So "cool" today means exactly the opposite of what it did 40 years ago.
Thanks for sharing this, Steve. Its always interesting hearing about things from the past. I remember my elder brother also being part of a group at university that was strongly non-conformist and anti-system, defying Apartheid in what small ways they could. There seems to me something very healthy about young people that rebel in an attempt to challenge unjust systems. I feel that is lacking amongst young people today: being sold out to a cause bigger than themselves. There is a sort of passive cynicism but not this fighting to energy to bring change.
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