THE YOUTH WILL NOT BE SILENCED

As the rest of the world watches the unrest going on in the United States of America, one does begin to wonder—will these protests finally precipitate change this time? We've seen the youth revolt before, we've seen the uproar in our own streets demanding change, demanding safety. But with most riots and protests, the young are branded reckless, lawless, immature and sometimes just too young to know much about actual politics.

But, are youth uprisings really that pointless?

When the youth raise their voices against matters of the state, their collective angst and passion make it increasingly difficult to tone down the very legitimate problems they bring to light. As people watch their children struggle and fight for justice, the state is pushed to take action—any action. And oftentimes, it results in objectively mediocre consolations to pacify the public. Take, for example, the road safety laws. A year has passed but the due implementation is yet to be seen.

Youth uprisings are portrayed to be violent, deemed unnecessary and pointless, and attempted to be silenced. This silencing is often achieved through the use of brutal force and elevated violence—images of rubber bullets and tear gas from the USA reaching us through social media only go on to show the stark reality of what the reaction to the "voices of the future" is all across the world.

Throughout history, change has been made by students that risked all they had to give. Young people are instrumental in civil rights and safety movements, as evident from our very own Language Movement and Liberation War to Tiananmen Square and the Civil Rights Movement, young protestors amass to fight for their futures.

To some, protests are inconvenient. However, Martin Luther King Jr. remarked, "A riot is the voice of the unheard." Women vote freely now but the suffragettes were ridiculed for even suggesting that voting must be equal; an independent nation is something we take for granted today but our ancestors had to fight a war to achieve it. Youth uprisings happen for legitimate reasons and until the change they crave truly arrives, they will continue to sprout.

Discouraging this generation's need for change discourages their concerns and hopes for the future. The protests have broken out all over because the younger generation believe things can change. Amidst a worldwide pandemic, protestors are willing to risk their health to have their voices heard. If they can mobilise themselves with such urgency, why do the adults continue to undermine and silence youth uprisings?