Drifting through Cityscapes Drifting through Cityscapes MTL final copy | Page 82

REVOLUTION TODAY?
With the events of '68 in mind, we wondered what
happened to the revolutionary spirit that marked
those years so memorably? Are there any revolutions
today? Where are those massive protests, where are
those people that are willing to stand fearlessly in
front of tanks, people willing to burn themselves alive
for ideals? One would expect that today, with all the
connectivity that would enable instant mobilization
of masses towards causes they stand for, the system
would be under constant threat of being overturned,
much more so than half a century ago.
But the system has reinvented itself in a profound
way that ensures its continuity. The would-be revolu-
tionaries have been given sandboxes to play in by
the very system itself. They play change, narcissisti-
cally demonstrating their latest actions against the
system in a form of so called "interventions in public
space", "city mappings", "diversions", »activisms« and
such. Their game is safely sandboxed in their own lit-
tle playgrounds. The system even funds them and
praises them, catering to their ego. The revolutionist
spirit today is reduced down to the level of a lifestyle
or a hobby. Some of us are fond of hiking, some are
into adventure sports, and some are revolutionaries.
Thus in our own city mapping, as representatives of
so called "artists", we went on to establish a symbol of
our own irrelevance today, as well as the symbol of
system's victory over any attempt to change it: the
pacifier. The system has given people enough to
keep them content and quiet like children sucking
on fake nipple. And as long as the superficial idea of
democracy (the one that equates democracy with
the rule of majority) holds supreme to both the sys-
tem and would-be revolutionaries, we have nothing
to complain about, as masses are pacified and un-
motivated to change anything.