Protesting

The photograph used for the photo analysis.

What I See

 By Keith Caudle-Fairfield.  The photograph is made up of two separate pictures that are divided by the headlines. At the top of the photo there is a very large crowd in Egypt. The people in the crowd are filling up the picture. The headline reads “Protesting in Egypt,” which makes you think that every person on this side of the issue is out in the street fighting for their rights. In the bottom of the photo we see people who appear to be teenagers or children. Two of the children are on their phones, two of them are watching television, and the other two are on their laptops. The headline reads “Protesting in USA,” this makes me think of how the younger generation, and sometimes how our country is perceived. Protesting in Egypt symbolizes unity, passion, and hope, but protesting in America symbolizes laziness, the feeling of complacency, and the new generation. Without the headlines in the photo the symbolism would be the same, there would just be a discrepancy in where the photos were taken or who they are portraying. The strongest symbolism in protesting in Egypt is unity, which was the first word that came to mind. Through this depiction of Egypt you can feel the sense of unity through the amount of people you see in the photo coming together for one common goal. When looking at the way Americans protest the first thing that came to mind was complacent. The word complacent is used often to describe the current generation in America, partly due to the advancement of technology that is shown in this photograph.

America vs. Egypt

            This photo is interesting because of the difference in how America deals with issues opposed to how things are dealt with in Egypt. When things happen in Egypt they take to the streets quickly in protest to fight for the things that a majority of the country might oppose. Here in America when something of monumental impact happens we rarely protest. The last large protest that was all inclusive in America was Occupy Wall Street, but during the government shutdown the streets were empty. We as Americans seem to take to social media with our issues and concerns, and we post petitions online to be signed in order to start conversations about new laws. Americans no longer pound the pavement as often as other countries to allow our voices to be heard on issues that affect us as a whole. The way that Egypt is protesting in the photo reminds me of how African Americans protested during the Civil Rights Movement. I think that as a people we have almost completely lost that sense of unity for causes close to us. It is important to note that African Americans came together during the Trayvon Martin case, because that could have happened to any of us. My grandparents always fear that we as a generation are slowly finding major issues in America less important, especially when matters of race are involved. In Egypt when the country resists how the president/prime minister handles the country they take it to the streets to overthrow him. We Americans so often stay silent when certain groups in government cause the government to shutdown, because the legislative branch cannot agree on a budget to keep our country moving financially.  

It Only Takes One…

            Hopefully in the future Americans will take to the streets to stand up for what they believe in. In America we get so used to someone else handling our problems for us, but in countries like Egypt you cannot always count on the government to work everything out for you in the proper manner. It only takes one passionate person to stand up for something and others will naturally follow.