There's a misconception behind Activism that suggests anyone who's an Activist is a Modern Day Anarchist. This is untrue!
- Definition of Activist;
An activist is a person who campaigns for some kind of social change.
Almost 4 years ago I was forced into poverty and became homeless. Fortunately, I met a very good friend of mine who helped me get back on my feet and taught me many life lessons in a short space of time. One of these life lessons was Activism.
I was offered a space to place my belongings, inside my friend Jayson's Garage where I'd reside for the next 10 months. I agreed to pay him whatever money I had to my name to cover rent and food. This was back in my homeland, Tauranga, New Zealand.
(home sweet home)
Every day with Jayson was a lesson.
Every day, a man who had his own family and children to care for, juggled his life in order to keep up with Political protests.
I would find myself being awoken at 6am in order to prepare for a full day of travelling. We always had a strict time schedule in place in order to make it to each picket line and important protest that involved workers or civil rights around the country. Some days we'd drive over 10 hours (That may seem minuscule to those from a big country, but in New Zealand, that's basically crossing one third of the country daily).
This devotion to helping change was a lesson in itself.
Here's me dressed up to fight the power
(freedom fighter)
One of the coolest cats I met on my journey was an outspoken Politician. I know what you're thinking hearing that, "fuck Politicians!" This guy however only became a Politician so he could say "fuck you" face-to-face with Politicians. Don't tell him I told you that.
Sitting in the office of a legit PM was a highlight of my Political Activism in New Zealand. The view from his office in Wellington was insane. This was the same day as the Asset Sales Protest in Wellington(2012).
(PM Hone Harawira)
Soon, I found myself knowing far more than I ever knew about Politics. At every protest I found myself interacting with all sorts of people. My personal favorite interaction was when other Seasoned Activists would ask why I covered my face, because I never really had an answer. I found it fun. Jayson never seemed to mind. He let me learn for myself when I was being dumb.
Here's a photo of the 2012 Asset Sale Hikoi. I've highlighted myself holding Jayson's Tiro Rangitiratanga (Absolute Sovereignty)Flag and a Unite Union Flag provided by another legendary New Zealand/Irish Activist, Joe Carolan.
(Here we are protesting Asset Sales in Wellington, 2012. There I am, like Where's Wally)
I met Joe Carolan, a Political Activist legend through Jayson. Joe works for Unite Union. Joe let us hang out in his Unite Union headquarters after an Auckland Asset Sale Protest. This workplace was entirely devoted to the People. Every wall was plastered in quotes and symbolism to live by. I felt privileged to even be in Joe's presence at this moment. I have never met a more genuine bloke in my life.
Still to this day I follow Joe's Facebook posts daily and his continuous fight for the working class of New Zealand and the world. A huge battle for a single man to take on alone. (I'm currently trying to sign him up to Steemit at the moment but he's always too damn busy!)
(Joe Carolan doing his thing)
In the 10 months I spent following Jayson, fighting the power everyday, I learned more about the Political spectrum and the true scope of the world than I had ever learned from following mainstream news. I became in-touch with the people. People that had been fighting for my rights since before I was even a scratch in my daddy's pants. A true learning curve.
I wish that I could've stayed with Jayson and continued my newly found passion for Activism but unfortunately I felt like a burden on him financially. I couldn't pay my way to Jayson, and with his own family to support, I rung my mother and asked for a flight back to Australia to start again there.
(The Jedi aka Jayson Gardiner)
I owe all of my positive growth in the last 5 years to that man. And I will be forever grateful that he introduce me to what true Political ground work looks like for the 99%. No matter what they show you in the media, it's 100x more intense on the ground.
Although my Political Activism has since been based online, I have vowed that I will always be there on the street for the revolutionary issues that are being protested. Unfortunately in Australia, no one seems to give a shit about what their Government is doing. There's never any protests here worth getting behind. Recently there's been a lot of Racial protests which have been fueled by hatred. A hatred created by the media to divide us.
Anyway. I wanted to show you all how the life of a Political Activist or Protester really looks like, rather than the dumb ass mainstream media views they try to convey with every protester being a vandal. Some of us (me) may dress like Vandals, but that doesn't mean we're doing bad shit. We're usually standing up so that you don't have too!
If there's something worth fighting for in your community, fight for it!
This has been another public service announcement from your friendly neighborhood Sensei