Hannah Cann tells us why she loves political correctness.
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Three of The Yorker's blogs team have had a hard think about what general rules they live their lives by and written them down in the form of their own Personal Philosophies.
My other fluorescent fashion experience however was a much more somber and emotional affair. Over the last few weeks Amnesty International has been holding their annual conferences around the country and I traveled up to Newcastle with some friends to attend a day’s introduction to Terrorism, Security and Human Rights. After a shot of caffeine, a too-early-for-one-member-of-the-party 7:30am train and some Weekend Guardian based banter during transit, we arrived ready to engage with challenging opinions and emotive subject matter.
Torture. We all have an idea of what it means but up until recently society has seemed reluctant to fully engage with, either through support or criticism, what is a polarized and terribly controversial topic. Two words can pretty much encapsulate the entire debate covering issues of illegitimate imprisonment, unlawful disappearances, inhumane holding and animalistic interrogation: Guantánamo Bay. Incidentally, this is where the orange came in, as we spent the afternoon participating in a costumed stunt dressed as prison inmates designed to raise awareness for the latest Amnesty campaign “Unsubscibe” which aims to close the camp.
In my humbly naïve view, I think it hypocrisy to violate the liberties of others, whose guilt is untried and undetermined, in the name of freedom for the majority. The current diplomatic situation regarding homeland security is supposedly a war of ideals. Let’s remember this cherished morality and implement it more effectively. The conflict comes of course because there is the wrong assumption that condemning cruelty to prisoners somehow perversely supports terrorism. But both torture and terrorism are violent acts targeting civilians, and neither have a placed in civilized society.
Without becoming weighed down in the arguments, the point I really want to raise is this. Political comment on the matter has become entrenched in popular culture over, literally, the last few days. Rendition, a Hollywood blockbuster starring Reese Witherspoon and Meryl Streep, was released last week and deals with the matter of unsanctioned deportation and torture. It is certainly worth a watch, though it is rather heavy and the strong acting is let down by a script that labours its point a tad too clumsily. What is interesting however is that criticism is channeled towards the Government throughout the narrative and grit is not altogether sacrificed for gloss. Hard hitting BBC drama Spooks also chose to feature scenes of torture and brutality this week in an attempt to shock its audience. Never afraid to hold to account the shady world of the establishment, the programme promoted a forum of accountability to question this injustice.
It is refreshing to see the media imbued with such a conscience. Now that it is not only human rights groups who are vocalizing vehemence against this shrouded world of oppression, I hope that the mainstreaming of this suffering will help to raise awareness and provoke a large, currently dormant and apathetic contingent of society, to get involved and prevent these abuses being committed in the name of their safety.
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