How citizens go about protests can tell you a lot about their country. In an exhibit called Activism: Forces for Change in Canberra at the Canberra Museum + Gallery, I saw this:
It’s a float called Stop Arms for Export. Handmade from oil drums and metal swimming pool walls re-purposed from a dump, the float is 7 meters long (about 23 feet). It was used to protest defense companies coming to Canberra to show off their wares to the Australian Government in the Australian International Defence Exhibitions (AIDEX) of 1989 and 1991.
The 1991 exhibition drew around 2,000 protesters, leading to more than 200 arrests. As part of these protests, nine naked men hid inside the arm of the float. The plan was to rush the exhibition center’s main gate, and then the men (calling themselves Penises for Peace) would jump out inside the exhibition.
The police foiled their plan, diverting the float and then overturning it. The men spilled out and were promptly arrested.
The protests, however, were effective. Because of the disruption and bad publicity, local and state authorities refused to allow a massive arms exhibition in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) ever again.
What did I learn about Australia from this local version of the Trojan horse? Its people will band together with their mates and find the quirky even in something they believe in passionately.
The 1991 exhibition drew around 2,000 protesters, leading to more than 200 arrests. As part of these protests, nine naked men hid inside the arm of the float. The plan was to rush the exhibition center’s main gate, and then the men (calling themselves Penises for Peace) would jump out inside the exhibition.
The police foiled their plan, diverting the float and then overturning it. The men spilled out and were promptly arrested.
The protests, however, were effective. Because of the disruption and bad publicity, local and state authorities refused to allow a massive arms exhibition in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) ever again.
What did I learn about Australia from this local version of the Trojan horse? Its people will band together with their mates and find the quirky even in something they believe in passionately.
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