Best Of Edition: Russell: Fighting illusions of democracy: Young adults engage in social protest in lieu of voting

“If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain.” So goes the tired truism of the defensive voter. Then comes the “lesser of two evils” argument, followed swiftly by the diatribe about “civic duty.”

In late October, a heated debate between Russell Brand and Jeremy Paxman went viral. Brand  — known by most as a spandex-wearing British comedian and ex-husband of singer Katy Perry — proved, if nothing else, that he’s much smarter than he looks. And it all started with a question: “Is it true you don’t even vote?”

Paxman posed the question, which Brand then confirmed. “How do you have any authority to talk about politics, then?” Paxman asked. Suddenly growing very serious, Brand replied, “I don’t get my authority from this pre-existing paradigm, which is quite narrow and only serves a few people. I look elsewhere for alternatives that might be of service to humanity.”

Alternatives such as the Occupy movement and the Million Mask March, which occurred on Nov. 5, are just some of the ways the oppressed classes — minorities, the LGBT community, working class citizens and other underrepresented groups — are finding their voice in a country where they are systematically silenced. They aren’t just passively or apathetically avoiding the polls. It’s disillusion with momentum. According to the Harvard Public Opinion Project’s bi-annual poll, young people aged 18 to 29 are increasingly less likely to vote. In 2008, 63 percent of young people answered that they would “definitely” be voting, compared with 48 percent in 2012. It would seem that Brand isn’t the only one disillusioned by the process of voting in the United States and the United Kingdom. Brand is, after all, not technically a U.S. citizen. But the massive support for his political advocacy from U.S. citizens shows that he can just as well speak on their behalf.

On the surface, voting is the quintessential symbol of political activism. But in its darker dimensions, it’s also an effective way to maintain the illusion of democracy. To those in power, maintaining this illusion is vital. And it’s apparently working, since skeptics like Paxman can’t even fathom political activism without voting at its core.

“Stop voting. Stop pretending. Wake up. Be in reality now. Time to be in reality now,” Brand argued in the interview, adding, “Why vote? We know it’s not going to make any difference. We know that already.”

“There is going to be a revolution. It is going to happen,” he said.

Recent trends show that the oppressed classes are ditching the voting booth and redirecting their energy to promoting change. A glimmer of this revolution started with the Occupy movement, and now more instances of political agitation are happening in smaller spurts. On Nov. 5, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Brand and nearly 1 million supporters across the globe marched in public protest of corporate greed and corruption. Guy Fawkes, an English Catholic, is best known for his participation in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605 — a plot to overthrow the Protestant King James. In pop culture, Fawkes’ image was revived by the 2005 film “V for Vendetta,” in which an anarchist revolutionary in a Fawkes mask plots to destroy the systems of power that perpetuated the film’s dystopia.

Before Tuesday’s demonstration, Brand wrote an article for The Guardian that read: “I’m happy to be a part of the conversation. If more young people are talking about fracking instead of twerking, we’re heading in the right direction.”

The public protest that occurred this past week, known as the Million Mask March, was organized by the group Anonymous — the international organization of largely unidentified activists and hacktivists. As this organization grows in support and power, a revolution where the oppressed classes shun so-called democratic elections could be right on the horizon. Anonymous has already posed a threat to the U.S. Department of Justice and the NSA by hacking into the organizations’ private online databases and illegally procuring sensitive documents. Instances like these threaten the power of the ruling class because they have the potential to expose hidden agendas and rally the public. 

Massive economic disparity and destruction of the planet aren’t results of choosing the wrong candidate. The system is working out just fine for the ones running the show. In the oppressed classes, the best way to cast your vote is to protest.

Write to Natalie at ncr11@pitt.edu.