一無所有

[muckefuck]

I've now seen a number of posts commemorating the 25th anniversary of Tiananmen Massacre and I find it interesting to note that not one of them has featured this image. This is the Goddess of Democracy, modeled on the Statue of Liberty and constructed in only a few days chiefly from papier-mâché and foam. For several days, this was the global emblem of the pro-democracy movement, but after it was destroyed in the assault, the image of Tank Man quickly took its place.

It's easy to understand why: Tank man is a powerful image. I find it hard to look at without getting choked up (or at least I used to before it became overexposed to the point where it began to appear in Apple ads). It symbolises the ability of a single person to take a stand against tyranny and oppression, and that's inspiring.

But it also leaves a lot out. The Goddess was a communal project, and that reflects how I remember the movement. At the VP Fair in St Louis, Chinese students at Washington University had a booth where they were selling calligraphy and paper cutouts in order to benefit their comrades back home. I still have a paper tiger and a pink sheet of paper with the words "I am a giant duck" packed away in a box in the basement. It was salutary for me to see that kind of cooperation. After all, not one of us in a million can be another Tank Man.