Author: anthonycacchione

Zero Tolerance Makes a Personal Connection

While each exhibit and play we attended was well done, “Zero Tolerance” had the most profound impact on me. This exhibition did an incredible job of showing the many emotions that people go through when they are trying to overcome oppression. Some people choose to rebel in the form of peaceful and quiet protests, while others have violent protests or riots, but they all have the same intentions of making changes to the current system.

We have heard enough about the layout of “Zero Tolerance” from earlier posts, and while it was an impressive setup, there is no reason to go through it again. This exhibit was so impactful for me because it relates to what is going on around the country right now. After the events in Ferguson and now in New York and the rest of the country, I wanted to see this exhibit to get a better understanding of what was going on. I was especially interested in learning why people demonstrated in such different ways, as some chose peaceful protests, while others chose to loot and riot. Having grown up in St. Louis, I have followed the Michael Brown case and the riots that occurred as a result very closely. I always support peaceful protests for whatever cause, even if I do not necessarily support the cause, but it was painful to watch the rioters and looters that terrorized the city of Ferguson. I could not understand how robbing businesses and burning down buildings that had nothing to do with the issues they were fighting for would help their cause. It seemed like these looters were taking advantage of the situation rather than actually trying to cause positive change. That is why I wanted to see this exhibit so badly, however, as I was hoping it could show whether these types of actions could actually have a positive impact. While the exhibit showed violent protests, these examples were directed to people involved in the situation and not just causing destruction to anything in sight. “Zero Tolerance” validated my concerns that many of the protesters were taking advantage of an unfortunate situation and were detracting from the efforts of the protesters who worked hard to have organized and peaceful demonstrations.

This exhibit was a fantastic display of many different protests across the world. The timing of “Zero Tolerance” could not have been better, as it relates so well to exactly what is going on across the country. It made me very appreciative of this assignment, “The Art of Choosing”, because I do not think I would have visited this museum or even heard of this exhibit until this assignment was given to us. It was a very influential show of everything that goes into these protests, because it is more than just showing up and having a demonstration, these people go through many things that compel them to sacrifice their time, and sometimes safety, in order to cause change.

Posted on by anthonycacchione

Zero Tolerance Addendum

Christopher Chong, Lucius Seo and I went to see “Zero Tolerance” at MOMA PS1. This exhibit took a look at many protests and demonstrations that have taken place across the world in order to fight many forms of oppression. However, since the exhibit has opened, many major protests have taken place over the country, mainly related to the ongoing racism throughout America. We have already written about the exhibit itself, and another group that went and has given a great in-depth look at the show’s features, so we will do something a little different. So, it is time for an addendum to the exhibit that will include these new protests.

Mike Brown Protests

Mike Brown Protests

These new protests were sparked by the multiple killings of unarmed black individuals by white police officers, in which the officers received no punishment through the judicial system. In the two most significant and enraging cases across the country, Michael Brown was shot in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner was suffocated to death by an officer who put him in a chokehold in order to arrest him in Staten Island, New York.

The Mike Brown case was the first of these incidents to really ignite protests throughout the country, although the most significant protests were in the surrounding areas of Ferguson. These demonstrations focused on raising awareness to a judicial system that is racially biased and allowed for an officer to kill an unarmed African American man without receiving any charges. Many of these protests were peaceful and well organized as the first image in this post shows; however, others took the form of riots, as the photo below shows.

images-3

Ferguson Riots

These riots were usually poorly organized and often involved violence towards individuals and businesses that were not involved in the killing of Michael Brown. The riots largely drew scorn from those not involved, as it seemed to detract from the efforts of the peaceful protests. In contrast, the peaceful protests in Ferguson spread throughout the country, as many people supported their cause.

The protests in New York followed the decision not to indict the officer responsible for killing Eric Garner by chokehold. This case, unlike Michael Brown’s, was caught on film, so it was shocking for many people when the grand jury decided not to indict the officer. In the Michael Brown case, it was always unclear what the exact events were that led to the shooting, but in this case, the circumstances and actions were very clear. With many people around the country already protesting the grand jury decision of the Michael Brown case, the protests grew, especially in the amount of people that supported and participated in them. Many of these protests are well organized and often involve blocking very public areas. They have stopped traffic on numerous occasions for their protests. These protests have also seen people have “Die-ins”, where protesters lie down on the floor and act dead, usually in public spaces:

Eric Garner Protests

Eric Garner Protests

These protests have been widespread and recognized throughout the country, but in order to be considered successful, they will need to lead to new dialogue and change. These demonstrations have the potential to raise awareness about many issues that have been difficult to speak about in the past. The protesters are most concerned with the constant racism throughout the country, excessive force used by police and the judicial system that seems biased towards whites and those with money. However, in order to do this, they need to have a clearer message and set of goals. While the protests in Ferguson mostly focused on the issue of race, many of the protests about Eric Garner’s death crossed the boundaries of race and focused more heavily on police use of force and concerns over the judicial system. While raising all these topics is valid, some argue that merely blaming racism is the wrong course to take. Nevertheless, it is still a conversation that we must have, but something that many people agree on is that the police force must held accountable when they use excessive force, as we saw in these cases, especially with Eric Garner. A positive response to this would be to see reforms made to how oversight of police shootings are handled, such as taking the case away from the prosecutor and giving it to an independent review board.

Posted on by anthonycacchione

Carnegie Hall

I have never been a huge fan of classical music, so I was very skeptical heading into this performance. I thought the only positive of the entire night would be the atmosphere. However, that was a very incorrect assumption, as this turned out to be my favorite experience of the class. The music made for a very relaxing experience, in which it felt like I could just sit back and ponder the world’s problems and, of course, their solutions. Unfortunately, once the music ended, I forgot all my revelations, so we are stuck with the world as it is. I’m actually trying to go back on March 20th for the St. Louis Symphony because I enjoyed this performance so much. I went into this experience with very low expectations, especially compared to some of our other events, but it turned out to be an outstanding experience, which was a very pleasant surprise.

Posted on by anthonycacchione