Category: Protest

Introduction

Today, the world experiences hard times as it faces one of the most complex challenges of the 21st century. The pandemic of coronavirus is considered a serious threat to the health of nations, their economies, well-being, and even the future. Regardless of all attempts to localize the outbreak of the disease and avoid its spread, COVID-19 managed to enter multiple countries and precondition the emergence of difficult situations related to people’s health. Globalization of the contemporary world and modern lifestyles can be considered the central reasons for the fast propagation of the disease. The high popularity of traveling and the ability to reach different countries by using planes promoted the development of pandemic. There are multiple measures that are offered today as the method to stop the deterioration of the situation, and minimization in the number of contacts remains one of the most effective ones. For this reason, adherence to the stay-at-home rules introduced by the government is vital to struggle against COVID-19.

Background

China was the first state that experienced the epidemics of coronavirus and had to introduce specific measures to avoid critical outcomes. The government managed to introduce extremely severe measures presupposing complete isolation of regions affected by COVID-19 and minimization of contacts, movement, and interactions. Regarding the fact that there is no effective treatment against the disease, the given measures turned out to be effective as they minimized the risk of new patients’ emergence and provided the healthcare sector with the time and resources needed to face the challenge. The success of the given approach is also evidenced by the fact that today China comes back to normal life and removes constraints. For this reason, other states, where the situation is critical, such as Italy, Spain, and the USA, adopt this experience and introduce stay-at-home rules to decrease the speed of COVID-19 spread and control the situation.

Benefits of Stay-at-Home Rules

Decreased Speed of the Disease

The ability to slow down the disease and avoid the emergence of new patients is one of the central benefits of the stay-at-home rules. Researches show that COVID-19 is an extremely virulent pathogen that affects people in different environments (De Soto et al.). Its transmission occurs when small drops of water that contain the water are expelled by an infected individual (De Soto et al.). It means that these virus-ridden particles can be inhaled by health people during simple contacts such as talking, shaking hands, eating together, or moving close to each other (Bruns et al.). In such a way, the absence of a specific and complex method of transmission makes the virus extremely dangerous for the society, and at the same time, justifies the introduction of the stay-at-home rules as they minimize interactions between people and help a person to remain healthy.

Faster Recovery

Strict limits that are introduced today can also help to create the basis for faster recovery. Recent investigations of COVID-19 and its impact on states show that the virus is a serious economic burden. For instance, because of the complexity of the situation in the USA, about 32.1% unemployment rate is predicted in the worst-case scenario (Makridis). Moreover, the outcomes can be even more severe than the results of the 2008 financial crisis, which means that the economy will suffer (Makridis). For this reason, it is vital to implement measures that help to avoid the worst-case scenario and guarantee that the first signs of recovery will be observed in the next several weeks. Stay-at-home rules can be considered one of the measures that can help to achieve it as they result in the decreased number of patients and new cases daily, and contribute to the end of the pandemic.

Relief

Another advantage of the stay-at-home rules is their ability to give some relief to the healthcare sector. For instance, since the start of pandemic, the U.S. health facilities had to provide services to 1,171, 510 patients (CDC). Moreover, the recent statistics show that around 19,138 new cases emerge every day (CDC). It means extremely high pressure on the healthcare sector and the lack of facilities, equipment, and medicines to treat all patients. For this reason, there is a need for the relief and a significant reduction in the number of new cases to support the effective work of the caregivers and their ability to resist coronavirus (Banerjee and Mayank). The Chinese experience shows that isolation is an effective method to achieve the given goal, which means that stay-at-home rules will have a positive effect on the situation.

Reduced Number of Deaths

Finally, adherence to these rules can help to save many lives and avoid new lethal cases. COVID-19 is characterized by comparatively low mortality as it ranges from 2% to 12% depending on the type of the virus, complications it triggers, and other factors (Banerjee and Mayank). However, there is still no vaccine or effective treatment against it, which means the situation more complex. Additionally, it is hard to predict the progress of the disease and its outcomes, which introduces the high risk of lethal results (Banerjee and Mayank). In the USA, the total number of people who died from COVID-19 estimates 68,279 (CDC). It means that the emergence of new patients will increase the risk of lethal outcomes. For this reason, adherence to the stay-at-home rules can also be considered a way to avoid the further spread of the disease and new deaths.

Opposite Views

Exaggerated Risks

Unfortunately, regardless of the complicated situation that can be seen today and the proven effectiveness of social distancing, there are opponents of stay-at-home rules who organize large-scale protests and emphasize the need for the cancelation of these measures. One of the central arguments offered by representatives of this cohort is the absence of the serious threat and exaggerated risks that are associated with COVID-19. At the same time, the economic losses, the inability to work and earn money are considered more significant problems that should be given attention (Coaston). People call to reopen businesses and return to the limitless functioning of the society as it is the only way for them to survive. The given protests become one of the visible elements of the current COVID-19 pandemic as they represent views of a significant part of the population.

However, the given position can be refuted by using the latest research data and statistics. Regardless of protestants’ claims, coronavirus is a severe and extremely virulent disease that affects people living in different regions and contributes to the development of multiple complications, including lethal ones. The number of deaths globally (258,511 cases) shows that risks are real, and the disregard of the situation can precondition the further spread of the disease, appearance of millions of patients, and collapse of economies and states (CDC). Moreover, such protests can also increase the speed of the propagation as there are crows of people who do not adhere to the rules of social distancing and face the high risk of being infected. In such a way, this argument becomes irrelevant as it contradicts the existing facts and results of scientific research.

Counterproductive Measures

Another argument offered by this party emphasizes the fact that some areas are less affected by COVID-19 than others, but limits are introduced for all states. In the USA, big cities such as New York are the main centers of the pandemic with the thousands of patients, while rural areas and distant regions remain comparatively safe and untouched by the coronavirus. Under these conditions, such measures as the necessity to wear masks, social distancing, ban on meetings, and some businesses seem counterproductive and excessive as they decrease the quality of people’s lives, infringe their constitutional rights, and precondition severe financial losses (Coaston). For this reason, there are multiple claims to eliminate restrictions for these areas and reopen all enterprises to guarantee that no serious circumstances or related to the financial sphere will be observed.

However, the given arguments can also be considered illogical and even dangerous. As it has been stated above, one of the features that make COVID-19 extremely dangerous for the world is its virulent character. It means that it can spread to different regions regardless of the distance or physical obstacles. The virus firstly emerged in China, but today it affects almost all countries and territories, and this factor evidences the idea mentioned above. One infected person can contribute to the outbreak of the disease, even in distant or rural areas, if no measures to limit communication and interaction are accepted (Banerjee and Mayank). For this reason, the stay-at-home rules are effective not only for states hit hard by the pandemic but also for areas where the situation is better as they help to avoid the deterioration of the scenario.

In such a way, the opponents of social distancing and limiting measures destabilize the situation in the state and contribute to the increase of new problems. Instead of consolidating to resist a new threat that might precondition the collapse of the economy, protestants create conditions that are beneficial for the further spread of COVID-19 and the development of the worst-case scenario. The arguments offered by these parties can be refuted by the existing scientific research and statistic from other states, which also introduced stay-at-home rules to minimize the risk of being infected and avoid the growth in the new cases of patients daily.

Conclusion

Altogether, the coronavirus pandemic that can be observed today is one of the most difficult challenges of the 21st century. It affects the majority of states and contributes to the appearance of thousands of patients every day. Additionally, the further deterioration of the situation might precondition catastrophic outcomes in the sphere of the economy as states already lose millions per day. There is a need for the introduction of measures to struggle against the disease, and the adherence to the stay-at-home rules can be considered an appropriate solution. It helps to minimize the number of contacts, preserve social distancing, and slow down the speed of the illness propagation, which is vital in terms of the existing environment.

Works Cited

1. Banerjee, Debanjan, and Mayank Rai. “Social Isolation in Covid-19: The Impact of Loneliness.” International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2020, doi:10.1177/0020764020922269.
2. Bruns, Debra, et al. “COVID-19: Facts, Cultural Considerations, and Risk of Stigmatization.” Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 2020, doi:10.1177/1043659620917724.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Cases in the U.S.” CDC.
4. Coaston, Jane. “What the Anti-Stay-at-Home Protests Are Really About.” Vox, 2020. Web.
5. De Soto, Joseph, et al. “The Pathophysiology of Virulence of the COVID-19.” Preprints, 2020. Web.
6. Makridis, Christos. “The Cost of COVID-19: A Rough Estimate of the 2020 US GDP Impact.” The Bridge, 2020. Web.

The 2019 Hong Kong protests, also known as Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill (ELAB) Movement, are an ongoing series of conflicts and demonstrations in Hong Kong, China. The initial clash between Hong Kong citizens and mainland China was triggered by the introduction of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill. The bill bore the potential of subjecting Hong Kong locals to detention and extradition – something that the Chinese government had not been entitled to till recently. The main concern that the people of Hong Kong are expressing is that if passed, the bill is going to be a gateway to asserting the Chinese jurisdiction. The latter would undermine the autonomy of the region and citizens’ civil liberties. This paper discusses the differences between news coverage by four major American news outlets and reflects on the role and leverage of mass media.

The present analysis covers four recent articles published between 26 and 29 September, 2019, by CNN, NBC, FoxNews, and NPR. Currently, the protests are becoming downright violent with many human victims. At the same time, the police are scrutinized and reprimanded for their disproportionately cruel actions. One thing that stands out in all of the articles selected for the analysis is that they primarily seek to capture demonstrators’ perspective on the ongoing conflict. Not only that, but the authors are employing emotivism to make their write-ups more moving.

Probably, the most emotional piece among all recent articles on Hong Kong protests is the one by Berlinger and Cheung (2019) for CNN. In their journalistic endeavor, they juxtapose the life of an ordinary student in Hong Kong to the brutality of the events that have turned his life upside down. CNN journalists are generous with very specific and emotional details. The article starts with a vivid description of Jim, the interviewee, trying to save a wounded man. His attempts are not successful: “He couldn’t carry the man anymore. All he could do was cry Berlinger & Cheung, 2019, para. 3).” The featured story is in line with CNN’s liberal outlook that makes the human front and center of their journalism.

As compared to CNN, other news outlets were heavier on dry facts and statistics. For instance, Ng (2019) for NPR gives clear numbers and figures regarding the most recent Umbrella demonstration to let readers gauge the scope of the conflict. However, throughout the article, Ng (2019) provides brief descriptions of protesters and their life situation as well as their pieces of mind on the events. Again, this journalistic method makes the reader pick a side and feel sympathy for those whose lives are shown in an article.

NPR and FoxNews have published probably the least emotive pieces. NPR submitted more information on Hong Kong politicians than the others. Namely, McCarthy and Booker (2019) for NPR reported that Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, stated her intentions to withdraw the extradition bill. FoxNews has also provided an unemotional, logical overview of what has been happening so far. What is interesting though is that all the outlets apart from FoxNews openly call the protests prodemocratic. As conservative media, FoxNews seems to dislike labels and puts “antitotalitarian” and “prodemocratic” in quotes.

As seen from the analysis, each of the news outlets provides a more or less full picture of the ongoing events. However, it is abundantly easy to see how these outlets might be subtly shaping political opinions in their readers. CNN is publishing stories that can and do derive an emotion. It is hard not to sympathize with a person whose pain and suffering are shown up close. Apart from that, deliberate omission of the facts from the other side of the conflict might also influence how readers see the situation. Overall, once all major journals have made it online, the availability and accessibility of the Internet made it easier for them to connect with their target audiences. That opened them up for the opportunities to perpetuate their agendas.

References

Berlinger, J., & Cheung, E. (2019). ‘Burn with us’: How a summer of protest pushed young Hong Kongers to the edge. CNN, Web.

McCarthy, J. & Booker, B. (2019). Hong Kong Braces For Massive Weekend Protests. NPR, Web.

Ng, E. (2019). Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Rally Ends Early as Violence Erupts. NBC New York, Web.

Phillips, M. (2019). Latest Hong Kong pro-democracy protests end early after violent turn. FoxNews, Web.

Background Information

Communication is multifaceted and can be transmitted through a variety of forms (Chaffe 1993). Just like any human society, evolution of people’s values takes place quite rapidly. This is normally based on the communication systems that are utilised. These systems of communication normally target public spaces that most common dwellers have access to. Art is communicative, and it has a way of conveying hidden meanings to subjects that may be considered taboo such as the public opinion of a political view. This ensures that the public can understand aspects of the world that they could not gain access to through other means (Freedman 2003).

To begin with, people ask, what is art? Generally, the term art has been associated with a given class of creative personalities in society who use their rare skills to express what they have within them. This is usually used to inform, entertain, and critique various aspects of what goes on within a given society. In some of the cities across the world, art plays a key role in appreciating people’s culture, history, and life (Robinson & Heitman 2011). Furthermore, art has been used to enable people to express their fears, challenges, and the deep needs that they may be harbouring within them.

In the case of urbanites, street art has traditionally been utilised as a means of self-expression and also a means through which populations convey their messages. Because street art is universal in its reach, it should be viewed as a mass communication medium in a general sense (Chaffe 1993). As much as street art is expressive, it also advances mass communication in the urban centres. Street art is a traditional means of communication — it is utilised by a cross-section of collectives and the state to inform and persuade (Chaffe 1993). Essentially, the essence of this form of art is to attract wide attention by maximising open and visual spaces that may be available. In this sense, street art is usually aimed at enabling the readers or viewers to obtain simplified messages as they synthesise their thoughts and ideas to arrive at a given point.

Despite of all these characterisations, some countries have taken steps to view street art in a positive regard. For instance, in most countries, mostly Hispanic ones, where street art is a traditional means of communication, the states have utilised it as an avenue to inform and persuade people because it is a universal means of communication (Chaffe 1993).

Secondly, most analysts posit that it is a form of communication through which the relevance of cultivating the reading culture can be enhanced, consequently reducing the illiteracy levels within a given populace. In a general sense, street art, which is a form of public art, is visual in approach. In the current world, especially in post-industrial advanced democracies, the aspect of visual arts has been gradually gaining momentum since this has been what was reflected in many people’s daily life. For example, most cities are creating public spaces for this in the form of billboards, mural wall, and malls, to either advertise or carry out a form of awareness (Freedman 2003).

This form of visual art has become fundamental to the cultural transformation of political discourse, social interaction, and cultural identity that characterises the post-modern condition.

Aims of the Project

Owing to the fact, the street culture has been seen to be associated with negative ghetto culture; what stands out is that there are areas where it has been utilised to create positivity. In most cases, people who are attracted to this form of street engagement belong to certain age group. This is because young men can obtain a form of identity depending on which side of the divide they find themselves in. This implies that street culture together with street art is a favourable medium through which visual identity can be created for a given group. The research question asked by the study seeks to establish ways in which street art and visual art can be utilised to create favourable visual identity. The person who will utilise the findings of this study will include graphic designers, pop culture artists, and street artists.

Objectives

The objectives of this research are as follows:

1. To evaluate the relationship between street art and visual identity;
2. To establish the impact of street culture on urban influence;
3. To investigate the use of street art on the achievement of values within social settings; and
4. To establish the existence of street art within the given setting.

Methodology

There is no universally accepted approach to research within art and design, so the traditions within other disciplines should not be ignored. There are seven principal research procedures that have been applied to art and design research programmes. These include historical, philosophical (theoretical), experimental, comparative (cross-cultural), descriptive (using surveys, causal-comparative methods), naturalistic (interpretative, phenomenological, enquiry), and the practical (creative, expressive, or productive).

The approach that shall be utilised in this study is the naturalistic approach. In this approach, the researcher shall be involved in the collection of data in the actual area of study. This implies that the data shall be based on enquiry based on actual data collected and observed. In this method, basic operation phases that shall be used include the familiarisation with the field, collection of data, classification and analysis of data, confirmation of propositions, and the presentation of findings. Furthermore, types of data that shall be presented include descriptions of environment, descriptions of behaviour (behavioural data), natural language quotations, paraphrases of responses, analyses of documents, self-analyses (phenomenological data), and statistical analyses.

Outcomes

Owing to the fact, this study is naturalistic in nature, this implies that the presentations shall contain descriptive and rich detail, disclosing personal meaning of events to respondents, presenting wealth of primary data, emphasising an effective communication of audience needs, revealing the investigator’s feelings and attitudes, documenting the process of study, and presenting multiple values and perspectives.

The main aim of stating clear outcomes is to enable the audience to gain the total outcomes of the documents that have been described. For instance, the outcomes should enable the audience to interact with the data obtained and be in a position to extract relevant information as well as critique the information. It should also form the centre stage for further research in this area. In addition, the findings will be geared towards developing higher order thinking. For instance, through the cultivation of a positive visual culture, the images that shall be geared towards enhancing positivity within a society are going to enhance higher order thinking. This is both true for those who are engaged in developing visual images and for whom the information is intended for.

References

Chaffe, L, Political Protest and Street art:Popular tools for democratization in Hispanic countries, Greenword Publishing Group, Westport, CT, 1993. Web.

Freedman, K, Teaching Visual Culture:Curriculum,Aesthetics and the Social Life (Illustrated edn.), Teachers College Press, New York, 2003. Web.

Robinson, P, & Heitman, P D, Research themes for tourism, CABI, London, 2011. Web.