The Only Thing Necessary For The Triumph Of Evil…

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing“ Edmund Burke

I think of the topic of public participation as being more nuanced. It is easy for a person to not participate in collective action but behave in a similar manner individually. I have known many people who would never participate in some constructive collective action yet express their offensive views to anyone who will listen.

Some express their views so loudly that even others who don’t want to hear them are exposed to it. In Mexico I find this most commonly as some person in a restaurant, on transit, or in a public airport expresses their views in English or sometimes in French.

Be the change you want to see.

That is attributed to Mahatma Gandhi.

I, along with some others I know, do volunteer work during extended stays in Mexico. I do mine with dog rescue organizations, helping the homeless, hungry, ill, and injured. If there were a public event urging more support for spay and neuter programs, I would be comfortable participating.

Others do their volunteer work among the homeless and hungry people in conjunction with a local faith organization. I suspect that they would be comfortable participating in a public display for support of reducing homeless and hunger.

Yet others I know come to Mexico many months of the year and take from Mexico without making personal contributions to it.

I have a shirt that reads in part, “decoloniazate” (decolonize yourself). I wear it both in Mexico and in Canada. As a person who comes from non-Indigenous heritage, I believe it is important that I “decolonize myself” as it is important that colonized people reassert their pre-colonial autonomy.