The current standoff in Hong Kong is just the latest manifestation
of a phenomenon most of us became very aware of in recent years. It is a
standoff between an enraged youth and the old establishment happening around
the world for several years now. In the Middle East it is known as Arab Spring.
Whether it happens in the Middle East or in East Asia it is always the same
pattern: On the one hand there is an authoritarian, corrupt, over-aged, male-dominated regime,
just interested in staying in charge at any cost and to work just for their own
benefit, suppressing all kinds of participation and democratization tendencies
with brutal force. On the other hand, there is an upheaval of the legions of
disenfranchised young together with supporting older generations who either are
without job perspectives or not feeling politically represented in the current
systems.
So it is not just a clash of generations
but also a clash of genders. The current crisis in Hong Kong shows it once
again crystal clear: a legion of youngsters of mixed-gender representing the
new age of participation, democratization, and civil society fighting for
their human rights (and especially women's rights), storm against the bastion of
old, male-dominated apparatchiks, in charge of everything relevant, suppressing
the voice of the people and trample on human rights as they always did. Because
the focus now lies on China I should use the term mandarins instead of
apparatchiks.
The momentum is about a change of
culture from of authoritarian, oppressing, and competition-based systems
relying on force and organized in male-dominated top-down structures into a
system of participation, cooperation, equality and bottom-up structures with
true democratization and representation as well as the respect of human
rights. One can be reminded of the 1968 hippie social revolution and their engagements. Even American football, the holy grail of sports in America, weren't spared from this worldwide developments of growing sensitivity and awareness. What was irrelevant all the time, the public now becomes more and more aware of: the long-term damages to the human brain caused by countless concussions when playing American football.
It is a perfect storm clashing on the old
fascist structures, relying on force, control and strict hierarchy. Not a single area of society is spared. It is a worldwide change
management process in the most holistic way one can imagine. It is a
paradigm shift happening right now, and we are all right in the middle of it.
Dr. Dr. Immanuel Fruhmann
Head of the Institute for Systemic Stress Management
Head of the Institute for Systemic Stress Management
