Following Donald Trump’s landslide election victory, someone sent me Roberto Benigni’s saying that “the crowd always chooses Barabbas… every time”. I had received this quote several times, even in conjunction with events happening in Malta. Given the enormous disappointment experienced at the awful result, I welcomed the quote as a soothing balm. I imagined Trump near Pilate’s throne, throwing kisses to the crowd shouting “Free Trump, Free Trump”.
How perceptive and correct Benigni is, I thought.
That quote can soothe the pain by making one feel self-righteously vindicated but, upon reflection, I conclude that the best one can say about that statement (or, at least, about the part quoted) is that it is simplistic. At worst, it is elitist, arrogant and historically incorrect.
The crowd chose Lech Walesa and Solidarnosc over the Polish Communist Party; and the crowd was ready to suffer imprisonment and torture to support Walesa’s cause. They did it because they felt that Walesa was giving a voice to what they believed, dreamt and felt.
In South Africa, the crowd supported Nelson Mandela and the quest for freedom, not the easy option of supporting the White supremacist government. The crowd suffered imprisonment and death to fight Barabbas.
Nearer home, in the 1980s, didn’t the crowd face armed thugs and dishonest police using teargas to fight Barabbas? Was it a crowd supporting Barabbas that voted for Malta’s accession to the European Union?
The statement “the crowd always supports Barabbas” is elitist and arrogant. In fact, there is not one crowd. There are always several competing crowds. The underlying belief of Benigni’s statement is that those who do not agree with “us” are a crowd that is uncouth and egoistic. Then there is the crowd that one forms part of, which is the decent and enlightened one.
Allow me to propose to anyone interested in bringing about real, long-lasting change, a different strategy than the one built on the belief that “the crowd always chooses Barabbas”. This frame of mind, even if unconsciously, is a recipe for disaster for anyone interested in reforming structures. When things turn sour, this myopic attitude is used to blame the people instead of recognising one’s mistaken strategy and wrong reading of the situation.
The starting point for anyone fighting for social justice and political change is constant respect for people, not their revilement. Respect the dignity and rights of each and every person, even if their views are radically different from yours. Respect, not just tolerate, I stress.
Before talking to people, listen to them and learn from them: their fears, hopes, dreams, nightmares, aspirations, loves and hates. The starting point should never lie beyond the experience of the people you want to communicate with. Learn their existential language; otherwise, you will be like someone speaking Chinese to Martians.
Believe strongly in your views but, as the eminent American jurist, Justice Learned Hand, used to say, you need to have “that ever-gnawing inner doubt as to whether you are right”. Otherwise, you will turn your ideas into dogmas cast in stone, running the risk that your views will become intransigent. The belief in possessing the absolute truth has been a driving force behind some of the darkest chapters in human history, inflicting untold suffering on countless innocents.
Be humble. Remember that your beliefs are the result of your upbringing, relationships, socio-economic group, etc. Your group of whatever type it is – political, religious, ethnic, ideological – does not have the answer to everything. It is natural that a big difference in annual earnings and a posh lifestyle, for example, brings with it a difference in worldviews or value systems.
Be humble. Remember that your beliefs are the result of your upbringing, relationships, socio-economic group, etc.- Fr Joe Borg
So, before judging others, look at how thick your wallet is and how thin theirs is. Be decent enough to remember also that the biggest experts on poverty are not the rich consultants or the academics but the poor themselves.
The strong belief in what you stand for, together with attentiveness to what can be good on the other side, would enable you to harness for your position both the art of confrontation and that of dialogue.
Work with what you have. Do not keep on dreaming about messiahs that will fly in from some distant, or not-so-distant planet. What is available is available. Remember that “the perfect is the enemy of the good”. Sometimes, insisting on perfection can lead to unnecessary complications or delays, while settling for “good enough” can lead to more practical and timely outcomes. It is a valuable reminder to balance our ambitions with realism.
Seek out allies. Build bridges. There is no need to agree about everything with anyone with whom you can build an alliance. But beware of fraternising with the fire-and-brimstone self-appointed saviours. They usually burn a lot of things but build very little that is long-lasting. Hold a barge pole when talking to wet blankets – these armchair critics who see no good and hear no good except what is shown to them by their inflated and alienated egos.
Be ready to sacrifice yourself. If you prefer to let others carry the brunt of the fight, you are worthless.
Do not be discouraged when part of the crowd chooses Barabbas and, following that, there would be instant success. Rest assured that theirs would be a short-lived success, as evil has an inbuilt seed that self-destructs. It is not the freed populist Barabbas that left the lasting impression on humanity. Throughout history, the crucified Christ had more followers than Barabbas or similar populist figures.
So do what has to be done independently of the price you have to pay. Doing what is good is a reward in itself. Besides, remember that the crowd always returns to what is best and more genuine.