We Stand With Him

Tiananmen Square, June 5, 1989 (photo by Jeff Widener)

In one of the rooms in my high school, there was a poster with a sketch of this image of Tiananmen Sqaure, with the words "We Stand With Him" underneath it. Every time I had a class in that room, I would look at that poster, and want to be that lone man against the tanks.

I didn't know who that man was, or what he was protesting. I didn't know that it portrayed the Tiananmen Square protests, and even if I had, I wouldn't have known where Tiananmen Square was. My history classes never got much past 1940, and there was then the mad dash through 6 decades in the last two weeks of school, most of which was spent watching Forrest Gump. No, I'm not kidding. That's honestly how we learned about the 60s and 70s for the AP US History test.

But even though I didn't know what the poster was about, it inspired in me a greater sense of civic duty and pride than any American flag or yellow ribbon on an SUV ever has. Here was someone who was willing to stand up for what he believed in, even though it would most likely cost him his life. He had found something that was worth dying for, and he had made his choice with more than just words or empty promises--he was laying his physical body on the line.

Now I know more about these protests. Students gathered to mourn the death of former Secretary General Hu Yaobang, a Chinese government official whose views in favor of reform made him the perfect rallying point for those who were looking for a more liberal, democratic China. Hundreds of thousands of students marched on Tiananmen Square throughout April and May, often joined by professors and urban workers, who were concerned with inflation and corruption. A hunger strike of at least 1000 students was enacted, and the protests escalated to such a degree that martial law was declared on May 20, 1989. The army moved into Tiananmen Square where, on June 5, 1989, this lone man was immortalized in one of the most famous photographs of the 20th century.

Yes, it's notable the this man was protesting for a more democratic society. But to be honest, I would admire the man regardless of what he was protesting. He had chosen to stand up by himself. He was not being sent on the errand of a government too cowardly to go themselves. And he didn't protest with guns, or bombs, or suicide trucks. He protested by simply standing up.

Doesn't it make you wonder--what could you accomplish if you would just stand up?

I, too, stand with him.