2pac and Gandhi - Opposing the Status Quo

I find very many similarities between the lives of these two men and their lasting legacy, even though they are separated by time and space. They both brought about "radical" ideas that disturbed the status quo. They fought against oppression, albeit with different tools. They prodded the oppressor, trying to confront them with a picture of their own madness. And hey, they were both bald and skinny. And both shot.

By using reason and logic to humiliate the oppressor, they made some significant steps for the oppressed. With Gandhi, it was non-violent resistance, which was meant to embarrass the British and wake the world up to the madness and oppression occurring in India.

With 2pac, the idea of "Thug Life" and shocking stories and imagery to confront America and make it face the reality of the ghetto. To embarrass them and wake them up, uncovering some false assumptions. Nothing was made up, it was just reality.

In both cases, what i admire the most is that they both appealed to people's basic humanity. I believe that our soul is in essence good and against hypocrisy, oppression and all things that arise from a lack of logic and reason. Oppression, poverty, these are things that do not make sense, whilst caring for each other makes sense on every level. Whatever religion you follow or lack thereof, it only makes sense to foster positivity. A dog eat dog world is very dangerous, and if you eat someone, someone will come and eat you.

Ofcourse, society cannot have people like this running around. Can you imagine people were prodded to think? Imagine a world where everyone thought about their actions in the long term, thought about their responsibilities, and grew out of ignorance. That would be a place where our current status quo could not exist. The rich might stop getting richer, and nobody really wants that....

Reminds me of Socrates too and Malcolm X as well, prodding people to think with questions, and his execution. There is no room for thinkers, for challengers, for reformers that keep the oppressed, the impoverished and the weak in mind and try to improve their situation. Will things ever change? And what will bring it about?