Stand-Up Girl

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963

History is filled with episodes of people who fearlessly stood up to tyrants and spoke the Truth only to pay the ultimate price. When someone calls out the boss or shines a light in the dark corners of a society, it’s not uncommon for somebody to get whacked out. Among the most famous incidents of political assassination involved “The Carpenter’s Kid” almost two thousand years ago, Thomas More, Jeanne D'Arc, Mohandas K. Gandhi, Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King. There are millions more who did so known only to God. Nowadays, the more popular method of shutting someone up seems to be character assassination.

The most recent and tragic example of silencing the messenger is the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Like many Westerners, I’d never heard of Anna nor read any of her work prior to her execution. However, I don’t need to know precisely what she said that caused her to receive “two in the bonnet.” The manner of her death loudly tells the world that Mother Russia appears to be increasingly reverting to her Soviet-era tactics of dealing with dissidents. According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, Anna’s murder brings to at least 13 the number of journalists killed in contract-style killings in the past six years.

No one ever expected that the transformation of the Soviet state to a democratic constitutional republic would be a seamless transition. In the vacuum that developed after the collapse and shattering of the USSR, Russia became a ruthless “mobocracy”, where organized crime and mobsters ruled the day. Whatever strides, albeit limited, that Russia has made is slowly being eroded by Putin and his dictatorial ways of doing business. As Putin’s reign continues, there have been more and more red flags (no pun intended) popping up. Most recently, it’s frightening to consider the tensions that have escalated between Russia and the Georgian Republic over accusations of Russian spying.

But Anna’s focus was on how the Russian government was dealing with the Chechnya problem. This area of the old republic is largely populated by Muslims who used violent means to legally separate themselves from the Russians, who, to this point, have shown no willingness to amicably surrender. After the Beslan Massacre in 2004 where 186 schoolchildren were murdered by the crew of a Chechen warlord, there is no sympathy for the “separatist rebels” (or for Islamofascism) in this space. However, according to Anna’s reporting, there have been widespread human rights abuses in the Russians’ heavy-handed manner of quashing the rebellion.

Whether anyone agreed or disagreed with Anna’s opinions is immaterial. Her writing focused on calling attention to human suffering. She knew the risks yet she pursued her reporting of the story with fearlessness and passion. The world needs more men amd women who bring passionate conviction to the table, not less! Anna was one strong woman, so save the tears and flowers for some one else. Gandhi said, “Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.” If history has taught us anything, (provided we were actually watching and listening), then we know that the cold-blooded murder of non-violent "stand-up" men and women usually has the effect of creating cultural martyrs the long run.

Russia’s democratic reforms in the ‘90’s were brought about by the earnest struggle of the Russian people to be freed from the yoke of totalitarian oppression. The Russian people are strong and noble, having endured and survived an unimaginable degree of pain and sorrow and hardship over the centuries under the brutal rule of czars and Bolsheviks. In terms of human rights abuses, political assassinations and genocide on an unprecedented scale, it’s pretty hard to top the records set by the old Soviet state. While no one anticipates a return to the Stalin-era purges, the civilized world has every right to demand that constitutional democracies actually function as such otherwise the guarantees are hollow. Words are nice, but actions, as they say, speak louder. At this moment, they appear to be mutually exclusive.

I don’t purport to have any unique perspective on Russian life beyond what appears in the American media. While societal ills continue to hamper millions of Americans from realizing The Dream, if we learn of the brutal murder of a woman of true conviction somewhere else, do we just shrug and consider it as someone else's problem? The idea of Freedom transcends boundaries, language and custom. It takes great courage to speak out against the ruling establishment at the risk of getting killed. And when anyone is silenced for fearlessly remaining true to their convictions, the chilling effect ripples throughout the world. Let's hope that the news of Anna's murder is not just a blip in the newscycle, just another tragedy that lines the birdcage the next day. After the flowers wither, let's hope that her memory shines like a candle in the darkness.

Stand-up people (the kind who quietly affect profund changes simply by walking in harmony with their principles despite the cost) are far and few between. So, let's pray that every freedom lovin' soul will be a'watchin' developments in Moscow with an eye toward simple, honest justice. The government’s attorney general has pledged a full investigation. We shall see...

When anyone loses their life for the cause of Freedom, they should be remembered, not necessarily to be glorified, but simply to be given a moment’s payment of respect, that’s all. We remember, and we thank her for her unique gift to the world. Rest In Peace, Anna.