In his book ‘South’, adventurer Ernest Shackleton describes a phenomenon called ‘The Third Man Syndrome’ that he experienced for the first time in his Antarctic expedition of 1914-17. He was convinced that a dead companion of his team accompanied them through the last arduous leg of being in snow for two years. he wrote, “During that long and torturous march of thirty-six hours over the nameless mountains and glaciers… it often seemed to me that there were four of us, not three.” In fact, TS Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’ refers to ‘the third man’ from lines 359 through 365, inspired by Shackleton’s experience.
Psychoanalysts say that the “third man factor” or “third man syndrome” is a phenomenon where, in cases of conditions of extreme resistance, destruction, isolation and even death, the brain sends ‘switches’ or signals to allude to the presence of another figure next to the victim, as a symbol of comfort and reassurance.
The people of Gaza are going through their “third man syndrome” right now. There are young people, of all faiths, backgrounds, ethnicities and streams of education, thousands of miles away, in some of the most reputed of educational institutions, in the thousands, standing next to the dead, desolate and destroyed in a tiny strip of land merely of 365 square kms.
Close to 1200 students from LA to NY have been arrested so far. And there are close to 10 times that number that continue to sit out in demonstrations, pitching tents, holding placards and delivering speeches, from UCLA to Northwestern to Berkeley to Columbia, where it all started.
The movement has spread outside of the US, to Canada, France and Germany. The students have three simple demands – [1] complete ceasefire in Gaza as more than 35,000 have already been killed, [2] their governments should stop funding the war and supplying arms and, [3] their key corporations, like Google, should stop doing business with the government of Israel.
While the protests and demonstrations have had their share of friction and violence with the “other camps”, they have largely been peaceful and purposeful. Decades after the “anti-Vietnam war” protests has the US seen a significant portion of the student community and the young American stand up united for a cause. They have been the ideal “third man” for the Gazan, while a large part of the world has chosen to look away.
Tagore had written in a song, “When life is hard and parched up, come as a shower of mercy.” These students have done exactly that. Their teachers, who stand with them, have done exactly that. Both communities have risked their careers and jobs. There are videos of celebrated academics being literally manhandled and handcuffed by the police. Both are doing their jobs. The teacher is supposed to help widen horizons and encourage questioning through their teaching and action. The policeman is supposed to put an end to ‘disorder’ and ‘disruption’.
In India, except for the ‘usual suspects’ like JNU who have declared support for the protests, we have chosen to remain quiet. We need not bother, as it does not affect us. It is about people being killed in a far off land that is any way not important to us, either for education or jobs or investments. In fact, even if it were about a neighbouring state within India, one need not be bothered at all, as long as it does not affect me today. About tomorrow or the day after, who really cares as I am not too secure about my today.
Even though I ‘pooh pooh’ the demonstrators on social media as “wokes”, “libtards” and “le-lis”, and pass random judgments on how the universities can allow such anarchy, as soon as I am in class 12, I shall start applying to the same universities. If I am a parent, I shall ask my child to do whatever it takes to get admission into one of them. If I wish to do a masters or doctorate, I would give an arm and a leg to be there, for the calling card is so damn important. My clean, non-questioning, anti-anarchist upbringing and values do not come in the way at all.
As Nietzsche had so rightly said, “There are no eternal truths, as there are no absolute facts.”
We need to understand that these educational brands are where they are because of such instances of student activism and standing up for causes, against QAnon one time to Russia on another and Israel now. These brands are not what they are in spite of these key milestones in their timelines. They take pride in taking a stand, openly expressing opinion, constructively criticising and encouraging the spirit of inquiry. These brands do not step back from putting their hard-earned reputation at stake if the cause is justified.
It is a lesson for our educational institutions who actually encourage students to “stay calm and carry on”. The likes of a JNU today or a Calcutta Presidency College yesterday are exceptions. Like most of us, our educational institutions are also equally servile and opportunistic. That is exactly why not a single institution rubs shoulders with the ones we are currently castigating.
Remember, celebrating May 1 as Labour Day also started in the US way back in 1886. The poster boy of ‘capitalism; is also the pioneer of workers’ rights and trade unionism. So, having students demonstrate for a cause like Gaza is natural and expected. In India, Labour Day is not celebrated as a national holiday, so how can we expect students to leave the classrooms, hold placards and march to the city centre for some faceless people thousands of miles away?!
I celebrated May 1 comforted by the fact that “the third man” is standing beside the homeless, maimed, scarred and orphaned in a land where I might never go but I shall forever belong.
As the Canadian band Rush sang in “Nobody’s Hero”…
I didn’t know the girl, but I knew her family
All their lives were shattered in a nightmare of brutality
They try to carry on, try to bear the agony
Try to hold some faith in the goodness of humanity
As the years went by, we drifted apart
When I heard that she was gone
I felt a shadow cross my heart
But she’s nobody’s hero
Is the voice of reason against the howling mob
Hero… is the pride of purpose
In the unrewarding job
Hero… not the champion player
Who plays the perfect game
Hero… not the glamour boy
Who loves to sell his name
Everybody’s buying
Nobody’s hero