Black Protest Simulation

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(set: $name to (prompt: "What is your name?", "")) It was 2015 when the conservative, right wing party known as Law and Justice, or Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PIS) in Polish, were victorious in Poland’s general election. In a matter of months they were able to systematically change the country, by altering its laws, of which many would be considered givens in a healthily functioning democracy. The democratic rule of law has been unstable to say the least – this includes women’s rights. One of the proposals of the ruling party was to further limit the already restrictive abortion laws, which allows for an abortion only in three circumstances: (colour:red) [1. When the woman’s life or health is in danger by the continuation of the pregnancy 2. When the pregnancy is a result of a criminal act 3. When the fetus is seriously malformed] Even if a woman finds herself in one of the above-mentioned situations, being granted the permission to get an abortion is still not a given. [[Next: Introducing: thousands of angry protesters]]

It is September of 2016 and a proposal was just laid out by PIS, in parliament that calls for a complete ban on abortion. This has sent shock waves all across the country and as you scroll through your newsfeed this is all anyone is talking about. There are mixed reactions. On national television you can see that this has been met with great support. Nonetheless, many on social media are angry. This has turned into a storm of anger, which has now become a movement. Days go by and you can hear the term ‘Black Protest’ circulating more and more often. You see an event on Facebook titled, 'Polish women on strike! Black Monday'. The event desrcibes it as a nation-wide protest against the further restrictions of the law on abortion. Everyone is to wear all black and if possible, meet at a specific location in your city or town in solidarity. (colour:red) [The strike is to take place on Monday, the 3rd of October.] It is 3 days away. What do you do? (colour:green) [[I am going to take part in the protest]] (colour: orange) [[I am not going to go on strike]]

**Will you share this event with your other Facebook friends?** [[Yes! You click 'going' on the Facebook event. Afterwards, you share it to your timeline, encouraging others to take part, as well.]] [[No, I have friends or family who would dissaprove of this protest.]] [[No, I do not want my boss to see. ]]

Why are you not going on strike? [[I agree with the proposed ban on abortion.]] [[I cannot afford to miss work or school]] [[I do not feel like it]] [[I do not care]]

[[Result Two]]

Will you still encourage others to participate? [[Yes, I will share the event with others]] [[No, I do not want anything to do with this]]

[[Result Two]]

(colour: black) [**Thank you for your help! The protest managed to make parliament rethink their actions. Despite the conservative party holding the majority of seats, it was ruled (colour: red) [<u>against</u>] the proposed legislature on the complete ban of abortions.**]

[[Result Two]]

(colour:black) [**The protest was successful, despite your lack of action.**]

Spread the word! The more people to hear of this event the bigger the chances of the proposed legislature being stopped. [[One day before the protest]]

That is understandable. Although, spreading awareness is crucial in making others change their mind. [[One day before the protest]]

Fighting for women's rights by going to the protest is a feat in itself! Do not lose your job over it. [[One day before the protest]]

The hashtag #CzarnyProtest, (<u>#BlackProtest</u>), is trending. It is one day before the strike. You are buzzing with energy. It is time to make a sign for when you march out tomorrow. (colour: red)+(text-style: "smear") [Option one:] (colour:red) [The easily recognizable and now classic 'PIS Off' poster. A play on words, using the acronym of the ruling party - 'PIS' and turning it into the commonly recognized profanity for going away, (and in this case, hopefully never returning).] <img src="https://static.polityka.pl/_resource/res/path/a9/b1/a9b1b50a-a02a-4695-9a44-8b47e85d9eae_f1400x900" width="500" height="300"> (colour: blue)+(text-style: "smear") [Option two:] (colour: blue) [Keeping it classy. This is another game of words, however, this time it uses the song famously sang by Bob Marley, 'No woman, no cry'. In Polish, 'kraj' means country, but is pronounced the same way as the word'cry' in English. How ironic.] <img src="https://bi.im-g.pl/im/09/6b/15/z22459401Q,Czarny-protest-w-2016-roku.jpg" width="500" height="300"> (colour: orange) + (text-style: "smear") [Option three:] (colour: orange) [This is the time to be a little more controversial than the other two options. What better way to spark the dissaproval of the people you will be seeing on your commute to the protest tomorrow, than by including the Church on your "God-forsaken" sign? 'Biskup' in Polish means 'bishop', while 'lekarz' translates to 'doctor'.] <img src="https://d-art.ppstatic.pl/kadry/k/r/1/df/01/580e33a63cfde_o_medium.jpg" width="500" height="300"> (colour: green) +(text-style: "smear") [Option four:] (colour: green) [A sense of humor is also important! Stick to a plaque that is light-hearted and *fun*!] <img src="https://bi.im-g.pl/im/fa/d3/13/z20790522V,Czarny-protest-w-Bydgoszczy--Na-znak-solidarnosci-.jpg" width="500" height="300"> (colour: yellow) +(text-style: "smear") [Option five:] (colour: yellow) [Finally, you may prefer to release your inner-artist and stick to a graphic drawing. You know what they say, action speaks louder than words! Maybe it's best to let your sign's silence do the talking.] <img src="https://cdn.galleries.smcloud.net/t/galleries/gf-JWr4-Ntko-ZR3C_czarny-protest-w-warszawie-664x442-nocrop.jpg" width="500" height="300"> Which design do you choose? [[Option one]] [[Option two]] [[Option three]] [[Option four]] [[Option five]]

You are quite the brave protester! You do not care who sees or hears what you have to say, even though you realize that going out in public with a sign like that might get you in trouble. [[Route one]]

You are someone who is not afraid to have fun, fighting darkness with light. You are the life of any gathering, hopefully for the upcoming one, as well. In doing so, you may meet some interesting characters along the way. [[Route two]]

You are a silent force. Tomorrow will be a strange day. Let's hope the protest is all worth it. [[Route three]]

It is Monday, October 3rd. You are at school, dressed in all black. People are taking photos of their outfits, documenting the day on their mobile phones. It is easy to distinguish who is, on which side of the ship. To those dressed in black you give a nod of appreciation. Not everyone is following suit, however. <img src="https://d-art.ppstatic.pl/kadry/k/r/1/43/27/57f202ee86a03_o_medium.jpg" width="500" height="300"> You see a crowd of people attempting to take a group photo of them in their dark attire, holding up plaques and signs of solidarity with the protest. From afar you can see a girl with her friend dressed in all white. They stick out like a sore thumb. 'That is brave,' you think to yourself. Instead of walking down the corridor as everyone else, avoiding the crowd to let them take their photo, she crosses in front of the camera, blocking the lense from the scene it wanted to capture. (colour: red) [Being the brave and outgoing protester, you confront her.] What do you say? [[Hey, that was rude. I understand your dissapproval, but this was unnecessary.]] [[How can you call yourself a woman in a time like this?]] [[All white is passée]]

It is Monday, October 3rd. You are at the office. It is time to leave for the protest soon. You can see some people dressed in all black. You take this as a sign to start a conversation. <img src="https://lubliniec.info/user_files/photo_cache/9054/czarny-protest-lubliniec-26.jpg" width="500" height="300"> You walk up to a the office secretary with a smile on your face, as you admire her dark attire. (colour: grey) [**'Hey, are you going to the demonstration later today?'**] She responds with a grim note, 'I wish I could, but my boss is not too keen on the idea of missing work for something like this.' (colour: red) [What do you say to this?] [[Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm glad you are at least dressed the part.]] [[Screw what he thinks! Let's go together and show him this is an important moment in history.]]

You skip work all together today. What is the point, when you know that going there will be faced with criticism from your co-workers? Unfortunately, you do not have the luxury of working in an environment that is open to any other opinion, but that of the Church and current government. You go for a stroll and sit in a cafe near the location of the up-coming demonstration. You can see other people preparing for it, as well. Many people here are dressed in all black. <img src="https://tvn24.pl/najnowsze/cdn-zdjecie-5lk4l5lpz8-zamkna-sklepy-i-restauracje-by-wspierac-kobiety-czarny-poniedzialek-w-calej-polsce-2205288/alternates/LANDSCAPE_840" width="500" height="300"> What do you do? [[I make conversation with the two women with a protest sign leaning against their table.]] [[I choose to go about my day on my own. I won't be alone when it is time to march together.]]

She looks taken aback by your calm approach. She does not back down, but seeing a crowd drawing closer, curious as to how the confrontation is going to go down, she walks away. You look at the clock. (colour: red) [It is time to get to the protest.] [[Demonstration]]

That was a harsh statement, but she was expecting a reaction like this. She starts arguing with you. You are throwing information and facts to support your viewpoint, but you are not getting to her. 'It is like talking with a brick wall,' you think to yourself. You look at the clock. (colour: red) [It is time to get to the protest.] [[Demonstration]]

She is dumbfounded. This is not the reaction she expected at all. You smile to yourself and thank your mom for inheritting her wit. You look at the clock. (colour: red) [It is time to get to the protest.] [[Demonstration]]

That was nice of you to say. Although you can sense a feeling of dissappointment in her voice upon knowing that you will be going, while she has to stay at work. Speaking of going! You look at the clock. (colour: red) [It is time to get to the protest.] [[Demonstration]]

She is surprised by your outburst and encouragement. You can tell she is contemplating it, even inching her seat back a little, as if she was going to pack up and join you. But she decides to stay. She cannot lose her job. You look at the clock. (colour: red) [It is time to get to the protest.] [[Demonstration]]

They gladly engage in conversation with you. At first you seem to be talking mainly about the protest itself, but it quickly shifts to a mutual feeling of sorrow at the thought of it maybe all being for nothing. That is a serious possibility. You look at the clock. (colour: red) [It is time to get to the protest.] [[Demonstration]]

You only smile a little at the two women, knowing that the crowd is slowly coming together. It is a good feeling recognizing a mutual understanding amongst strangers. You look at the clock. (colour: red) [It is time to get to the protest.] [[Demonstration]]

You are from the capital of Poland. The meeting point for the protest is on the Castle Square in the Old Town, in Warsaw. It is a chilly autumn day, and rain is pouring. As you get closer to your destination, you realize the mood is quite somber, but also full of strength and determination. Thousands of people are gathering, mostly women, but also many men and children. Everyone is wearing black, with the only colour in sight being the multitude of umbrellas bumping into one another, as the crowds grow thicker. The demonstration was to begin at 3:00 pm, but even now, 15 minutes to the official start of the event there is no horizon in sight with the number of people here. You manage to squeeze through the hoards of protesters and their signs. There are people on the streets, on trees, and balconies. There are three figures waving from the balcony at you, inviting you to join them. You accept their invitation and they buzz you in. After making quick acquaintance you manage to make your way onto the balcony. The view was incredible. <img src="https://i.wpimg.pl/0/625x400/i.wp.pl/a/f/jpeg/37058/warszawa_protest_pap_625.jpeg" width="500" height="300"> <img src="https://bi.im-g.pl/im/06/d2/13/z20784134W.jpg" width="500" height="300"> <img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AL8VvNxXlak/maxresdefault.jpg" width="500" height="300"> [[Next day]]

It is the day after the (colour: red)+(text-style: "expand") ['#BlackMonday']. You open your newsfeed on your phone and all anyone is talking about is yesterday's event. It is not only Polish news outlets discussing what happened, but also foreign media. (link: "BBC: Black Monday; Polish women strike against abortion ban")[(goto-url: 'https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37540139')] (link: "TIME: Poland abortion laws protest. What do women do if they need an abortion in Poland?")[(goto-url: 'https://time.com/poland-abortion-laws-protest/')] (colour: blue)+(text-style: "bold") [And many more!] [[Result ]]

**A few days go by. The rally was (colour: green)+(text-style: "outline") [successful]! Thanks to you and the hundreds of thousands of protesters nation-wide, you were able to stop the legislature on the complete ban on abortions to go forth. You have not only made history, but have started a movement that will spark many more #BlackProtests to come. Let's continue to fight for a better tomorrow.**