Today is the 20th anniversary of the Tiananman square protests/massacre, and as I am leaving for China in two days, I’m glad for my complete obscurity in posting this. The Chinese government has been successful in almost completely erasing this incident from the minds of an entire generation. Nobody knows for sure how many were killed, but most estimates are in the thousands. Nobody knows for sure what happened to this man as well, though it’s widely assumed he didn’t live a very long or happy life after this moment. His seemingly dead-end act of defiance left us with one of the most powerful images of the 20th century and has served as a source of inspiration for millions. This should serve as a reminder that we all have a responsibility stand up to what is wrong in this world, no matter how futile it may seem.
