Acts of protest are an inevitability – there will always be people who oppose certain decisions, policies and entities. Thousands have participated in demonstrations and rallies in Australia over the years to fight for marriage equality, among other things. People are still taking to the streets in the traditional way, but they're also getting more creative about getting a message across. Back in 2006, renowned street artist Banksy managed to sneak a life-sized inflatable doll dressed as a Guantanamo Bay detainee into Disneyland with the intention of drawing focus to the controversial centre. Placed inside a ride at the theme park, it remained there disturbing punters for an hour and a half before the entire ride was shut down and the piece removed. Greenpeace activists dressed as sharks climbed onto the roof of John West's headquarters in Melbourne last year to protest the company's fishing methods, hanging a banner over the entrance to the building.
There's an old saying a lot of people aren't particularly fond of: “Actions speak louder than words”. It does prove true in many cases, like that time a Tunisian street vendor by the name of Mohamed Bouazizi set himself ablaze at a governor's office and effectively started a little thing known as the Arab Spring. The art of resistance is a fine one, and hard-hitting activism isn't dead; it's very much alive, even in a digital age.
