Ulrikes are here with us: A few notes on the text Teaching protest and pressure as participation
Ulrikes are here with us: A few notes on the text Teaching protest and pressure as participation

Summary/Abstract: The first quote, which I now comment on, is taken from From protest to resistance1 (1986, p. 6) by the controversial West German far-left activist Ulrike Meinhof, who is associated with violent crimes Red Army Faction (RAF). Meinhof was tried together with other RAF members and, under as yet unexplained circumstances, found hanged in her cell before the final verdict was handed down. To this day, there is speculation as to whether it was really suicide. The quote is at the beginning of Meinhof’s text and, in an abridged version, concludes it. In this narrative framework, there is a description of the situation of the protesters who, in the end, have recourse to nothing but violence because their critical voice is not heard. The voice is impotent precisely because it is expressed by mere protest. According to the author, resistance istherefore proving to be a necessity. In the text, resistance is explicitly linked to violence. Before Meinhof concludes her comment with the mentioned quote, the phrase “The fun is over” will be heard. Indeed, the fun is over. A few months later, an elderly librarian is killed when a commando breaks into the library where the prisoner and later RAF leader Baader has been deported. With the help of Meinhof, the commando frees Baader. The action is obviously messed up – no shooting should have taken place; however, the “resistance” may bloom. The RAF is formed, and further assassinations and attempted murders will follow.

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