June 5th, Wang Weilin Day

On June 5th, 1989, Wang Weilin stood alone before a row of tanks in Tiananmen Square.

Not much is known about what happened to him next. Some say that he was executed, or imprisoned, others that he is alive and free. Although his fate remains a mystery, what he did is not in dispute. Singlehandedly, while the world watched in disbelief, he stopped a column of tanks.

When the American press mentions the Tiananmen massacre, seems like it's always with a hint of smugness, as if that couldn't happen here. As if Kent State, or the '68 Democratic Convention, or Selma were the literary devices of liberal historians. But demonstrations occur wherever there's deep polarization and one segment of the population finds itself under another segment's boot heel. That such events take place is evidence of a dynamic society, just as their bloody suppresssion is evidence of institutionalized cancer.

It's a safe bet China will never honor Wang Weilin. And if America did it would probably be for the wrong reasons. Still, I wish we would. I wish June 5th could be Wang Weilin Day, a day to commemorate such selfless acts of courage and defiance, regardless of nationality.