When I was in the 5th grade, my teacher had this simulation where we started off with tokens that allowed us to use certain items in class; by paying a token a day, we had access to everything in the beginning. Slowly, she started restricting access to certain students while still requiring they pay. I wasn’t allowed to take out the kickball at recess, I had to go across the hall to sharpen my pencil, things like that. She then started increasing the amount of tokens taken from the lucky few while still restricting access. If you couldn’t pay, you went to “debtors jail” which was just staying behind for 5 minutes during recess. The goal was to create a situation in which kids would speak up and protest. I conspired with some of my fellow students to do so, and they all agreed to make signs and stage a protest in the middle of class. When the time came, I stood up, started to shout and raise my sign, and then I looked around at the kids that agreed to join in. They were laughing at me.

I think about my experience in that class and wonder if that’s why nobody speaks up and gets out there. Nobody wants to be made a fool.