Page 68 of A Dead Man's B-Side
“Huh.” Cassius raised a single brow and muttered, “Talk about conditioning.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Well, how are you going to answer it?”
Alexei shrugged in response, looking as lost as Cassius expected him to be.
“Okay. How about this, let’s unpack the question, what are peaceful actions?”
Alexei thought for a moment before responding, “Umm… handing out flyers and making posters.”
“Going door-to-door, organizing peaceful protests?”
“Yeah, that too,” he answered sheepishly.
Cassius nodded along. “Okay, so we both agree on examples. Now, why do you think these efforts are the only solution?”
Again, the young boy thought for a moment before answering with confidence, “Because they are–...”
He paused and blinked, trying to work out his answer a little longer, looking a little more pressured with every second spent in silence.
Cassius smiled, wise and kind. “There’s nothing wrong with saying you don’t know. Even better, there’s nothing wrong with saying that a question isn’t well-worded or even correct.”
Alexei lifted his head and met the older man’s face. “Can a question be wrong?”
“Of course. Is the question of why the sky being red an incorrect question?” It was clearly rhetorical, but Alexei nodded, nonetheless. “Sometimes, it’s important to move away from the crowd to look at the bigger picture. If you don’t agree with the question because it is worded wrong or riddled with misconceptions, you need to speak up about it.”
“What do misconceptions mean?”
“An opinion that is wrong, essentially.”
“Okay, so what is the right way to answer?”
Cassius snapped his fingers. “Aha, now we’re getting to the interesting part. You see, because of the use of the word ‘maintain’, your teacher is inviting the idea that because our rights and freedoms are established, they are forever protected and cannot be tampered–messed with, ever, and therefore, there is no reason for violence. Do you agree with that?”
“No… I mean, what if they’re not always protected?”
Cassius tilted his head to the boy with a glint of pride in his eyes. “Well then, now you have your answer.”
Alexei scrunched his face in confusion. “That our rights and freedoms might not always be protected… So peaceful actions… aren’t always the solution?”
“Precisely.”
Alexei looked almost hesitant. “But she’ll hate me. She’ll give me an F.”
“Ah, but remember what I said about moving away from the crowd? It might actually teach you something.”
“But you’re teaching me that violence is the answer. Last week you were on me about fighting in the schoolyard. Isn’t that a bit hypocritical?”
Cassius laughed, a loud and hearty laugh. “There is a world’s difference in petty violence that leads to nowhere, and violence that changes regimes, brings about social and political change. The kind that brings people out of misery and poverty. Just look at historical events.” He raised his arm in no direction. “Like the French Revolution–or the Russian Revolution. There are moments in time where violence is the only answer because those that are responsible for protecting our rights and freedoms gave up pretending they care. And they’ve grown too powerful and untouchable for posters and gathering together in the cold for a cause to make a difference.”
Alexei seemed to have lost himself somewhere in the third or second-to-last sentence, as the older man let his words get away with him as his passion grew with each passing second.
Cassius sighed at Alexei’s expression and only reached over to ruffle his hair before moving around him. “Listen, how about this, write what you feel will get you the best grade. But always do your own research and hold on to what you believe is true.” He paused and checked his watch before straightening. “I’ll be back. Forgotsomething in my car.”
On his way out, he picked up Alexei’s bag, going to most likely hang it by the door.
Alexei wanted to ask what exactly he’d forgotten, being the nosy child that he was, but held his tongue. Or rather, was distracted by the delicious meal in front of him.
