Daily Trojan USC.edu

Issue date: 11/6/07 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Brooke Selling | Daily Trojan

Tom Jones is not going to be happy when he hears about this: It appears there are better things to do with your unmentionables than fling them at the legendary crooner during a tantalizing performance of "What's New, Pussycat?"

Women from several countries have been sending panties - lady briefs, for those of you uncomfortable with the term - to Myanmar embassies in an effort to condemn the brutal conditions in Burma.

This just might explain one of the year's most puzzling trends: celebutantes without underpants.

While the media was making Britney Spears out to be a silly, attention-deprived diva, maybe she was actually speaking out against the cruel treatment of anti-regime demonstrators in a far-away land that many of us didn't know existed until now.

Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan perhaps took the time from their busy jail sentences and rehab stints to express their naked disapproval of the Burmese military.

If only we could all be so compassionate and make the time and effort to be as politically active.

Not only can your panties protect your privates, but they can also protect an entire people from violent oppression and tyranny.

You cannot be selfish; you must maximize your panty potential!

Lanna Action for Burma, the group that's spearheading this panty protest, says the country's superstitious generals, especially junta leader Gen. Than Shwe, believe contact with women's underwear drains officials of their power.

Apparently, history books and Hollywood films have taught us wrong: It's not the people in the panties who can bring great men to their knees; it's the panties themselves.

This just might revolutionize the way revolutions work.

Thoreau would certainly be proud; instead of resorting to provoking physical violence, female dissidents can toss their drawers at the junta military from their homes and cars without risking harm.

If they're feeling particularly brave, women can take off their skivvies on the spot and chuck them at the soldiers in a daring statement of defiance.

Contact with the powerful panties might just stop them dead in their tracks. The least it could do is daze them for a few seconds - seeing a woman undress can do that to men.

Opponents of the "Panties for Peace" campaign claim it is making light of a dire situation. I say we must use humor and satire to create change.

We cannot afford to wait around for a solution that will validate our own sense of seriousness about the problem at hand.

The most harmful thing shipping our undergarments to Myanmar embassies can do is attract news coverage and bring necessary attention to the sufferings of the Burmese people.

If sending panties overseas helps, letting go of some of ours is a small sacrifice to pay.

We can certainly swap a few minutes of awkward conversation with the UPS guy for the chance to promote a much-needed peace in Burma.

Since mid-August, small groups composed primarily of students began protesting recent government-sanctioned price hikes, which have hit hard the already impoverished people of Burma.

Monks joined in with the protesters after troops used force to break up a peaceful rally in Pakokku in early September.

Huge daily protests followed, but the violent suppression of these protests has yet to cease.

The number of causalities is not clear; while the official death toll is 13, hundreds more are believed to have been killed.

Not surprisingly, this has caused an international uproar.

What is surprising, however, is that the most global non-Internet-based campaign to end this injustice seems to be the "Panties for Peace" operation.

Aimed at undermining the superstitious beliefs of the military regime, "Panties for Peace" is doing what the most common forms of protest cannot: directly hitting the bad guys where it hurts most.

The fact that the campaign doesn't involve physical force is involved speaks to the cunning of the organizers.

Coming into contact with these emasculating panties, just might scare Than Shwe into restoring democracy in the region - something tightening sanctions and "calling for action" have not achieved.

"Panties for Peace" shows Burmese women, who are persecuted by their military, that women all around the world support them.

The campaign has already taken off in Australia, Singapore, Thailand and across Europe.

As a unifying symbol of womanhood, panties promote international solidarity and vocalize a political position free from cultural constraints.

If men were to effectively utilize such a symbol, I daresay we would be much closer to peace.



- Naira Kuzmich is a sophomore majoring in English and gender studies.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools