EMO plenary session

Television program in Serbia, we can practically divide along the new dividing line. I must say they are student protests led to breaking the information blockade, not only on RTS but also on other channels. It became impossible to ignore the energy and mass of the citizens' rebellion, because protest gatherings were held in over 250 cities, towns, and villages. If we add to this wave of discontent the protests of educators, high school students, farmers, actors, lawyers, pensioners, doctors and daily gatherings of citizens at commemorations for the victims in Novi Sad, the size and strength of this wave simply cannot be stopped. The marathon from Kragujevac to Belgrade, hiking to Niš, from Niš and Belgrade to Kragujevac, mobilized citizens along the routes and brought contributions on television.

Some of them calculated the length and number of articles, reciprocity in principle - one news about the government, the next about protests. Some channels have opted for a neutral news tactic, whether it is to escape to the economy, the war in Ukraine, Gaza or the dispute over Greenland.

However, the main feature of reporting by the hardline pro-regime media is fear. In the past week alone, we have been scared by the "color revolution", foreign espionage, the assassination of Vučić, furious supporters of the government, Ustashas, ​​anarchists, autonomists, Kurti (albeit to a lesser extent, due to the elections in Kosovo), but also the ice wave, the flu virus, all the way to the astrological forecast of a critical period for Serbia. The president and all his associates are scaring us with the lost school year, and they are scaring the teachers that they won't get paid if they are on strike. The outgoing Prime Minister today threatened the citizens that the protests and blockades, if they continue, will frighten off that endemic species called "investors", who will run away like a timid fawn or a wild rabbit to a more peaceful place.

The same outgoing Prime Minister is thunderously silent about the consumer boycott of the five largest retail chains. Didn't he, not so long ago, boldly and boldly announce the war on the monopolies with a tall Parisier in his hand?

The president even announced to the citizens of Zrenjanin that after 21 years they will get drinking water, so ask yourself what you will drink if he is not in power. They scare us with the cold, the energy crisis, but they don't scare us with falling standards, lack of water, bad roads on which even the president has a flat tire, higher taxes, excise duties, prices and inflation. The regime is only looking forward to the shutdown of US AID, overlooking the fact that the logo of this organization is on the website of the Serbian Parliament, but also of many institutions of the Government and the ruling party.

On the other side of this invisible divide in the media is the incredible zest for life brought by the students. I remember that in the nineties the mental barrier was broken for the first time when humor entered the sphere of politics and media through B92. It turned out that humor is the party's number one enemy, which authoritarian systems cannot deal with. It is a mental hygiene phenomenon that has led to a kind of social catharsis. Hence, the most common reaction of older generations is a stormy emotional mixture of laughter and tears. The confusion of the authorities before the practice of the plenum leads to a complete paralysis of the propaganda mechanisms of intimidation. Slogans like "pump" then immediately become a comical response to the pumping of the government's propaganda machinery. It becomes a parody of itself. I am particularly fascinated by the application of the principle of solidarity and plenum in protecting the mental health of students. First, I would like to praise the colleagues who formed groups for psychological support at the Faculty of Philosophy. Among other things, they helped the council's colleagues overcome the challenges during the hike to Novi Sad. I learned that they were given very useful tips and techniques, both group and individual. It's incredible that FDU students once a week introduced something they colloquially call "EMO-plenum", which is actually a form of group therapy, talking about emotions, fears, improving communication, burnout syndrome and the like.

If we add to this a fascinating example of intergenerational solidarity during the joint protest of pensioners and students on Republic Square, we actually see that it is a social movement that fundamentally changes the psychological state of the entire nation. This is what causes a reaction in viewers and breaks the censorship barrier. Of course, you cannot simply politically articulate that psychological release with the program of an opposition party, because this awakened state of freedom and empathy overcomes some of the most painful divisions in our society. During protests and blockades, it is no longer strange to anyone that someone carries the flag of Serbia, someone a Ferrari, someone has a sajkača, in short, the division into the first and second Serbia is erased. Neither Trump, nor Putin, nor Xi Jinping are behind the students.

What is also noticeable, although still shyly followed in the media, is the echo of student protests outside the borders of Serbia. Perhaps for the first time, in our neighborhood there is a solidarity based on discontent that has no national sign. People recognized the need for freedom, justice and the struggle for a fairer society.

Finally, to be honest, in this same column less than six months ago, I wrote a text after a big congress of psychologists and psychotherapists in Belgrade, whose theme was empathy. The general conclusion was concern about the lack of empathy, both in the media and in our society, and then the students appeared and restored our faith in the power of unity, solidarity, justice and victory over fear. They have actually started an important mission of psychological healing and deserve all the media's support.