There’s lots left over—some reports suggested that as many as 50,000 people stood in line under a hot sun in order to donate 10cc each. No matter whether it gets used for anything else (somebody said an artwork is planned), the stunt made a big splash.
It worked on several levels. Blood’s color matches the protesters’ shirts. It symbolizes sacrifice. The spilling managed to recall countless previous struggles in which people gave up their lives, but it did so nonviolently. Newspapers all around the globe put the story on page 1.
Most likely this drama was dreamt up by well-paid image consultants. If so, they know their audience.
The photo op began with a ceremony conducted by a white-shirted Brahmin priest, whose black-magic incantations I’m told appeal to the red shirts’ rural base. (The photo at right was stolen from a news website—I wasn’t there.)Yesterday’s blood, which had been mixed with anticoagulants and plenty of disinfectant, was quickly mopped up by dozens of workers who were standing by, dressed for the party in biohazard gear. Today, buckets of rain happened to fall just as the protesters were emptying their liter bottles on the prime minister’s fence.
Health professionals were dismayed by the waste. Others said the displays would ultimately hurt the red shirts’ chances of achieving the power shift they say they want. To me the whole performance seemed like a big win.
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