You know what? Fuck it. History time.In occupied Poland, other than armed resistance, there was a thing called "mały sabotaż" (Polish for "small sabotage"). It was small acts of disobedience against the regime, done by anyone who couldn't or shouldn't join the actual fight, for instance Boy Scouts.(because a small reminder - child soldiers should not exist. Ever.)"mały sabotaż" aimed to disrupt the everyday goings-on, and that very much included disrupting the lives of Poles who collaborated with Nazis. That included vandalism and smaller acts of non-lethal aggression, such as throwing smoke and stink bombs inside movie theatres.A slogan from Nazi-occupied Warsaw went "tylko świnie siedzą w kinie". That translates to "only pigs sit in the movie theatre".Because it's easy to forget that many people just Wanted To Live Their Lives. They didn't see themselves as traitors, they just didn't want to be bothered. And it's not like they could overthrow the government, so it was OK to just try to live their lives as best as they could, right?Right?Wrong.Going to the movies became a symbol of quiet capitulation to Nazis. From today's perspective it seems absurd. Those people were Polish. Members of a nation that was planned to be wiped off the face of the Earth. There WAS no peaceful surrender.But in the moment, it was easy to forget that. And resistance, any resistance that could be mustered, was a reminder that those people were in the wrong.Fascism seems in vogue in the West again. USA in the specific is on its way to where Germany was in the 1930s.Just keep in mind that with no distance, no perspective of hindsight, being quiet and complacent made a lot of sense to a lot of people in Poland.Maybe don't be like that. You don't have to pick up a rifle and fight, but try to find SOMEthing you can do. And definitely do not close your eyes and pretend everything is fine and hope you'll be OK for a while longer.Because tylko świnie siedzą w kinie.EDIT: it occurs to me it's silly to translate "tylko świnie siedzą w kinie" so literally. A more accurate way to say it in English is "only scum go to the movies". Except it also rhymes in Polish, of course.
