Does a Bright Side Always Need a Shadow?

Last night was a horrific night. After the peaceful rally, further protesters went on to deface a government building, escalating the movement into a show down, rubber bullets, bean bags and tear gas all came out.

Meanwhile on the other side of HK, hundreds of triads surrounded a MTR station and waited to beat the crap out of people coming home, they ended up trapping them inside the carriages; and began an indiscriminate beating. Police was called, but there was no answer, 2 police stations in the area closed its gates on their own citizens?!? WHY?

There are plenty of coverage on the web, the details are all there. I just got to say... a big RESPECT to all the unedited live streaming media working at the front line. Without them, would we have just eaten up whatever was put in front of us?

Today, my wife and I had a "What if" conversation ... I guess we really needed an outlet to talk through our feelings towards what's been happening here the last 4-5 weeks.

If it's been so traumatic for us sitting in front of the TV, I just couldn't imagine what must be going through the minds of all of the protesters and the police after each face off, after their adrenaline wears off, they must be left with an incredible burden. It must be such a complex mixture of emotions, stresses and pressures, not to mention all of their families at home, hanging on to every news bite, just wondering and waiting. (I hate to think about this ... but I keep doing it!)

Due to all the violence here lately, people's faith in our system are faltering, especially after last night's ordeal. You could feel the balance shifting after the last protest and after last night ... the shift has becoming even more obvious.

It's been going round and round in my head ... why did the timing fit so well?

What if ... all the events that happened last night wasn't a coincidence.

What if ... there was a method in the madness.

What if ... they also felt the trust balance was shifting.

What if ... they wanted to restore that balance.

What if ... last night was all about creating discipline and respect.

What if ... all of this was to create FEAR

What if ... they were trying to say ... "Hey look, see what happens when we are not around!"

What if ... they miscalculated our 'animal instincts' would get so out of hand?

What if ... it was the triads who saw this as an opportunity?

What if ... they underestimated the will of the Hong Kong People?

What if ... they underestimated the resilience we were brought up with?

What if ... they have forgotten what it means to be a Hong Konger?

What if ... We are not susceptible to fear?

The bright side is, since this movement started, I have noticed the bond between people are getting stronger, more united, and most encouragingly, we are looking out for each other again, giving support and having each other's backs.

As a street photographer, our image comes from the stories amongst the people at their most primitive moments. And this got me thinking, in every image ever taken, the bright parts depended on the dark, and shadows always contrasted with the lights. After all, if we are not standing in the shadows, we would not see the lights.

What if this was what we all needed to see again? ADD OIL HONG KONG!!!