The sardine race is a curious phenomenon, and in its own way also interesting.
Between May and July, a lot of sardines cross the seas of southern Africa, more or less always at the same point, within a local bay, before rising northwards to the eastern coasts.
It happens only once a year, like Easter, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day, but only under certain conditions and not every year: the water temperature must be below 21 degrees Celsius, otherwise nothing, it’s just not talked about.
For example, in 2003 and 2006 the sardines were unable to ‘run’, apparently due to cold water currents which.. were not that cold.
The sight you can observe is still fantastic, and marine biologists tell it like this:
“The sardines that take part in the race can measure up to 7 km in length and 1.5 km in width, and be ‘tall’ even more than 30 metres, so much so that they are clearly visible from reconnaissance aircraft and coastlines but.. also from predators.
Sardines congregate when they feel threatened. This is an instinctive behavior, like a natural defense mechanism, because solitary individuals are more likely to be eaten than larger groups. It’s also true, however, that sharks and larger predators can feast better when sardines are gathered in groups. However, if they continue to do so, there must be an evolutionary advantage.
Observing them from water, the solar rays refracting there give rise to spectacular plays of light, which together with perfectly coordinated movements compose continuously moving three-dimensional works of art..”
In short they are a bit reminiscent’ of the choreography of the starlings, who soar through the air moving all together without following anyone, because there is no headmaster, no, headmaster, oh god oh well one in charge and all the others who follow him, no no, it seems that they manage to communicate with each other and reach an agreement in an instant, that if someone thinks about the last condominium meeting or our left-wing politicians it seems like something that Harry Potter and his Philosopher’s Stone is missing.
Even the Nobel Prize winner in physics Giorgio Parisi took it as an example in one of his very interesting books
According to him, it is “a complex system composed of a large number of interacting components” whose collective behavior can be understood if we can grasp the “simple rules of interaction between individuals” that is, all those physical systems in which behind the apparent “disorder” we can find precise causal relationships…”
Okay, it seems that one of these systems is precisely the flight of flocks of starlings, which just because of the name seems really complex to me, but in short Parisi explained the incredible symmetry of their collective flight as a result of “simple rules” based on a regulated movement “on the position of the neighbors”!
Perhaps, however, in trying to understand certain shows, one loses some of the amazement in observing them.
This could be the case of the Sardines, which is not only a curious affair, but also a movement of people who gathered in 2020 to counter the advance of the Northern League ‘troops’ in the Emilia Romagna regional elections!
Born spontaneously, it quickly involved a lot of people, and it’s perhaps a shame that their journey didn’t last long.
I don’t know the reasons; they were certainly shot down by the very left that won those elections thanks in part to them. However, I remember that those who had started acting were quickly forgotten: some elected to the party of the greats, others perhaps returned to their homes a little sadly, also due to the subsequent pandemic lockdown.
Many others, however, say that it was precisely from that movement that they gained strength to engage in ‘politics’, each within their own personal reality, with whoever they want and with whoever wants to be close to them.
The images of those squares full of people singing and dancing united by the desire to be together remain unforgettable!
Without making comparisons with Berlinguer’s left, which perhaps is another story, is it really not possible to recreate that energy?
I’m not a physicist, yet I’m convinced that there are many young and no longer young boys and girls who still want that one, because they haven’t forgotten how to do it.
What is wanting really… power?
Not that of commanding though, but of doing things to change things..
Sure maybe in this case ‘the physical’ can help, but I’m convinced there is a real left-wing democratic force, and that the real force is that of ideas
Ultimately, if humanity has been walking together for a very long time, it is because it knows how to do it
Marco Randisi
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