Non-Passive Activism
magnificent picture of harry styles at a protest from: amy marietta on instagram
Let's talk about bystanders. Specifically witnesses to events, who are present but aren't taking part in what is occurring. After WWII, many everyday Europeans claimed they weren't involved in the events of the Holocaust. Let's keep in mind here that they would have directly witnessed the exclusion of multiple communities at many different levels and decided not to get involved. Or maybe worse been okay with it. 'Bystanders' is now a catch-all term applied to individuals who seem passive or indifferent to any notable social conflicts. I'm not trying to draw direct comparisons between the horrors that occurred during WWII and any current issues, instead, I'm trying to make a point. People's apathy towards injustices that don't directly affect them is nothing new. I've heard things like, "if I had been around at that time I would have done something," or, "how could people just stand by and do nothing?". Yet the same people saying that will turn up their nose at the #BlackLivesMatter protests, disregard the #ChangetheDate movement, trivialise the #MeToo movement. Not to burst your bubble or anything, but how you respond to the causes of now reflects how you would have reacted to the causes of the past. Social complacency is not new. We all have more impact than we might realise or be willing to admit. Now if you want to take that as a reason to get offended. Don't. Sit down. Be humble. Being taught about personal blind spots and biases is not oppression.
First, let's discuss direct action. I'll be using this term to describe economic and political acts that can be used to bring awareness to a problem or provide a means of achieving some common goals. For example, boycotts, strikes, petitions, marches. Social media provides anyone with an account and enough followers, a soapbox from which to raise awareness on social issues. It's provided a platform for holding people accountable that we haven't had before. Historically, events have been documented in novels, poems, newspaper and television. In our time documentation is mostly online. From multiple perspectives. With much less filtering. In a matter of minutes, you can bring an issue to the attention of not only those in your immediate vicinity but technically anyone, anywhere. 'Activist media' is shared and organised under relevant hashtags. Photos from protests, videos of speeches, a plethora of links and funds are all tagged and made easily accessible. The existence of this media has helped facilitate broader, deeper conversations offline. I love that social media allows us to band together and be there for those in need in many different ways. However, the normalisation of 'activist media' hasn't had an exclusively positive impact on society. For instance, it has come with the normalisation of compassion fatigue - the feeling that we have to care about everything all at once. Now, speaking as someone who has felt challenged to take my activism and my caring beyond the use of a hashtag, here's a few ways I can think of to make activism more active.
Check Your Privilege
First world privilege. White privilege. Male privilege. Wealth privilege. Pretty privilege. Able-bodied privilege. The list goes on. There are many facets of privilege that we as members of society need to become more accustomed to checking. Now, before you get angry saying that your life has also been hard – I am not trying to undermine any of the struggles you have gone through. When I or someone around you asks you to check your privilege, we're simply wanting you to acknowledge that your race, or your level of wealth, or your gender has never been something that holds you back. This means that we all have certain advantages over others, simply because there are aspects of our identity that society values over others. Acknowledging this privilege is the first step to understanding the inequalities that don't directly affect you - the ones you may have been oblivious to otherwise. Identifying the problem can not only humble us, it helps make finding a solution clearer. Plus, you can't fix something you don't believe is broken.
Acknowledge Your Fragility
The word fragility here describes the thing that makes you want to defend yourself when you do get called out or when your biases are identified. Our communities and social environments can protect and insulate us from being able to acknowledge any stressors that don't directly apply to us. In 2011, educator Robin DiAngelo coined the term 'white fragility' to describe the disbelieving defensiveness white people exhibit when they are challenged regarding their views on race, racism and white supremacy.
Read that again. This concept doesn't just apply to white people, nor is it exclusive to conversations about race. We are all capable of word-vomiting irrelevant references in uncomfortable conversations, all for the sake of deflecting and maybe also trying to sell the idea that we're more socially conscious than we are. Not only is this unhelpful, but it also makes the conversation about us and our feelings on the matter – taking the focus away from those who should be centre stage. Chances are if an issue brings out your fragility, it's a topic on which you aren't qualified to be the spokesperson. Take the advice of someone who always needs to prove themself – it's not about you. Take the L, accept whatever this makes you feel and LISTEN. Try to do better. We shouldn't let our egos get in the way of learning or working towards bettering society for the hurting and oppressed.
Expand Your Worldview
The word worldview describes your theory of the world. The framework of beliefs, core values and attitudes that affect what you think, feel and connect with. Because people are products of their environments, our worldviews are limited by the boundaries of what we can directly interact with and experience. Statistically, we become most like the ten people closest to us. If all of your friends are exactly like you [according to race, sexuality, wealth, familial structure, etc] you're likely to have a sheltered and one-dimensional view of life. Don't hear this as me saying you need some 'token' friends, but take it as advice to increase your exposure to other people's worldviews – online and offline. The people you're friends with, the accounts you follow, the music you listen to and the media you consume all help shape your worldview. Social media is a great place to start because many people use their platforms to discuss their lives and who they are. Not every post or conversation will be directly about social justice but, over time, you'll gain a better understanding of what life is like for those people. Plus you'll be in the position to show genuine compassion and to be an effective ally for them.
Spending and Signing
Hashtags are by far the easiest way to find petitions and funds to donate to. I understand that we may not always have enough money to donate to a specific fund when it comes up. We're all consumers though and that's something we can weaponise. As buyers, we have the power to help redistribute wealth as a means of effecting long-term change. That is why I recommend choosing small, ethical, Indigenous and black-owned businesses whenever you can as a form of direct action. Signing petitions, on the other hand, is vital for helping provide tangible evidence of the legitimacy of a complaint. It's one thing to think that people don't like something, it's a whole other thing to know that 1 million people feel strongly enough about a cause to sign their names to it. Aside from promoting civic engagement and raising awareness, petitions are used to apply pressure on the corporate and political bodies that have the power to turn things around. The same goes for voting in relevant elections. Voting gives us the power to choose who will represent and fight for us and those around us. Who we put in the 'room where it happens' means more than most of us realise. I won't delve too deep into this but I will say, when voting, make sure you think not only about your life will be/ has been affected by a candidate, but how that candidate has or will affect those completely different to you. Jesus did say to love your neighbour as yourself.
Amplify the Voices of Others
Being an ally doesn't always mean speaking out. Specifically, it shouldn't include speaking over the voices of those at the centre of a certain cause. Knowing when to speak and when to shut up isn't easy, nor is there a hard and fast rule for it, however, please don't speak up on issues you don't have the range for. We didn't ask for it. You can stand in support of a community without holding a TED talk. It would be so much more useful to the community themselves and you if more time was spent listening instead of speaking. Put your energy into donations, signing petitions and posting other people's content if it's relevant or has helped you. Don't feel the need to perform or make it about yourself – the links in your bio are more than appreciated. As is you staying in your lane.
It's more comfortable to be pleased about doing the bare minimum than it is to get used to the discomfort that we could always do better. Don't get me wrong, hashtagging is an integral part of activism in our day and age, but I'd like us all to go past performative activism and to transcend into compassion driven direct action. As more and more of us can join these conversations and widen our understanding of society, we'll be growing into more understanding human beings. Truthfully speaking, we all have more impact than we might like to believe and I think it's important that we start using it for the betterment of society. Not just ourselves.
Inspired by:
Still Processing Podcast | New Loop, America
Everyday Feminism | What Checking Privilege Means
can ya'll just… stop talking by tee noir | on youtube
The New Yorker | The Second Act of Social Media Activism
The New Yorker | A Sociologist Examines the White Fragility that Prevents White Americans from Confronting Racism
