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dopamine-fiendtv · 6 months

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When activism loses itself.

I've seen so much division in various communities lately and wanted to write something to express my thoughts on it. I understand that people care and want to feel like they are making a difference. I understand that where they have established a particular social media community as important to them, the desire to see that community cares as much as you about issues is huge.

Part of the value of social media is that it can raise awareness, used skillfully it can educate and change hearts and minds. It's also a powerful tool for those who care to feel like they are doing something to support a cause. It's great that people who feel powerless and angered by events can channel that to try and drive change through social media, but that's achieved by education and discussion, and by supporting curiosity to grow understanding.

When that passion is used to attack the people they want to influence, it often has the opposite effect. People become afraid to ask, to learn, and instead avoid the issue entirely. They won't ask, won't learn the small sacrifices they can make in support as they're too afraid of falling foul of the mob. People's social media is often a narrow, anonymised view of them. You don't know who they are or or how vulnerable they are, what they do in their wider life to support a cause, personally or professionally. Nor do you know why they speak on one subject but not another. They may unawares to you be closer to the issue than you. They may be more impacted by it than you. They may have other vulnerabilities or suffer in ways you have no awareness of. For many socal media is an escape from realities they battle every day. If social media for you is a space you use to campaign for a cause, for a greater good, that's amazing, but if you allow that to foster a sense of absolutism, if you allow it to reduce the humans you are trying to influence to be labelled good or evil, moral or amoral, worthy or unworthy by whether they carry out one specific action in support of your cause? If you are raging at people for not doing that and feeling like by doing so, you are furthering your cause? You've got it wrong. What your are actually doing is dehumanising them and judging them based on whether they meet your test of morality. That's drifting into extremist behaviour it's not helpful It's what drives polarisation and increases the chances of people dissociating completely from important causes. Think about what you are actually trying to achieve and the human emotions and behaviours that lead to those problems. Remember it's real people you are trying to influence. People who will often care just as much or maybe more than you do about the cause, or who, if they don't have an understanding of the cause, very likely care about doing what's right and what's decent. They need to be educated and empowered to act in a way that is accessible for them and furthers the cause, rather than satisfying your demand for a specific performative action. Think about this. Remember the big picture and engage to try and help people help your cause.

We're asking people to do x because of this.

Can't do that? No problem, have you thought about what else you could do? No? That's OK, here's some suggestions:

You can encourage them to write to those in authority.

You can give them accurate sources to understand where and why boycotts may be effective.

You can encourage them to join you in reaching more people.

You can respectfully empower people and let go of knowing what they choose, because that's just serving personal validation and ego. It does nothing to further your cause.

If you're currently using social media to fight against any systemic wrong, atrocity, or injustice, reflect on what you want to achieve & if your approach and behaviours reflect a champion of that cause or a dictator. Don't target your righteous anger at the people you want to influence, but at the wrong you want to right. Don't justify attacking individual people, who you really know nothing about for not meeting your narrow view of how they must be seen to support a cause. Those who are intentionally using their power to drive forward the wrongs you are fighting are celebrating your personal attacks on innocent people, which change nothing and move the real offenders no closer to facing accountability.

#activism #change

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