Is it Enough?
Photo from feministing.com
Over the years, with the rise of social media we’ve witnessed blogs, hashtags and prolific twitter feeds attempt to fight social injustices. But has this been enough?
Back in September, Troy Davis’ case and the social media uprise brought attention to the U.S. system of capital punishment. Thousands took to Facebook and Twitter the week leading to Troy Davis’ execution. But have we become complacent in our acts to make a change, that we rely on social media to do the work? #TroyDavis was everywhere (including my own twitter feed) but what serious action was done? Did we take the time out to research the legalities of the issue (separation of federal & local government)? Did we use our voice? At the time of this case, sadly there were more individuals sitting behind their devices creating hashtags instead of mobilizing to address the deeper issue behind Troy Davis.
Talib Kweli at Occupy Wall Street
The Occupy Wall Street movement may have been one of the few cases in recent times, where people were disgusted with a social injustice and allowed their voice to be heard. Families, Hip Hop artists [article on movement & artists involved], students and more took to the streets all over the country to stand against the 1%. The movement might not have been the most effective to tackle the trickle-down effect of economic powers, but taking action was the beginning.
Currently, we’re witnessing the social media surge of Trayvon Martin. Trayvon was a 17-year old boy who was murdered by George Zimmerman. The recent 911 tapes have angered many, including myself, for what seems to be a blatant act of racism.
As a social media enthusiast, yes I believe social media is effective in bringing awareness to an issue or injustice. But the ‘change-seeker’ in me, doesn’t feel it’s enough. If you’re on a college campus, have a forum where #TrayvonMartin (or any other issue) isn’t just spoken about but a call to action is presented [FAMU Law Students Rallying in Front of Seminole County Courts]. Contact your local NAACP chapter to see what is being done or sign the petition… Do what it takes to see justice served for the Martin family. Because if you’re angry and concerned a simple #TrayvonMartin won’t change much.
Gone are the days of the civil rights movement, the Women Suffrage March, etc., but injustices are still pressing onward. We can’t allow the recent phenomenon of social media to now do the work set out for us to do.
I completely agree. I think social media has given people a false sense of action. They think by liking a post or retweeting a hashtag will do something. This reminds me of the recent KONY 2012 cause. So many people were quick to promote a cause that they had did no research about and come to find out there were some inconsistencies in their messaging and viral video. We too often as a culture take the easy way out and rely on non-traditional media, which it is fine to go there first, but then don’t take the extra step to investigate things on our own. Social media has empowered but also crippled how people advocate. Our parents and grandparents didn’t just mobilize online, they got up and walked the streets and made their voices heard. This is not to say that some aren’t doing that, but it is not as widespread as during the civil rights movement as you mentioned. in your post. I hope that people realize it takes more than a tweet to educate yourself on the reality of what is occurring in our society.
Yes, KONY 2012 was the catalyst to this post. Had I included that incident in the post, it would have been an ugly rant. I couldn’t have agreed more that individuals didn’t do their research and allowed what others did/say to impact how they felt about a situation. And at the end of the day, putting #STOPKONY on your twitter feed wasn’t really stopping KONY (smh).
Our ancestors mobilized to the point where they were beaten! Am I saying I want that to happen, definitely not. But do we need to do more than just tweeting? Yes! Being at the Hoodie March/Protest for Trayvon Martin warmed my heart to see that individuals were tired of talking, stood alongside of his parents, and marched to gain signatures to arrest George Zimmerman. Somehow, some of us lost sight of our physical voice and began to hide behind the “voice” of our iPhones, iPads, droids and Blackberrys. But, I am almost certain that we can get back to the days when we DID things to educate and change the community.
I agree that social media has given us the ability to sit in our chairs, scroll through our Facebook and Twitter feeds, press ‘like” or “tweet” and then pat ourselves on the back for adding our voice to social causes. But, the Middle Eastern uprisings showed us the power of social media to organize and mobilize people to drive change.
We are often told that people need to hear something several times before they will respond to a call for action. I have to confess, I am guilty of this. Like so many, I was shocked, appalled, and saddened by the tragic and unnecessary death of Trayvon Martin. I first learned of the Change.org petition on my social interfaces. If it had been one isolated case (or in a newspaper article), I might have missed it. But, the constant repetition drove me to the site to add my name. The petition has now been hailed the fasted growing in Internet history. More importantly the intense online activity is now driving offline activity – that, I believe, is the power of social media, and the only real way to drive change.
Carol, yes and that aspect of social media I can wholeheartedly respect. Will I tweet people to get them to sign the petition? Most definitely. But I’ve unfortunately watch people tweet about various incidents and that’s as far as they go. There needs to be more offline activity to really effect change. Social media brings awareness to situations many don’t know about, however, we can’t rely on the tweet or “like” button to make the change.
In reference to the Trayvon Martin incident, if individuals just tweeted and didn’t sign this widely grown petition, the necessary steps to arrest Zimmerman wouldn’t be taken. If we leave it at just “Rest in Peace #TrayvonMartin”, our fight is gone. I do hope we can mobilize more offline activity, than online, to drive the necessary change.
There is an overall issue within the younger generations of complacency. Because the civil rights issues do not exist with the same degrees as they did in the 60′s many young folks do not know what it is to actually have to really take action against injustices. Many are under the impression that social media outlets constitute as doing their part. I believe what has to happen now is to use social media to educate the younger generations on the various ways they can take a stand… We will use what they know to elevate them to know more…