“You’re not make a difference”: How can we make meaningful our activism?

Life is going rather fine for you. You have some sort of food in the fridge, a roof over your head, a comfortable way of life and a smartphone. You may possibly have a few issues that attempt to agitate this wonderfully pleasant life you own (and constantly seeking to improve) but you’ve got it all under control. Therefore, life is going fine for you.

This is until you are confronted with an injustice. An injustice of some form.

This injustice evokes anger, sadness, passion, avidity, resentment & displeasure. It may be on varying levels, however it will evoke emotion that will make you want to act.

And this is where activism finds its place.

Activism is the way in which we act, in the hope of producing social change.

Activism has many forms. From grassroots activism, consumer boycotting, demonstrations, rallies to writing letters and petitions. With, what is coined, “the digital age”, we are all witnessing the rise of many online forms of activism, more specifically, the rise of ‘the slacktivist’.

‘Slacktivism’ refers to activism that usually doesn’t take much effort. These are your clicks, likes, posts, reposts, tweets and hashtags. At times, I’ve been quite critical of ‘slacktivists’ but a critique isn’t really the reason I’m writing this post.

However its been the case that I’ve found it impossible to not tweet the hashtags #BringBackOurGirls, #blacklivesmatter or #ICantBreathe. This is because I genuinely want to see the chibok girls back in their homes and I genuinely want police brutality of black people to end.

But what was I looking to achieve from these tweets?

I’m sure the direct outcome of my tweets wouldn’t be justice for both causes.

This questioning of whether my activism was meaningful even extends to all the demonstrations, walks, and rallies and marches that I’d been to because I felt compelled to act.

I remember, so vividly, the 2010 student protests against the impending rise in tuition fees. I remember holding up my placard, repeating rebellious chants and feeling a great sense of hope in my defiance. Tuition fees did still rise however.

And so I questioned whether this was all meaningful?

“You’re are not making a difference”

Was my activism pointless because the direct outcome had not been social change?

I’ve had many people tell me that activism in all its varying forms, is largely, pointless. This is because, power is concentrated in the hands of an elite few and the powerful are able to do as they please, despite our protest. thats the usual line of argument.

And although it is easy to feel that is the case, activism isn’t pointless.

I would like to state that we should always be aware of the structural forces that seek to monopolise on power and who also produce injustice, inequality, racism and war. However we need to always believe in our agency to change that reality.

Believing in our agency is the beginning.

I posed the question of whether activism was a pointless action, to one of my lecturers. He told me, quite simply “What you do makes a difference but you may not see it now”

When you decide to become involved in activism, it is necessary that you are realistic about what you, as an individual, are able to achieve now. Social change is never a straightforward process and so the effect of our activism isn’t always obvious. We must ask ourselves questions.

What am I really protesting against? Is this the most effective platform to enact my protest? What structures are enforcing this injustice? Is the movement I am showing solidarity with organised? What does the movement need to further its aims?

Yes, I think for activism to be meaningful, it requires asking questions and analysing the methods we take. It also requires analysing the structures in which we enact these same methods.

But we must always believe in our agency in achieving social change.