One of the things that has fascinated me most in these polarizing times is the extent to which people (including myself) spend so much of their time and energy trying to persuade others of their viewpoints.
Nowhere is this more apparent than social media, a cacophony of people shouting into the void. As Mike Drucker put it:
Not only are actual views policed by the online mob, but silence is policed too. We’ve all seen tweets along the lines of, “Don’t think I don’t notice all the [X type of people] not speaking up about [Y issue].”
Which got me thinking. Does speaking up online even accomplish anything?
We can all think of instances where a cacophony of voices led to real world action (and sometimes unfortunate mobs), so in the sense that one voice is joining many others, I can think of it being a vote for action.
But are we actually persuading anyone? Does it really matter to state your views online? Are we substituting the illusion of action for actual action?
What do you think?
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Art: Stump Speaking by George Caleb Bingham
I suppose it is how it is handled. Barking at each other doesn’t work. Every time I engage with someone who’s views I find abhorrent, they always end up doing a laughing crying emoji and telling me to keep drinking the Kool Aid. There’s no actual debate or listening to be had. I am trying to limit responding to the hate and insanity with any kind of persuasion or information meant to educate. It never works and it makes me feel too much rage.
On the other hand, I’m all about calling out so and so (Dear Leader, Fox News pundit, Republican politician, James Woods, etc etc etc etc) on their hate, bigotry, misogyny, hypocrisy, and sociopathic policies. It’s my view that we need to speak up when we see the wrong. Call it by name. Say, I see you and you can’t get away with it. This is. not. normal. I know I’m not going to change Joni Ernst’s mind on gun control, but she needs to know that there are people out here that aren’t okay with what’s happening. I know that I won’t make Trump a better person by telling him how awful he is, but it makes me feel better to call him out on it. And if a bunch of us do, maybe that means something. It doesn’t feel right to be quiet.
If my FB friend Katelyn’s Aunt Flo says “they deserve it” in response to Katelyn’s shared article about the horrors of the kid camps at the border, I have to respond. “Yo, Aunt Flo, that’s not cool. Be human.” Maybe Aunt Flo doesn’t care about my opinion, but I just can’t let hatred and ugliness go unchecked. If we do that, what might that mean?
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Ducks ARE good! Horses are BAD! And dogs just don’t listen, like the pair in that painting, though they probably disagree with ABC about barking…
But seriously, good questions, Nathan. Speaking up online can indeed have good, bad, or unintentional effects, or none at all. It all depends and the outcome is never certain. But I try to avoid cynicism or defeatism in that regard. History is full of examples of the power of words. They need not be substitutes for action but can be pwerful actions in themselves, and can spark action.
I do find it useful to ask myself who I am trying persuade. A commenter I disagree with? Other people reading the exchange? Myself? Any two or all three? And I’m well aware that “winning” an argument can mean losing the arguer. People may give up without being persuaded. Silence does not always denote assent.
I’ll share with you one thought I have on this subject: Your mother’s graceful and tactful encouragement of people on Facebook has affected me. She always seems to find a way to say something positive. And it seems to me that her words often shift the focus of the meme in a better direction. I have learned a lot from how she handles herself on social media.
I would say something profound, but I don’t think it would accomplish anything.
For me personally, it accomplishes not thing one. Because of where I lean politically (moderate Republican), I’m often stepping into a field of landmines when I comment/offer up my own point of view of something, simply most of my online friends lean left. Not that’s a bad thing, since the majority of my online friends are quite tolerant of my views, which in turn allows me to listen to their p.o.v. with an open mind. However,I do have some in which I’ve had to unfollow because the toxicity was so bad.
Overall, I’ve learned to carefully pick my debates online. Safety in silence so to speak.
I can say that other people speaking out online has meant the world to me, especially in the case of raising the concerns of marginalized voices in the publishing industry.
Many of us have long wanted to speak out, but when you’re still trying to break in, you have to weigh the consequences. Others have stuck out their necks to make positive change, and I admire that–and I winced at your wording for this question, as the term “online mob” seems to often be used toward those WOC who have spoken up about racist representation and other issues in publishing. The recent Buzzfeed article does a terrific job discussing the history of the conversation surrounding diversity in publishing–and points out that before twitter there was livejournal, before that email lists, and so on. People have used these mediums to raise their voices and make change–achingly slow at times–but change nonetheless. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mollytempleton/ya-twitter-books-publishing-amelie-wen-zhao-social-media
Often no, but we have seen public outcry cause shifts – changes in policy, politicians backtracking or even reversing decisions, companies choosing to decry something they were involved in/supporting/whatever, websites deplatforming incitements to violence, etc. When enough people speak out, it can make a genuine difference.
Well, the pen is mightier than the sword, so they say. How much better is it to have a war of words – or better still – a thoughtful and respectful discussion, typed or otherwise, than an actual war. We all want to be aware of the truth as it does set us free. The truth is always positive.