The existence of social media
platforms has given birth to social media activism, which has enabled people to
promote their own causes independently of charities and organisations. On occasion
social media has been responsible for spearheading influential campaigns,
including the #BlackLivesMatter and #YesAllWomen hashtags. Both of which have
played an integral part in raising awareness of issues of racism and sexism in
the modern world. Despite the positive influence of these projects, amongst
others, they have come up against resistance, most notably in the form of those
who warp and reshape the original message of the campaign for their own
purposes.
The mishandling of these
campaigns has become an epidemic issue, with countless people launching spin
offs of the initial campaign to serve their own needs. As a result supporters
are fractured by the confused message and the message is lost amongst the fight
to reclaim it.
Activists hashtags have been
reshaped continually, and the #AllLivesMatter tag is a prime example of what’s
wrong with it. The #AllLivesMatter hashtag emerged soon after the
#BlackLivesMatter message took off. The changed message was supposedly to
support caring for all people, and helping them all equally. Presidential
candidate Hilary Clinton even uttered the phrase during a speech on her
campaign tour. People have continued to support the #AllLivesMatter movement,
claiming that it’s a more positive message because it supports all people. But,
what continues to be misunderstood is that #BlackLivesMatter is not designed to
be exclusionary; it is designed to draw attention to a minority who are
continuing to face blatant and unchecked prejudice and racism. By supporting a
cause aimed at a specific group of people you aren’t announcing hatred for all
other people, but this fact seems to be lost on those who decided to alter the
movement with #AllLivesMatter.
The same problem can be seen
amongst hashtags promoting feminism and projects like #EverydaySexism. One of
the most significant backlashes against these hashtags has been #NotAllMen,
which was designed to draw attention to the fact that not all men are sexist or
rapists. A fact that really wasn’t necessary to point out, but the participants
in this hashtag are apparently incapable of understanding that a blanket
statement drawing attention to a minority issue is not condemning all others
outside of that group.
The bastardisation of these
hashtags is a clear example of the continued ignorance displayed by people who
decide to actively manipulate these campaigns for their own gain. Those who
create these modified hashtags are often working with the best intentions, because
they think that they’re promoting a positive message, but what they’re doing is
actually very damaging. On occasion, though, they really are just arseholes who
think that they’re better than the issue being promoted. Changing the message
waters down the positive effects of the initial hashtag and wastes time,
because supporters of the original message can become embroiled in fruitless
arguments with those ignorant enough to modify the hashtag.
With the continuation of insular
and intolerant attitudes people are able to promote these modified hashtags
freely and they continue to gather support. The initial manipulation of these
hashtags usually stems from people misunderstanding the root of the cause,
which results in the decision to ‘correct’ the perceived wrongdoing. The
warping of the cause successfully draws attention away from its original
message and poisons the positive influence the campaign is trying to achieve.
Consequently people have to waste time attempting to explain why their
bastardisation of the initial campaign is wrong, which wastes precious time.
The focus of campaigns like #BlackLivesMatter and #EverydaySexism is to help
adjust the equilibrium of our society to more accurately reflect an equal and
just society. But, this becomes impossible when people continue to bastardise
the cause for their own gain, because they deem these hashtags as inflammatory
and prejudice in themselves. To put it simply: they are not being prejudice.
The hashtags are designed to gather support for the group being affected, and
raise awareness of the issue. Not to hurt your precious feelings.
Modifying these campaigns
fractures minority groups as each attempts to gain the attention they deserve,
and are hampered by the individuals who believe that their hurt feelings
deserve more attention than the primary cause. So next time you think that
someone saying #BlackLivesMatter or #YesAllWomen is a personal affront to you,
reconsider! I can guarantee you that it’s not designed as an insult to you, I
doubt you’re important enough to have a hashtag developed just to offend you.
Try reminding yourself that the world doesn’t revolve around you, there are
issues that need attention drawn to them and sometimes they aren’t going to be
about you. They’re aimed at raising awareness of an issue that needs
addressing, that needs to be acknowledged and changed. So stop reading between
the lines, and listen to the message.
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