No matter what happens in Libya, whether or not Quackdaffy is overthrown they’ll just end up with another dictator and go to shit for the next 30 years. Once he’s overthrown everyone will forget about what has happened and will not make any steps in making the quality of life in Libya any better.
It’s happened in Afghanistan and Somalia. The rest of the world tried to interfere and tried to “fix” what was wrong, and now these countries are still messed up… but no one cares.
Nothing is going to be solved until everyone on the entire planet protests, goes on strike from doing anything and shouts “Hey, this isn’t working for most people. We’re not going back to work until something better is available.”
But that’s not going to happen because not everyone is educated or aware.
Awareness can be raised via news, blogs and oddly petitions. But signing internet petitions is completely useless as it is a form of slacktivism.
Slacktivism is defined as “the search for the ultimate feel-good that derives from having come to society’s rescue without actually getting one’s hands dirty, volunteering any of one’s time, or opening one’s wallet. It’s slacktivism that prompts us to forward appeals for business cards on behalf of a dying child intent upon having his name recorded in the Guinness World Book of Records or exhortations to others to continue circulating a particular e-mail because some big company has supposedly promised that every forward will generate monies for the care of a languishing tot. Likewise, it’s slacktivism that prompts us to want to join a boycott of designated gas companies or eschew buying gasoline on a particular day rather than reduce our personal consumption of fossil fuels by driving less and taking the bus more often. Slacktivism comes in many forms, but its defining characteristic is its central theme of doing good with little or no effort on the part of the person inspired to participate, through the mechanisms of forwarding, exhorting, collecting, or e-signing.” (Detailed explaination here)
My head is hurting. Crap happens, nothing I can physically do about it to actually help. Thinking of joining the socialist alternative… except for the fact that I’m scared of them.
On a slightly less mopey note, this year I will donate blood.
I Barely Remember Yesterday, So I Get It
44 minutes ago
4 comments:
Yeah!
My personal pet peeve is anything "support the troops" here in the good old US of A. Yeah, some people go to protests to bring the troops home, or organize people to vote for politicians who will end military involvement in pointless wars, but REALLY supporting the troops involves a magnet stuck non-permanently to the back of your SUV. Made in China. Money goes to a company that is profiting on the wars and uses the money to lobby politicians to expand the war.
Fake activism at its worst.
I do agree that "slacktivism" is a real phenomena. However, we should take care to differentiate between the act of signing an online petition itself and the whole attitude and lifestyle of "armchair revolutionary" strategies of deliberately seeking the easy way out. After all, if you're presented with an opportunity to sign a petition in your spare time, why the heck not do it? We should only be worried if that's actually someone's whole damn modus operandi.
And about Libya....at least the Libyans are actually doing things for themselves, rather than having some do-gooder foreign army roll in guns-a-blazin'. That's one thing we can be happy about.
I can't donate blood TT.TT
@Joe supporting the troops with a magnet made in china seems a little sketchy =/
@suleiman You're right, signing a petition is okay as long as that's not all you do. I went to a rally once, donate money to various organisations that I support, petition my local member about certain issues from time to time. I just didn't think that petitioning about Libya was going to help at the time.
@Ealee, you're doing much more than I am I swear
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