PLEASE READ 1.) CC's are enabled on all my videos! 2.) Paliroots has a bit too much controversy and sketchiness so the organization for June will be Palestine Medical Relief (their insta is in the description) twitter.com/_theantoinette?s=09 the artist that made the illustration I used for part 1 3.) I meant to say injured not murdered, either way the numbers don’t lie! 4.) I don’t LOVE the idea of being able to filter out every opinion that doesn’t agree with you, but sometimes we’re tired and it’s nice to feed our confirmation bias… 5.)Again on the good faith bit, I hope it’s also clear that there are folks who cannot physically go out and protest so online is their only option. Plus re: Israel Palestine many people are pushing online activism within this movement as their only option to get people to pay attention.
Just finished the video, and that's gonna be a lot to process. But hey, I wanted to say that it's normal to get emotional when talking about something you care about. Especially if it's a charity project close to your heart! And also, Bienvenue au Québec! De plus, c'est: "Montréal *ma* nouvelle maison.", not "mon nouvelle maison", parce que "maison" est féminin. (for obvious sexist historical reasons lol) Note: correcting each other's French is a timeless French tradition passed down to us by the bourgeoisie and elite class but is now ubiquitous especially in Quebec. People will tease you a lot like that. ;-)
@@chelsi.mp4 omg I saw your femininity video just the other day and you are very articulate! I'm hoping your channel gets a shoutout so you can grow, big ups to you sis
Also yessss on the part about assuming good faith and giving people grace and patience. I’ve seen countless times when people ask a question only to be met with, “Stop demanding emotional labor from marginalized people!” When the question wasn’t addressed to any single person in particular. Like, anybody has the opportunity to respond. So why not let that happen rather than berating someone for wanting to understand something?
@@SybilNix 🤔 this is something to think about. But the idea of online activism whether performative or not isn't that it is bad per se, but the fact that people try to force others to talk about the issue and also their motives for doing it. For instance, some people only post because the were pressured into doing it and so as not to look insensitive not even that they really care about the cause. There's also the fact that most of the people can't really do anything at all.
@Lemi Phil This is very true. People will peer pressure their fellow online activists to retweet snuff videos "or else they don't really care." Why would you want to make people watch suffering and trauma potentially with no ability to filter it out? If it takes a video of someone being brutalized to get them to help, what good would their help actually be?
I was an adult so I remember watching the video but kept asking _"Ok...how you gonna get him tho?"_ and never got an answer lol. Finding out people bought a "kit" I gotta ask how did yall really think buying stickers was gonna catch somebody?! THINK INTERNET THINK!
@@ThexDynastxQueen I was 28 at the time, and this video was my introduction to what that was. I think I heard or read the phrase "KONY 2012" two or three times before watching this.
I hope that the recent increase in social and humanitarian activism isn't a trend. Most if not all of these things aren't new. But I think that the American society hasn't been exposed to they're global impact. However, now that we have social media people from those countries can expose and share their stories about whats going on there. The new generation has a new prospective. Don't let this be a trend.
Of course it's popular because it's a trend. We can hope that through the momentum of it there might be some good results, but pretending that a majority of people participating in online activism don't do it for public recognition is a bit naiv.
I deleted social media all together. Best decision I ever made only one I have left is RUclips bc there are many traditional teachings on here If you look. We don’t need social media to bring healing, understanding, and peace to our society
@@Hobbesnevie super important to do that. But it’s decreasing because big companies are stopping small and local newspapers. Politicians who’re your representatives are the ones you should pay attention to.
It's a trend ma'am and as soon information on the particular issue isn't available anymore or projected to the screens of a lot of people, the sooner they move on
i personally feel like another big problem we have is that a lot of young teens (13,14,15 ect) are simply reposting these info graphics instead of actually learning, for example i am like 14 and last year i was posting sooo many info graphics that i couldn't keep up with all the information. this year i have decided to refrain from posting these unless it is something that i am more knowledgeable about. instead i have been trying to diversify my listing and watching experiences with different views and types of people so that way i can learn. that was a bit of a tangent but i feel like the pressure on people (especially if they are young) to post this stuff makes them forget about actually learning. not to say that you can't be a young activist or anything i just think when your younger you need to focus on learning more and less on teaching
I definitely feel this. I'm nearly 16, for reference. I'm a very disconnected person because I live in the back end of nowhere and I've been quarantined for a year. Last year, my only way to connect was Instagram. I felt so compelled to act so I just shared everything I thought would help. I didn't learn much of use. I started to take nothing with nuance and to just get pissed at everyone, including myself, for not doing enough to help, for just being a drop in a bucket. I got hit with a big ol' wave of depression (unrelated) which gave me perspective. Ironically, I'm much more useful now that I have perspective and I'm not just sharing random things I don't understand and learning nothing.
Wow, I think that's a super good take. It is definitely so easy to get swept up in infographic sharing, but I agree that for those of us going into things knowing nothing or very little, it will pay off to learn first and speak/share later. Theres a lot to learn and that process can't really be sped up.
i really resonate with this as a 15 year old who’s pretty involved in social issues. like the frustration of feeling like i’m not doing enough and feeling fake when posting about the problems i care about when in reality i’m not really doing anything was really hard for me. recognizing that i just have to learn and fine tune my knowledge really helped me feel less trapped. omg and also with the whole rounding out my worldview. like i couldn’t have a conversation with someone who didn’t agree with me on every aspect and it was really eye opening that i don’t really know wtf i’m talking about and that i need to learn. just realizing that i’m not always right and that i can fall victim to very biased opinions has helped me check myself
it's really awesome that so many of you in this thread are already so invested in being involved and wanting to help, so i am very glad you are also learning to give yourself space and time. i think a lot of impotent performative activism can come from that social pressure of not wanting other people to think you're a bad person, especially if you're younger, and it's important to realize you definitely have time to learn.
Wow I relate it this so much too! I went through the same thing last year and now I’m focusing more on just learning (hence why I’m here) from podcasts, RUclips videos, books, and following people who are part of underrepresented communities!
I'm so glad you addressed being on the autism spectrum! Literally I was flapping my hands because I was so happy someone addressed it. Protests and reading long lengths of words is very demanding for lots of us and many neurotypicals are judgy of us for that when they *_don't understand_* how exhausting it is being bombarded with a lot of sensory input. That is a commonly ignored factor. You're doing god's work, Khadija! 👍 I don't even know why I said god I am an athiest but it sounded cool lmao
Literally came down here to say this!!! ☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻 I really endeavour to be more politically active, but in tense, loud and dangerous situations I can end up becoming a danger to myself and others (only addressing my experience here).
i was coming to the comments to say this as well!! im autistic and many ways people tend to engage in activism is often inaccessible to me! i really really appreciated that they mentioned autism!
YES, FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT. I'm not autistic so I can't fully grasp how y'all experience it, but as an ADHD gremlin I feel you on the exhaustion. I cannot focus on long articles, especially if they're covering a distressing topic, and I also often find myself unable to stay on top of the news, even about something that directly affects me. It often makes me feel bad, so it was really nice to hear Khadija talk about it & to see your comments ✨
The last part about virtue signaling and people having a “holier-than-thou” attitude in regards to putting people on pedestals and then evil laughing as they rip their career away from them has been my biggest problem with the internet lately and you articulated it so well!!!!
My ex said it was good that they’re training soldiers to be super unemotional like “psychopaths” cos it’s easier to win wars like that.. and that’s how I knew he wasn’t the one 😅
I had a coworker that said it was good that the military completely broke everyone down to nothing because they needed to be built back up to what was needed (he's ex-army). It was always hard working with him because he's very conservative, cop/military worshipping, and now super Trump worshipping (which didn't surprise me).
Seeing other human beings K!//ed (which is now super accessible now a days) has a huge impact on a person. Not just seeing another human being, but possibly someone that looks like you. Or someone that you love. It’s a lot.
@@amara560 I’m sorry that you had to see that. I once saw someone livestream offing themselves on TikTok. I was just scrolling and the video just showed up 😞
Does anyone else get like, a cycle of self-hatred that arises out of seeing the activism of others? Like, seeing something terrible happening. Feeling upset about it. Feeling helpless to change things. Getting angry at myself because there's definitely gotta be *something* I can do. Seeing folks actually doing something, especially in the way of organizing, protesting in person, or calling their representatives. Deciding that I can't afford to leave work for protests, and have too much anxiety to talk to strangers on the phone. Hating myself for thinking that way when plenty of people have those same problems/anxieties and yet still take action. Reposting and donating money instead. Feeling like I should be donating more, or like donations won't really do anything anyway. Seeing more of the same terrible thing happening, or another equally terrible thing to a different group. Rinse and repeat. Even mentioning this feels like I'm trying to center myself and my problems, when there are people who need actual help. But I also really want to know how to deal with this. I want to do good, but I'm so scared, literally all the time.
I understand you. I legitimately get suicidal when I think about the state of the world. These things are a drop in the ocean. If you've given your drop and thats all you have, then you are doing enough. Sustainable activism requires self care, and the sad irony is that the people that care the most, that we need the most, are at risk of burning out the fastest because of their tendency to put all of themselves into everything. Habits take time to build, no one starts off going from not working out to deadlifting 500lbs, the same can be said of activism. Yes, in the "objective" grand scheme of things your $5 doesn't mean much, but its better than $0. And eventually youll realize you can do $10, and then $10 and a phone call, and then $10 and a protest, and then $15, and then you can start participating in stuff, and then you can start helping others organizing strikes/boycotts. We will always be privileged in some way or another, no amount of guilt or martyrdom will change that or make it easier for people facing oppression. We need action, but sustainable action starts small ALWAYS. and thats okay. Dont let others make you feel bad because any progress is progress. And when you feel you can take on more, you can take on more. Until then, you are already doing the work to educate yourself, so keep doing that, but keep taking care of yourself too. Eventually you will get to a point where you can do more.
Yeah. I feel so helpless in doing activism, even when it’s regarding prejudice against what I am. Actually, especially regarding prejudice against what I am
My remedy for this was to unplug and find worthy local causes I could get involved in, actually be hands on with, and meet some cool, new active friends! I chose one Christian org and one secular org. One organization prays and puts on spa days for underprivileged women; each person walks out w/ a new pair of shoes, fresh manicure, haircut if she wants, interview clothes if necessary...it's SUPER rewarding. The other project is a community garden that works closely w/ a juice bar. This one's new, but I'm learning a lot that I can apply to my own home garden. Take a look around your town. I guarantee you can be a blessing to someone...you probably already are and U.O.E.N.O. 😘
@3g0st they use they/them pronouns but said they're fine with she/her i'd suggest watching their video on woman/yn/xn, they talk about the history of both terms and why they feel "womxn" encompasses them!
I just want people to stop running to influencers and celebrities about world issues. It’s like they’re waiting to be told what to think. Influencers and celebrities aren’t news sources. The way they research the facts, you can do the exact same thing. And stop with the fake outrage 😂
1) nobody is running to celebrities for information. we just want them to use their platform to raise awareness and contribute to the normalization of a cause. esp with a cause like palestine its super important since mainstream media spews misinformation and paints this as a "conflict" 2) yall werent saying this when it was about blm. 3) "fake outrage" is such an empty phrae
Right! And it literally removes our collective power to make the change we seek and need if we through the responsibility to a few elite/powerful/influential.
@@FaiaHalo yeah like we always said this. we always pushed celebs to use their platform. me included. and i still stand by that. but suddenly many dont? idek why
LOVE THIS VIDEO! What I find so stressful about online activism is that certain issues seem to go in and out of trend ? Like people will be calling on influencers and their peers to post about Sudan one week and climate change the next and pushing the idea of "why aren't you talking about this weeks issue?" when the issue from the week before isn't even solved and these issues being treated like a trend leads to the super disgusting trend of people posting shocking images like a dying child or an infographic on their story followed by a photo of their coffee. Shit like that makes me thinks that people don't even care about what they're supporting and rather just do it because everyone else is.
Something I found encouraging (but also sad) is that "Black Lives Matter" has been the top tag on Tumblr for over a year now and the "Stop Asian Hate" has been the second tag since that tag started going around. It didn't matter what was going on, the Black Lives Matter tag didn't budge. Seeing that longevity gives me hope.
thank you for mentioning us autistic people! because i'm autistic, i can hyperfocus on social issues and get very emotionally invested. this, combined with my perfectionism, caused me to put a lot of pressure on myself to share activist posts, and i ended up burning out on posting at all. i've tried to find a middle ground between not posting and overexerting myself. i'm focusing on specific creators [such as your very informative videos!] and what they have to say, rather than sharing any post i come across that just looks good on the surface. i think it's important that if you are sharing posts, it's because the post helped you understand a topic and you want to help others as well as supporting the creator, instead of how your posting looks to others [performative activism]. i think it's also important to follow educators who challenge your beliefs, especially if they're in a marginalized group that you're not a part of.
ADHD technically over here but there's some overlap. I'm going to either hyperfixate on a topic and drive myself up the wall trying to read and understand everything or be able to focus on none of what is going on at all. I've found over the last few years trying to get involved in local causes I know more about cuz I live here and volunteering is probs best for everyone. Though 2020 really set me back on trying to do that. But I started up again recently and it's good.
I strongly relate to everything you wrote (except that I'm not on the spectrum), trying to find that middle ground and being more mindful of where I'm getting my information from.
Doing the same as you did caused me to burn out, combined with some very ugly experiences I checked out on the whole thing. I'm trying to find my way again, or at least be open to the idea. Challenge myself. By and large, however, when I hear the word "activism" I equate it with racism, wokeness, white savior complex, narcissism, and someone who's about to go off on me for being a "bad person" so they can feed their own ego. Taking me to task rather than walking the walk and actually helping someone in their community. It doesn't help that I don't trust people. I don't have the energy for a lot of this anymore. I've got my own issues that are just as valid as others, but I hate to bring them up cuz then I become a token for woke discussion or "opression olympics". I just want them to fuck off, and being open about my identity won't make that happen quicker.
I appreciate what you said in the beginning. I think there definitely needs to be a dialogue on how people often to look Black people in particular to Black women to be the "pioneers" when these crisises occur. And of course these issues are important and people should raise awareness, but Black women are not your superheroes!
I think you're totally right that we have a different standard for creators of color when it comes to speaking of social issues. We don't necessarily give people the grace to educate themselves on very complex socio-economic-cultural-political situations before asking them to speak on things. Not to mention there are no perfect sources. Everything has a bias and I am a firm believer most of the time you can't take a source at face value. It's just as important at times to research who wrote the source as reading the source itself. I personally don't love it when people in the Western world use the political issues of non western countries as political props and have a hard time reconciling with this performativity. My opinion about this is very much informed by me being Taiwanese, my very identity is a political statement because of the historically fraught political situation between Taiwan and the Chinese Communist Party and I live with the fact that the CCP is constantly threatening to invade Taiwan. Usually whenever Taiwan or for that matter Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang come up in the American news it's ultimately used as a way to criticize "China" and while I think the Chinese government should be criticized and held accountable for the human rights abuses they have committed, when (mostly Republican) political figures bring up these places they tend to use them in a very fear mongering way without seeming to suggest and feasible changes that could help these people, instead using it to stir up anti-Chinese sentiment. Moreover the political situation between Taiwan and the CCP is so voilitle that when the Trump administration was speaking so loudly about it, I was genuinely worried it might cause the CCP to invade Taiwan sooner. There are many similar situations in the world that are extraordinarily complex and today's social media activism perhaps isn't necessarily suited to infuse into them the nuance they deserve.
I agree, I'm not a big fan of anyone with a 'platform' being obligated and strongarmed into putting out a statement on every issue. In the case of political commentators it makes a certain amount of sense to expect it but if someone doesn't know the situation it's just bizarre to expect them to become an expert overnight. And in the case of people in the public eye without a political presence I don't see why everyone should have to confirm that they agree a situation is bad and then put their own opinion in. There are too many uninformed opinions anyway so why would we demand more? And at the end of the day an ASMR RUclipsr, drag queen or tik tokker calling attention to a situation is not necessary and does nothing. Can't we just leave the sharing of information to those educated on the issue? I don't get why we feel the need to pressure people to comment on a situation they know nothing about and have no experience with, when all it does is add more misinformation and confusion. It's not the job of every random person with over 10,000 twitter followers to teach people about political activism.
nobody wants their personal opinion. they just need to post a hashtag or one liner and go. the point is to get celebs on board so certain issues get normalized. look how israel reacted to bella hadid supporting palestine. also. if regular ppl on the internet can care enough to partake what holds back rich ppl who dont work 9-5 living in mansions? and again. u dont need to do intensive research to realize bombing innocent people is wrong.
@@lunali7209 That would make sense, if there weren't countless celebrities (and especially creators with a small platform) that try and get ripped to shreds for it because they promoted the wrong charity or the info graphic had some incorrect facts on it or they used the wrong terminology. At the end of the day it's not their place or their job to do this stuff. They aren't the news.
Nobody wants to admit that a lot of dis- and misinformation originates and spreads because of well-meaning people spreading and/or making unsubstantiated hot takes on issues they don't actually have the background knowledge to comment on in an additive and substantive way. Social problems are complicated, and Twitter is a sociology lecture where nobody's done the reading and everyone's been given a megaphone to yell at each other.
@@alexjames7144 i said one liner or hashtag. where did i say infographic? and suddenly now that its about palestine we are worried about "wrong infographics"???? where was this energy during blm or me too or other stuff?? celebs have more time on their hands since they're rich and have literal managers to inform them of whats the right thing to say. if they wanted to they could find a reliable source to use the infographic of. its so insidious to be like this when palestinians have asked us that all they want is that we keep spreading the cause.
@@lunali7209 @luna li First of all, if you're gonna pretend hash tags can't be controversial and get people in trouble because they were confused you're just being willfully ignorant. And secondly the vast majority of the people that are expected to comment aren't big celebrities with managers and social media teams, most of those are big enough that they can afford to ignore it. But many smaller creators get hounded and dragged through the mud for not immediately publicly declaring their position and when they do they get slammed for doing it wrong even if they clearly had the right intentions and were agreeing that bad stuff is bad. And to call this insidious is insane, the Palestinian people have been suffering for decades so can we not pretend that an ASMR channel or beauty RUclips is responsible for it? At the end of the day the only people that can do anything are World governments and seeing as they've been doing a pretty good job up till now of ignoring it, random Internet personalities aren't gonna change anything. I'm not saying they can't comment if they want, they are more than entitled to. But a ridiculous number of people have been accused of every ism under the sun just because they didn't think it was their place to stick their uneducated nose in. As you said it's not that hard to Google it, so why would you go to a non expert for info on social issues? It just confuses shit.
YAS KHADJA OKAY SO THERE'S A THING I'VE NOTICED. When I used to work at a book store, the thing I noticed about aesthetic appeal of books was that the liberal (in the colloquial American sense) book covers were clean, uncluttered, and often did not portray the author's photo. Exceptions to this being when a politician released a book (like Buttiteig or Al Franken's biographies). Theory books almost never had people on the covers. However, the right wing books (again, in the American colloquial sense) were much more cluttered, loud, and more often than not, had a photo of the author or a Fox News anchor OR, a bad photo of a political enemy. There are obvious exceptions to this, but if the book had a "clean" cover, they more often had a provocative title. For example, Ben Shapiro's "The Right Side of History" had a fairly clean cover, but it was a VIRTUE SIGNAL of a title. The most clear cut example of the difference between liberal and conservative aesthetics is the covers of "A people's history of the United States," and "A Patriot's history of the United States." The first one has a white cover with red lettering, the second has a blue cover with white lettering and an American Flag to top it off. I don't know what it means, exactly, that aesthetics seem to differentiate along the lines of political identity, but it is interesting. It has to he a virtue signal, or in group recognition of some kind. I hadn't thought to apply this to infographics, so I will pay attention to this more from now on. Thank you!
hey! cool observation. i kind of want to add that it might be a trend within the right wing visual identity even beyond the us, or maybe this influences other countries that for one reason or another like to suck up to americans. this was very noticeable in what kind of aesthetic the promotional material for the current awful president in brazil used all throughout 2016 and once more now for the upcoming elections: very tacky. very amateurish looking. very 12 year old graphic designer cousin. just cluttered and unpolished. guns, sexy ladies, the president in question being put in the bodies of cool superheroes and fighting soldiers. fair share of american flags in there too, because imperialism. 4chan meme stuff. and in general putting the political figure in a position to be stanned as part of the voter's identity. the idea around it, to many, is that this amateurish look brings the content down and closer to the 'average voter's. just your friendly neighborhood rich, rich military man! he understands your needs, of course he does, you all hate politicians now and he's an anti-politician! see how he's not like the other parties and their stuck-up branding! this guy we photoshopped to captain america's body is clearly epic and making the country great again! share these pictures and links of totally real, not fake news to your whatsapp family group, they're indistinguishable from a aunt-made meme and good morning gif. so i guess, at least in some part, its their way of appealing to a specific demographic that doesn't feel represented by a clean aesthetic. and the general appeal to personalities like oh fox news guy, i know this guy, i'm gonna read what he says because i already stan. something like that.
The right-wing corporate media, including online grifters who are paid directly or indirectly by multimillion-dollar or multibillion-dollar corporations, operate as a cult of personality. Each pundit, anchor, host, et cetera has their own aesthetic and gimmicks which make them as easy to identify as professional wrestlers-for exactly the same reason.
@@lola9148 that's so interesting. I wonder what we'd find if it we compared this to facist/authoritarian propaganda of yesteryear. Because I feel like much of that centered the people/common man doing the superhuman feats, while the leaders were depicted as falsely humble/noble. This shift feels like it indicates an increased tendency of the public to identify with the actions of leaders as their own behavior. The amateurish production just heightens the perception. Thank you for adding this!
"Everyone is trying to out-woke each other." I feel this way a lot. it reminds me of a Portlandia skit called "have you read". Great info. Happy to see you back. Love love love the long video content. Great commentary on slacktivism and starting with the Kony 2012 piece. Hilarious and insightful that it was a 30 minute long viral video. Thanks for introducing me to the Behind the Bastards podcast. I'm listening to the episodes you mentioned about the School of the Americas and the one about the Holocaust. Very insightful. Thanks. As for people having anxiety about where to donate, I read a blog post years ago about donating $10/day to different organizations = $3,650/year. You can adjust the amount or timeframe as necessary, but it allowed me to destress about where to donate by spreading the wealth. Every dollar counts.
ppl also seem to be under the impression we're all operating with the same context. im a southeast asian whos only been actively online for 10 years. the amount of people places and events that ppl say literally everyone knows, but i have never heard even a whisper of before, could fill an entire library. there also seems to be growing assumption that the only reason ppl dont know of things is privilege or deliberate ignorance. but i could never understand this mindset, because the ppl who spout it probably wouldnt even recognize my country on the map, nor spell its name correctly.
I AM ALSO A SLOW PROCESSOR. And it took me the longest time to realize this was very different from the way that many other people experience and process their emotions. Like it took me being in a long-term intimate relationship to realize that other people weren't just more emotive than me, but actually experiencing their emotions more quickly than I do, and maybe more strongly. It still kind of baffles me that for a lot of people, a thing happens and they immediately know how they feel about it. I mean, sometimes I experience that too, but only for very... basic things. Like if my pc breaks down, I experience dismay, and that usually doesn't take me that long to process. But anything more complicated than stubbing my toe on the way to the bathroom? Gonna have to give me time to think about it because I just do not even know how I feel.
I understand Khadija, but also ur not required to tell everyone what's going on in the world, they have their search engines and they can research for themselves. please don't lose yourself trying to teach others, don't let them exhaust you. Stay Magical.
Hey Khadija! Those numbers come from the KONY 2012 Wikipedia page with citations from two 2012 articles covering the low turnout. Just went and checked and thought I'd let you/anyone else interested know!
Love this! Its still good to recognize that people who get mad at others for "only" doing online activism is incredibly ableist. And as you say, everyone is different and has different capability levels for handling traumatic news, researching that and sharing what they've learned, I'm not saying this as a way to excuse people but it's important to recognize some people are fighting battles they don't have enough spoons to dedicate to every atrocity occurring. I still like to share resources via IG in stories though, with links for people to donate, who to write to, what actions govts are doing etc as those are handy resources and sharing that can be very helpful for people, including those who are wanting to be willfully ignorant for selfish reasons, so there's not just a vapid space on social media, it can be used for more, you know?
@@mammoneymelon I know a few people that refrained from going to protests specifically bc they don't have papers and were worried about getting deported. I don't hear people talk about that much but I think a lot of people have that same concern
honestly khadija you're a lot nicer than me... I've gotten to the point where I dont look for people I don't at least mutual with to speak out about certain things, especially celebrities and ESPECIALLY the white ones. like, if they don't know about something and aren't doing something, that's a them problem; I just don't have the energy to care about that anymore. that said, something I heard once that's stuck with me for a long time is, "not everybody is going to be as woke as you" i don't remember who said it or where i heard it (i think twitter or tumblr???), but its something I keep in mind when I see other people talking about things and just kind of... not getting it. its so hard to remember this and i think if people kept it in mind when they're interacting with others re: these topics it would save a lot of time. some people just haven't gotten to the place we are yet but it doesn't mean they never will. it also doesn't mean you have to get them there. sometimes you just can't engage those people yet b/c they won't know what you're saying, but hopefully they will someday.
"not everybody is going to be as woke as you" is so useful for me! I've seen people get eviscerated online simply for admitting they didn't know a lot about a topic yet, but they were willing to learn about it. Apparently now you can't even admit what you don't know without some ~woke warrior~ proclaiming you're bad, stupid, and should already know what you don't know. I mean the internet has all the info you could ever need now, but the energy it takes to consume all of it... that's limited. I've decided I'm gonna come from the perspective of "not everybody has gotten the chance to have the same experiences as me". E.g., there are plenty of things about my experiences as a Black woman in America that are just dead obvious to ME, but I can't possibly expect everybody else to be on the same level of awareness as I am, I'll just be perpetually disappointed if I do. Likewise, there are aspects of other identities that I'm probably still in the dark about, and it's not because I'm a bad person that doesn't care- I just haven't gotten there yet, and it's no one else's responsibility to get me there but mine.
Invisible Children came to my school and we had an assembly. I donated like 20 dollars and hung posters bc I ~ trusted my school~ and that makes me uncomfortable because that assembly was the most my school ever did for humanitarian efforts/
I really appreciate how well-thought and researched your videos are! And your "there's good and bad in everything" approach is very refreshing during such reactionary era.
Part of my leaving Twitter was to actually help my self-education and advocacy. As I'm going into my MSW program, I'm hoping to find my niche in activism as well. I am often daunted in my quest to be a good white ally, knowing what my responsibilities are, but not always how to do carry them out.
my favorite aunty: "i mean, print media has been dying for a long time, and if it isn't already --" me, a zine creator, desperately trying to get folks to purchase my work: 😅
I’ve purchased digital & physical zines a few times 😌 and if I find a digital zine that means a lot to me or if I want to physically have it on hand, I’ll buy a physical copy. Don’t give up hope!! I think magazines and newspapers are obviously going down, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s also a rise in independent creators getting their stuff out there, physically and digitally!!
I got a zine once and I'm not entirely sure what a zine is but it was really neat!! My friend did the art. Where do people go find and purchase zines?? Also how would you define zine I know that sounds dumb but...help 😂
I am gonna rewatch this video multiple times and have physical pen and paper to take notes. It’s so researched but also thoughtful and vulnerable. Showing our personal vulnerability is so scary but it’s a good way to reach people and change minds, so thank you. ❤️
As someone living the Israeli - Palestinian conflict day to day since I was born, I just feel that people never acknowledge their western privilege regarding this issue. Not knowing what bombs feel like on your own land. Drives me crazy. Also why are people saying that quick reactions are the most important? I would MUCH rather have someone taking a few days to research rather than blurbing out something unresearched to the point of disrespectful. Furthermore I don’t believe public personas should react just because of that, if they feel they are biased or unsure about the situation they are not obligated to constantly share their political opinion constantly and flawlessly. I have to say, as always, I respect deeply everything you said in this video. You are so self aware and insightful it’s incredible. Thank you. Please take your time and speak from a place of knowledge.
Okay, I feel this, especially the last part. I've started to realize that my time online made me waaay more reactionary and confrontational than I used/needed to be without actually making me more productive, just more burned out. I deleted my FB scorched earth style (deleted every post off my wall and left every group) so I wouldn't go back. It was cathartic to "yell" at people online about causes I felt I was on the morally superior side about, but I was forgetting there was a person on the other side that has feelings. I'm still not a hand-holding type person, but I'm learning not to immediately flame when I see people being ignorant because in the end it helps neither of us.
Thank you for the video! I don''t think everyone should be obligated to speak out or have the energy to immediately research and address every national or global issue. It simply isn't fair to assume everyone is in the state of mind to focus on certain things and in some ways, yes that is a privilege, but I don't think we have to punish or attack people for it.
I love the point you make about giving people grace and letting them make mistakes and own up to them. I also really liked that you brought up that not everyone processes the same, or is in the same circumstance to do the same activism. I think part of this issue is that, in many social media spaces, the baseline expectation for being a "good person" has weirdly become about engaging in some kind of activism; that if you aren't doing activism, then you don't care. But the reality is that a lot of activism requires a specific mentality and requires a specific set of skills. It's not something that just anyone can do, nor is it something that everyone needs to be doing. Activism isn't the only way that people can better the world around them and be allies. It's just as important to have people who in the world who- while not engaging in activism- are willing to unlearn their own biases and have difficult conversations with their friends and family. It's just as valuable to have people who don't engage in activism, but are there to listen to and emotionally support those who do. It's valuable to have people who are willing to go along with boycotts. It's valuable to have people who- as you say- merely pass along information, because then it can reach people who are suited to activist work to take up particular causes. Furthermore, as you brought up, watching human suffering constantly is just not good for mental health. It's mentally damaging to repeatedly expose yourself to all the trauma occurring around the world, especially if there isn't really anything you can do about much of that trauma other than raise awareness about it. There are plenty of people who are just NOT in the mental space to be thinking in or engaging with certain issues. And as you said- what people post alone doesn't tell you everything about their lives, what they support, what they think, or what they are doing. Many people go to social media just to have fun or decompress, but an expectation has slowly creeped in that if you are on social media, you are obligated to talk about certain causes or share your opinion, because if you don't that means you just don't care. And THAT, as you say, I think leads to a lot of people just virtue signaling their support and passing around misinformation simply because they don't want to be seen as not caring about people. It's perfectly normal and natural to not want to be perceived as uncaring, especially when you DO genuinely care about other people. That can create enormous pressure to just be seen as caring about something, even when you don't have the mental energy (or toolkit to productively process all the information that's necessary to understanding a situation) to really look into what you feel pressured to talk about.
I am so glad you addressed disability! I have CP, and it makes protesting tiring and painful. And, even in the most accepting movements, not all of the in-person actions are able to meet my needs. I try my best to donate and research, but I have a lot of mental health issues that make it hard to focus on long, scholarly articles. They also make it hard to process emotions on certain subjects, so social media is probably my most-used avenue of activism.
Amanda Seales just talked about people trying to tell her what she should be talking about. Which I actually respect people who don't talk about situations that they don't know about. But there is a lot of pressure to post about popular movements. I learned in college to listen and learn rather than post. I didn't know squat diddly about Syria until I met someone with family from there. I didn't know much about islamaphobia until I had a friend that was Muslim. I guess I'm saying social media and the internet is great to learn, but getting to know the people who are oppressed can help you learn much more. Also thanks Khadija for another well thought out video! You are doing the Lord's work 😂❤️
Being Autistic makes it hard to read the room sometimes (I'm working on it) but I find that I usually do better formulating my own words on an issue rather that repeating others that I may not fully understand how and when to use them.
Khadija coming at us AGAIN with the self awareness, empathy, and kindness again!! Thank you for doing your best and trying to make the world a safer space to learn 💙💙💙
Well said Auntie Khadija! You captured my feelings about this so well. I'll admit, I got caught up in posting infographics and such over the summer when the BLM protests were happening (of course I went to protests and donated as well) and judging people who didn't do the same, but in hindsight I think going so hard on social media like that wasn't really.... doing anything? I think I partly felt like my posts would be reaching people whose minds I hoped to change, but I also think I felt like I HAD to post those things or people would judge me for not doing so. Especially when all my friends were doing it, and so many people were saying things like "There's no excuse not to post about this! If you aren't talking about this just know I see you!!!" At that point, what am I spending my energy on? I just think it's a bit performative. Again, I did more than just post but I think the energy I spent posting the same infographics everyone else was posting and making sure people knew what side i'm on could be better spent reflecting on my own priviledge, the ways I have contributed to racism, how to be a better person and a better ally. Yes I think these posts can be helpful but I think we need to make sure we're doing more than that. Doing the uncomfortable shit where you look at yourself and realize what needs to change. And I definitely don't think we need to be making assumptions about people who aren't posting on issues.
happy belated birthday! omg I'm so guilty of virtue signalling. I think it started on tumblr when ever political post had a guilt trippy comment being like "you're a horrible person if you don't share this". and I was going through a lot of gaslighting and abuse and thinking I was a horrible person so sharing those posts without really understanding them was my coping mechanism. now I'm working on that knee-jerk reaction of sharing every political infographic I see and taking the time to actually understand and process things.
I totally agree with everything you said, and you've articulated it a lot better than I ever could. Just because someone doesn't share some kind of infographic about whatever big issue is trending right now doesn't necessarily mean that they don't care about it, and I really hate that that is the conclusion a lot of performative activists jump to. I'd rather pay attention to content creators who know what they're talking about and genuinely feel passionate about a certain topic than have the conversation diluted by average cabbages who are throwing in their (usually totally uninformed) two cents because that's the "in thing" right now.
Loved this essay!! On a side note, would you do a piece on “growing up Muslim” I no longer identify with the faith but would love to hear your experiences growing up and how it maybe gives you bias but also perspective on specific topics you speak about eg LGBTQI, the arts, the civil rights movement/black power! It would be fascinating to hear 💙
khadija your section on individual processes really resonated, thank you for spelling that out because i think so many can relate to the overwhelming nature of self-educating on topics where there is so much to unpack and often it comes with a lot of triggering content. that's why i love your videos because i feel like i'm learning but at the same time i feel calm and it stops me feeling overwhelmed and distressed by the state of the world. your work is so important and we all appreciate it so much
That part about needing time to process and not speaking when feeling anger or any strong emotion is so relatable for me. Whenever I get really emotional, I'm so in the emotion that all my speech centers and processing is completely engrossed by my emotion so I'm not good at talking or thinking properly during that time. Idk if any else relates to that at all. I have ADHD, so I already have issues with processing information but its even worse when I'm emotional too. I'm fairly even tempered most of the time but when my emotional regulation goes to shit...oh boy, I can't do anything else until I fully feel the emotion and let it wear itself out
That part with reacting and being a victim of emotions. GOT ME. I STRUH GLE with this. Oh my. I thought something was wrong with me, because I don't know how to articulate it. UGH. Loved this video. I looked at myself in this and found myself guilty a lil bit too. Thank you so much. Glad you're back. I freaking love your channel. Still can't believe I found you by accident and now I'm hungry for uploads. :) - A Nibling
There's such a double standard for this kind of thing. Either you post about issues and then get told that you're doing it for clout of virtue signalling (obviously this does happen but it's unfair to assume the same for everyone), or you take the time to step back and take in information (especially if you don't usually comment on political struggles) the you will be attacked for simply not caring. Some issues do require more of social media presence because of censorship etc, but that shouldn't be a way of hating on people that simply don't know about certain issues. Nevermind the fact that some people do work more behind the scenes. It's a difficult balance for those with followings, since you have the ability to have a bigger impact but you also want to give accurate information, which takes time. There is no pleasing everyone when it comes to this.
Setting boundaries is so important!!! People can get really entitled in parasocial relationships - I'm sorry that people have been coming at you for not speaking on this sooner. Please take your time to listen and process, and I'm sure you'll start speaking on this when you're prepared!
I am glad you addressed the aestheticization of activism, as that is something I've been thinking about lately with the rise of infographics. While I recognize that it isn't a new phenomenon, as pamphlets, posters, and other mediums in the past used certain aesthetics to appeal to a wider audience, I do have concerns that it could lead to the value placed on certain information, whether that information is accurate or inaccurate, will be dependent on how aesthetically pleasing the packaging is to a viewer.
As a former evangelical with good intentions and harmful results (mostly to myself being deeply manipulated, but certainly to others), it is very hard for me to be confident in getting behind a point, sharing it, engaging with actual activism without months or years of consideration beforehand. In many cases, I feel like I miss the window of opportunity to act because of this; it's hard to know if I can trust my interpretation or have the foresight you mention in the last part of the video. All this to say, I think you lay out a practical framework for analysis of time-sensitive activism situations as well as in establishing personal boundaries on when it's time to speak up, share, or act.
Khadija, your section on virtue-signaling really hit home for me!! I have witnessed this phenomenon over and over again in a lot of the different groups of people I interact with at my university. I don't want to act like I am perfect here but I see so so so many of my peers posting selfies with themselves and then captioning the photo with a diatribe about x,y, or z political issue or the current human rights crisis. I am involved in political work at my university and I consider myself to be a pretty intellectual person. However, I feel so quility about not posting infographics or creating Instagram posts about these really important issues. I never feel qualified enough to speak on most things. When I try to explain this to my peers, I feel like nobody understands where I am coming from. I will definitely be sharing this video.
I think people who message online creators online demanding a perfect performance of activism need to put more of that energy into holding *themselves* accountable and being the kind of person they want to see in the world. People project so much of their feelings of powerlessness in the face of systemic violence and cruelty onto online creators (mostly creators with marginalized identities) when they could be taking the time to process their emotions and then redirect themselves towards finding real opportunities for praxis that they can personally engage in. I know that's way easier said than done (and more so the more directly someone is affected by an issue) but it's something to aspire towards. On a different note I really appreciate the way that Khadija holds space in this video for those of us who have learning disabilities and consequently take longer to find accessible resources to educate ourselves. A lot of the same leftists who performatively attempt to show solidarity with us still judge anyone who doesn't have the spoons to read ridiculously long dry theory books (*cough*Kapital*cough*) and need to get our information some other way.
Khadija thank you for being so vulnerable and real with us all. I learn so much from your channel, and I’m so thankful for the space you’ve created that allows for patience with learning so that we can utilize this (continuous) learning and knowledge to make sustainable changes. Love you auntie. ♥️
I have ADHD and I totally relate to everything you're saying about processing and having to repeat things and emotional regulation. Sometimes I feel shame because I'm still learning things about marginalized communities that everyone around me seems to already know. And to be fair, my brain does work differently and I was sheltered in a restrictive home environment until I was about 16/17ish. But I'm 21 now and it feels like I should be fully caught up but I keep finding out there are things I still don't know and I want to be a good ally to people around me. I find myself getting easily overstimulated by basic social interactions and overwhelmed by social topics. So I'm torn between feeling like I'm not doing enough or learning fast enough but also find myself avoiding engaging with serious topics. Hearing you share your experience about processing was really validating for me so I appreciate it. Thank you for reminding me that we all learn and understand things in our own way. I needed to hear this. In general, I find videos like yours help me a lot. Your "over-explaining" helps me understand the full breadth of topics and I'm able to leave with a better understanding of them. I appreciate all the time and effort you go to to provide this interesting and educational content.
I can't even begin to explain how much I love your videos. It always feels like I'm learning a lot, but in a way which feels like a discussion with a friend. Thank you for the amazing content, I can't wait to see what you have in store for the future!
As a Ugandan, who went to high school in Europe during Kony 2012, walking into school after was WIIILD! People thinking your callous because I was like Kony wasnt even IN Uganda.
I’m glad you made this video and I totally agree I wish more people would stand up to the fact that they don’t know enough about something to speak on it and for us as a whole to stop expecting people to speak on things that they don’t know about And/or immediately, at that♥️
Awesome video as always! It's definitely a problem, especially on Twitter, where people are just expecting you to know everything about any given topic immediately from the get-go, and it can be a lot sometimes. Criticism tends to be harsh on social media too. It's understandable to an extent, but everyone is so quick to attack without stopping to think that not everyone is the same. A bit off topic, but I have definitely noticed younger people, mostly white people, start to act like white saviors and try to speak up over everyone to look like they are on the "high ground". The most recent trend I've noticed is people attacking random people for having Asian names in their display names, automatically assuming it's a white person faking being Asian, and not realizing that Asian people do in fact exist and have these names. Again, it's mostly white people doing this, probably trying to be "allies" but becoming so absorbed in performativism that they start attacking the minorities they are trying to "help". But I have noticed a lot of these people tend to be way younger and are probably trying to overcompensate for not being able to donate or go out to protests, since well, they are usually 14-17. It all ties back to the fact that everyone is just trying to one-up each other and become the most "woke", and it feels like a battle to seem like the most morally sound person or whatever, and it really is just a lot to deal with. But yes, I definitely agree with you, and social media is good for a lot of things, but can also be bad in some ways as well.
I was in my late 20s when this Kony thing happened. I knew absolutely nothing about, but I did live in San Diego at the time and remember the news story about the naked mental breakdown
I love you... The thing you said in the last segment of that video about taking the time to process or not responding when you're upset... I can relate...
My high school allowed Invisible Children to come and speak at schoolwide assembly in 2006 or 2007. I donated my own birthday money to the cause after the assembly. Lol. Where were the adults when we needed them?
Happy belated birthday! And I appreciate you acknowledging the mental health aspect. Having anxiety is a delicate balance of trying to help out where you can but not getting dragged down by your own empathy. People need to understand that it’s ok for creators not to speak on something if it’s pushing them into a bad place. You deserve peace too.
I found your channel a few months ago, and really appreciate how careful, compassionate, and thorough you are in talking about so many important and sensitive topics. Coming from a very different background, I've learned a lot by watching your videos and looking at the sources you link to. Thank you for all the effort you put into spreading knowledge! When you were talking about how most humans just aren't equipped to handle doing violence to others without breaking down, it reminded me of David Grossman's book "On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society." He talks a lot about the social/technological mechanisms we've developed to get around the psychological barrier against killing people, and what happens when we do.
It's frustrating as people will do things like a blackout on social media when it does absolutely nothing about the problem of the week, demand/strongarm creators into talking about issues when it doesn't align with their platform or they don't feel educated enough to speak, or expect you to have an opinion with less than 1/2 the facts. For me I hate jumping the gun on issues as biases exist, it's draining to engage with people who only use emotion and their opinion on the topic instead of being emotional/passionate but using facts, I can't make an informed judgement with less than 1/2 the information, and I know things aren't black and white. I remember creators getting death threats recently for not partaking part in a social media blackout instead they we're doing things like here's some creators with more knowledge on the topic or here's some my favorite POC creators on the platform.
I think in terms of assuming good faith, it's important to note that people who share infographics or posts may not be doing it for clout or even to preach at all. When I've shared posts on certain topics it's sometimes simply to share an opinion I agree with or to be like "Hey, this resonated with me, maybe it will for you too" (especially if it relates to personal topics such mental health/wellbeing). People sharing a point of view isn't always preaching. Honestly, as long as you aren't taking a holier than thou attitude, you do you. Like, share that tweet/post, just don't imagine you're a Saint for doing so, or that other people should venerate, accept or even validate you for it.
Roland Barthes' quote: "le fascisme, ce n'est pas d'empêcher de dire, c'est d'obliger à dire" "for fascism does not prevent speech, it compels speech.”
My thoughts on trying to get the word out on various social and political issues: I'd rather someone who earnestly wants to help say something, fuck up, and correct themselves than people just seemingly do nothing about it to avoid looking bad. Of course it's better to listen and amplify voices who it affects more personally instead of trying to insert yourself which is something I had to learn more than once. I just don't like the idea of "don't say/do anything" because it doesn't afford people to learn.
I watched all the way to the end woohooo! Beautiful work Khadija, thank you. I love how compassionate you are in all your videos and 100% agree with what you've said, especially about giving people space and grace. I had a friend on instagram share a post the other day that someone else had written where they said something like "Think sharing posts doesn't help? Yes it does, you idiot. Here is how." and I remember being like wtffffff. Calling people idiots is sooo unkind and sooo counter-productive. Anyway I've deleted all my social media because it's become so unpleasant to be in that space. I am really looking forward to the extra time it will give me to keep learning but in a deeper way.
The illustrator of the image of part one is Antoinette Thomas (the @ you mentioned tagged the artist), and I’m just mentioning it because she does great work around the experience of being black Latine and dealing with racism within the Latine community, I suggest checking it out!! I would love to see a video about this topic and maybe this illustrator could be a good person to interview (also Dash Harris from Radio Cana Negra) about the current situation in Colombia and white Latinidad/mestizaje politics.
i love this video!!! i think it all also speaks to the huge cultural system of shame & punishment in how we "deal" with each other both inter-personally & structurally. and i think a lot of other neurodiverse ppl have observed this and talked about this, how this system fundamentally does not work. and you can see this especially online, that this ends up just harming marginalized ppl the most (like your fav white guy on the internet can say #blm and it's "omg he's learning" but a woman of color is heavily scrutinized and harassed for doing the same thing or more). i've noticed it really is just another way of policing and reinforcing existing power structures and it's always particularly weird when i see self-proclaimed abolitionists engaging in this b/c all it looks like is they're practicing the same systems of punishment on each other. and again, marginalized ppl are always the ones most harmed by this at the end of the day. which isn't to say, like, "be nice to ur oppressors!!! #peaceandluv" (also b/c white ppl are the bulk of ppl doing this shit) but we also don't want to punch sideways or down. i've definitely stepped away from instagram & twitter a lot more and i've found that i feel a lot lighter and i'm actually learning on the day-to-day much better.
PLEASE READ
1.) CC's are enabled on all my videos!
2.) Paliroots has a bit too much controversy and sketchiness so the organization for June will be Palestine Medical Relief (their insta is in the description)
twitter.com/_theantoinette?s=09 the artist that made the illustration I used for part 1
3.) I meant to say injured not murdered, either way the numbers don’t lie!
4.) I don’t LOVE the idea of being able to filter out every opinion that doesn’t agree with you, but sometimes we’re tired and it’s nice to feed our confirmation bias…
5.)Again on the good faith bit, I hope it’s also clear that there are folks who cannot physically go out and protest so online is their only option. Plus re: Israel Palestine many people are pushing online activism within this movement as their only option to get people to pay attention.
ayy khadija is the paypal link in ur banner the right one?
Just finished the video, and that's gonna be a lot to process.
But hey, I wanted to say that it's normal to get emotional when talking about something you care about. Especially if it's a charity project close to your heart!
And also,
Bienvenue au Québec!
De plus, c'est:
"Montréal *ma* nouvelle maison.",
not "mon nouvelle maison", parce que "maison" est féminin.
(for obvious sexist historical reasons lol)
Note: correcting each other's French is a timeless French tradition passed down to us by the bourgeoisie and elite class but is now ubiquitous especially in Quebec. People will tease you a lot like that. ;-)
@@casperthedumbassghost7164 Yes! I know it seems sketchy but I will be transparent lol
Hi aunty Khadija, if you're accepting small channel submissions for june, I'd like to please submit mine, I hope you see this 🙏🏽
@@chelsi.mp4 omg I saw your femininity video just the other day and you are very articulate! I'm hoping your channel gets a shoutout so you can grow, big ups to you sis
It’s so frustrating to constantly see people say “Performative activism is bad!!” only to be met with the demand to... perform activism.
Also yessss on the part about assuming good faith and giving people grace and patience.
I’ve seen countless times when people ask a question only to be met with, “Stop demanding emotional labor from marginalized people!” When the question wasn’t addressed to any single person in particular.
Like, anybody has the opportunity to respond. So why not let that happen rather than berating someone for wanting to understand something?
@@SybilNix 🤔 this is something to think about. But the idea of online activism whether performative or not isn't that it is bad per se, but the fact that people try to force others to talk about the issue and also their motives for doing it. For instance, some people only post because the were pressured into doing it and so as not to look insensitive not even that they really care about the cause. There's also the fact that most of the people can't really do anything at all.
@Lemi Phil This is very true. People will peer pressure their fellow online activists to retweet snuff videos "or else they don't really care." Why would you want to make people watch suffering and trauma potentially with no ability to filter it out? If it takes a video of someone being brutalized to get them to help, what good would their help actually be?
That Kony 2012 video took me back. The performative whiteness of it all
Same...I remember Kony 2012 from middle school, but I didn't really know what it actually was.
I guess it didn't reach the other side of the pond. I've never heard of it.
I was an adult so I remember watching the video but kept asking _"Ok...how you gonna get him tho?"_ and never got an answer lol. Finding out people bought a "kit" I gotta ask how did yall really think buying stickers was gonna catch somebody?! THINK INTERNET THINK!
@@ThexDynastxQueen I was 28 at the time, and this video was my introduction to what that was. I think I heard or read the phrase "KONY 2012" two or three times before watching this.
Ugh it was just so weird and iffy
I hope that the recent increase in social and humanitarian activism isn't a trend. Most if not all of these things aren't new. But I think that the American society hasn't been exposed to they're global impact. However, now that we have social media people from those countries can expose and share their stories about whats going on there. The new generation has a new prospective. Don't let this be a trend.
Of course it's popular because it's a trend. We can hope that through the momentum of it there might be some good results, but pretending that a majority of people participating in online activism don't do it for public recognition is a bit naiv.
I deleted social media all together. Best decision I ever made only one I have left is RUclips bc there are many traditional teachings on here If you look. We don’t need social media to bring healing, understanding, and peace to our society
Yes! People should act more locally, help out their own communities, less room for error.
@@Hobbesnevie super important to do that. But it’s decreasing because big companies are stopping small and local newspapers. Politicians who’re your representatives are the ones you should pay attention to.
It's a trend ma'am and as soon information on the particular issue isn't available anymore or projected to the screens of a lot of people, the sooner they move on
i personally feel like another big problem we have is that a lot of young teens (13,14,15 ect) are simply reposting these info graphics instead of actually learning, for example i am like 14 and last year i was posting sooo many info graphics that i couldn't keep up with all the information. this year i have decided to refrain from posting these unless it is something that i am more knowledgeable about. instead i have been trying to diversify my listing and watching experiences with different views and types of people so that way i can learn. that was a bit of a tangent but i feel like the pressure on people (especially if they are young) to post this stuff makes them forget about actually learning. not to say that you can't be a young activist or anything i just think when your younger you need to focus on learning more and less on teaching
I definitely feel this. I'm nearly 16, for reference. I'm a very disconnected person because I live in the back end of nowhere and I've been quarantined for a year. Last year, my only way to connect was Instagram. I felt so compelled to act so I just shared everything I thought would help. I didn't learn much of use. I started to take nothing with nuance and to just get pissed at everyone, including myself, for not doing enough to help, for just being a drop in a bucket. I got hit with a big ol' wave of depression (unrelated) which gave me perspective. Ironically, I'm much more useful now that I have perspective and I'm not just sharing random things I don't understand and learning nothing.
Wow, I think that's a super good take. It is definitely so easy to get swept up in infographic sharing, but I agree that for those of us going into things knowing nothing or very little, it will pay off to learn first and speak/share later. Theres a lot to learn and that process can't really be sped up.
i really resonate with this as a 15 year old who’s pretty involved in social issues. like the frustration of feeling like i’m not doing enough and feeling fake when posting about the problems i care about when in reality i’m not really doing anything was really hard for me. recognizing that i just have to learn and fine tune my knowledge really helped me feel less trapped. omg and also with the whole rounding out my worldview. like i couldn’t have a conversation with someone who didn’t agree with me on every aspect and it was really eye opening that i don’t really know wtf i’m talking about and that i need to learn. just realizing that i’m not always right and that i can fall victim to very biased opinions has helped me check myself
it's really awesome that so many of you in this thread are already so invested in being involved and wanting to help, so i am very glad you are also learning to give yourself space and time. i think a lot of impotent performative activism can come from that social pressure of not wanting other people to think you're a bad person, especially if you're younger, and it's important to realize you definitely have time to learn.
Wow I relate it this so much too! I went through the same thing last year and now I’m focusing more on just learning (hence why I’m here) from podcasts, RUclips videos, books, and following people who are part of underrepresented communities!
I'm so glad you addressed being on the autism spectrum! Literally I was flapping my hands because I was so happy someone addressed it. Protests and reading long lengths of words is very demanding for lots of us and many neurotypicals are judgy of us for that when they *_don't understand_* how exhausting it is being bombarded with a lot of sensory input. That is a commonly ignored factor. You're doing god's work, Khadija! 👍
I don't even know why I said god I am an athiest but it sounded cool lmao
It's how she touches on subjects other people tend to overlook, she's so underrated
THIS
Literally came down here to say this!!! ☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻
I really endeavour to be more politically active, but in tense, loud and dangerous situations I can end up becoming a danger to myself and others (only addressing my experience here).
i was coming to the comments to say this as well!! im autistic and many ways people tend to engage in activism is often inaccessible to me! i really really appreciated that they mentioned autism!
YES, FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT. I'm not autistic so I can't fully grasp how y'all experience it, but as an ADHD gremlin I feel you on the exhaustion. I cannot focus on long articles, especially if they're covering a distressing topic, and I also often find myself unable to stay on top of the news, even about something that directly affects me. It often makes me feel bad, so it was really nice to hear Khadija talk about it & to see your comments ✨
The last part about virtue signaling and people having a “holier-than-thou” attitude in regards to putting people on pedestals and then evil laughing as they rip their career away from them has been my biggest problem with the internet lately and you articulated it so well!!!!
Agreed!
My ex said it was good that they’re training soldiers to be super unemotional like “psychopaths” cos it’s easier to win wars like that.. and that’s how I knew he wasn’t the one 😅
Yikes
Wow that’s gross. Glad he’s an ex
I had a coworker that said it was good that the military completely broke everyone down to nothing because they needed to be built back up to what was needed (he's ex-army). It was always hard working with him because he's very conservative, cop/military worshipping, and now super Trump worshipping (which didn't surprise me).
@@ToastyJunebugs oh jeez where have they gotten the idea that having humanity is a bad thing?? 🥺
@@caitycat9151 right like why do they view emotion as a weakness its insane
Seeing other human beings K!//ed (which is now super accessible now a days) has a huge impact on a person. Not just seeing another human being, but possibly someone that looks like you. Or someone that you love. It’s a lot.
I was once was clickbaited on RUclips into watching a 'parkour fails' video which turned out to be a snuff film of sorts :( It still haunts me
@@amara560 I’m sorry that you had to see that. I once saw someone livestream offing themselves on TikTok. I was just scrolling and the video just showed up 😞
@@BeingBennetGreen Oh gosh that's awful :( That must have been very traumatizing.
@@amara560 well get through this.
@3g0stbecause I thought they would take it down (RUclips). Sometimes they do, and I just wanted to make it easier. Etc
Does anyone else get like, a cycle of self-hatred that arises out of seeing the activism of others? Like, seeing something terrible happening. Feeling upset about it. Feeling helpless to change things. Getting angry at myself because there's definitely gotta be *something* I can do. Seeing folks actually doing something, especially in the way of organizing, protesting in person, or calling their representatives. Deciding that I can't afford to leave work for protests, and have too much anxiety to talk to strangers on the phone. Hating myself for thinking that way when plenty of people have those same problems/anxieties and yet still take action. Reposting and donating money instead. Feeling like I should be donating more, or like donations won't really do anything anyway. Seeing more of the same terrible thing happening, or another equally terrible thing to a different group. Rinse and repeat.
Even mentioning this feels like I'm trying to center myself and my problems, when there are people who need actual help. But I also really want to know how to deal with this. I want to do good, but I'm so scared, literally all the time.
I understand you. I legitimately get suicidal when I think about the state of the world. These things are a drop in the ocean. If you've given your drop and thats all you have, then you are doing enough. Sustainable activism requires self care, and the sad irony is that the people that care the most, that we need the most, are at risk of burning out the fastest because of their tendency to put all of themselves into everything. Habits take time to build, no one starts off going from not working out to deadlifting 500lbs, the same can be said of activism. Yes, in the "objective" grand scheme of things your $5 doesn't mean much, but its better than $0. And eventually youll realize you can do $10, and then $10 and a phone call, and then $10 and a protest, and then $15, and then you can start participating in stuff, and then you can start helping others organizing strikes/boycotts. We will always be privileged in some way or another, no amount of guilt or martyrdom will change that or make it easier for people facing oppression. We need action, but sustainable action starts small ALWAYS. and thats okay. Dont let others make you feel bad because any progress is progress. And when you feel you can take on more, you can take on more. Until then, you are already doing the work to educate yourself, so keep doing that, but keep taking care of yourself too. Eventually you will get to a point where you can do more.
Hi yes I am also very mentally ill but care about the world way too much. We can't make it about us tho💗
Yeah. I feel so helpless in doing activism, even when it’s regarding prejudice against what I am. Actually, especially regarding prejudice against what I am
My remedy for this was to unplug and find worthy local causes I could get involved in, actually be hands on with, and meet some cool, new active friends! I chose one Christian org and one secular org. One organization prays and puts on spa days for underprivileged women; each person walks out w/ a new pair of shoes, fresh manicure, haircut if she wants, interview clothes if necessary...it's SUPER rewarding. The other project is a community garden that works closely w/ a juice bar. This one's new, but I'm learning a lot that I can apply to my own home garden.
Take a look around your town. I guarantee you can be a blessing to someone...you probably already are and U.O.E.N.O. 😘
I was actively driven to suicidal ideation because I couldn’t do anything in real life and had to stick to being online and felt horribly worthless.
This woman literally glows. Simply beautiful.
It's true her skin care game is fire. Yess sis
***womxn
I don't know what womxn means? I came in pure and utter respect love and admiration. Did I offend?
@@cyoung6127 [They] prefer the term womxn over woman to describe themself.
@3g0st they use they/them pronouns but said they're fine with she/her
i'd suggest watching their video on woman/yn/xn, they talk about the history of both terms and why they feel "womxn" encompasses them!
I just want people to stop running to influencers and celebrities about world issues. It’s like they’re waiting to be told what to think. Influencers and celebrities aren’t news sources. The way they research the facts, you can do the exact same thing. And stop with the fake outrage 😂
1) nobody is running to celebrities for information. we just want them to use their platform to raise awareness and contribute to the normalization of a cause. esp with a cause like palestine its super important since mainstream media spews misinformation and paints this as a "conflict"
2) yall werent saying this when it was about blm.
3) "fake outrage" is such an empty phrae
@@lunali7209 hmm🤔. Your second point is valid.
@@lunali7209 exactly!! Thank you!! In fact people were saying EXACTLY this. That you needed to use your platform and whatnot. The hypocrisy is big...
Right! And it literally removes our collective power to make the change we seek and need if we through the responsibility to a few elite/powerful/influential.
@@FaiaHalo yeah like we always said this. we always pushed celebs to use their platform. me included. and i still stand by that. but suddenly many dont? idek why
LOVE THIS VIDEO! What I find so stressful about online activism is that certain issues seem to go in and out of trend ? Like people will be calling on influencers and their peers to post about Sudan one week and climate change the next and pushing the idea of "why aren't you talking about this weeks issue?" when the issue from the week before isn't even solved and these issues being treated like a trend leads to the super disgusting trend of people posting shocking images like a dying child or an infographic on their story followed by a photo of their coffee. Shit like that makes me thinks that people don't even care about what they're supporting and rather just do it because everyone else is.
Something I found encouraging (but also sad) is that "Black Lives Matter" has been the top tag on Tumblr for over a year now and the "Stop Asian Hate" has been the second tag since that tag started going around. It didn't matter what was going on, the Black Lives Matter tag didn't budge. Seeing that longevity gives me hope.
This!!!
“the revolution will be aesthetized” THAT TITLE. SO GOOD.
thank you for mentioning us autistic people! because i'm autistic, i can hyperfocus on social issues and get very emotionally invested. this, combined with my perfectionism, caused me to put a lot of pressure on myself to share activist posts, and i ended up burning out on posting at all.
i've tried to find a middle ground between not posting and overexerting myself. i'm focusing on specific creators [such as your very informative videos!] and what they have to say, rather than sharing any post i come across that just looks good on the surface. i think it's important that if you are sharing posts, it's because the post helped you understand a topic and you want to help others as well as supporting the creator, instead of how your posting looks to others [performative activism]. i think it's also important to follow educators who challenge your beliefs, especially if they're in a marginalized group that you're not a part of.
ADHD technically over here but there's some overlap. I'm going to either hyperfixate on a topic and drive myself up the wall trying to read and understand everything or be able to focus on none of what is going on at all. I've found over the last few years trying to get involved in local causes I know more about cuz I live here and volunteering is probs best for everyone. Though 2020 really set me back on trying to do that. But I started up again recently and it's good.
I strongly relate to everything you wrote (except that I'm not on the spectrum), trying to find that middle ground and being more mindful of where I'm getting my information from.
Doing the same as you did caused me to burn out, combined with some very ugly experiences I checked out on the whole thing. I'm trying to find my way again, or at least be open to the idea. Challenge myself. By and large, however, when I hear the word "activism" I equate it with racism, wokeness, white savior complex, narcissism, and someone who's about to go off on me for being a "bad person" so they can feed their own ego. Taking me to task rather than walking the walk and actually helping someone in their community. It doesn't help that I don't trust people. I don't have the energy for a lot of this anymore. I've got my own issues that are just as valid as others, but I hate to bring them up cuz then I become a token for woke discussion or "opression olympics". I just want them to fuck off, and being open about my identity won't make that happen quicker.
I appreciate what you said in the beginning. I think there definitely needs to be a dialogue on how people often to look Black people in particular to Black women to be the "pioneers" when these crisises occur. And of course these issues are important and people should raise awareness, but Black women are not your superheroes!
I think you're totally right that we have a different standard for creators of color when it comes to speaking of social issues. We don't necessarily give people the grace to educate themselves on very complex socio-economic-cultural-political situations before asking them to speak on things. Not to mention there are no perfect sources. Everything has a bias and I am a firm believer most of the time you can't take a source at face value. It's just as important at times to research who wrote the source as reading the source itself. I personally don't love it when people in the Western world use the political issues of non western countries as political props and have a hard time reconciling with this performativity. My opinion about this is very much informed by me being Taiwanese, my very identity is a political statement because of the historically fraught political situation between Taiwan and the Chinese Communist Party and I live with the fact that the CCP is constantly threatening to invade Taiwan. Usually whenever Taiwan or for that matter Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang come up in the American news it's ultimately used as a way to criticize "China" and while I think the Chinese government should be criticized and held accountable for the human rights abuses they have committed, when (mostly Republican) political figures bring up these places they tend to use them in a very fear mongering way without seeming to suggest and feasible changes that could help these people, instead using it to stir up anti-Chinese sentiment. Moreover the political situation between Taiwan and the CCP is so voilitle that when the Trump administration was speaking so loudly about it, I was genuinely worried it might cause the CCP to invade Taiwan sooner. There are many similar situations in the world that are extraordinarily complex and today's social media activism perhaps isn't necessarily suited to infuse into them the nuance they deserve.
I agree, I'm not a big fan of anyone with a 'platform' being obligated and strongarmed into putting out a statement on every issue. In the case of political commentators it makes a certain amount of sense to expect it but if someone doesn't know the situation it's just bizarre to expect them to become an expert overnight.
And in the case of people in the public eye without a political presence I don't see why everyone should have to confirm that they agree a situation is bad and then put their own opinion in. There are too many uninformed opinions anyway so why would we demand more? And at the end of the day an ASMR RUclipsr, drag queen or tik tokker calling attention to a situation is not necessary and does nothing.
Can't we just leave the sharing of information to those educated on the issue? I don't get why we feel the need to pressure people to comment on a situation they know nothing about and have no experience with, when all it does is add more misinformation and confusion. It's not the job of every random person with over 10,000 twitter followers to teach people about political activism.
nobody wants their personal opinion. they just need to post a hashtag or one liner and go. the point is to get celebs on board so certain issues get normalized. look how israel reacted to bella hadid supporting palestine.
also. if regular ppl on the internet can care enough to partake what holds back rich ppl who dont work 9-5 living in mansions? and again. u dont need to do intensive research to realize bombing innocent people is wrong.
@@lunali7209 That would make sense, if there weren't countless celebrities (and especially creators with a small platform) that try and get ripped to shreds for it because they promoted the wrong charity or the info graphic had some incorrect facts on it or they used the wrong terminology.
At the end of the day it's not their place or their job to do this stuff. They aren't the news.
Nobody wants to admit that a lot of dis- and misinformation originates and spreads because of well-meaning people spreading and/or making unsubstantiated hot takes on issues they don't actually have the background knowledge to comment on in an additive and substantive way. Social problems are complicated, and Twitter is a sociology lecture where nobody's done the reading and everyone's been given a megaphone to yell at each other.
@@alexjames7144 i said one liner or hashtag. where did i say infographic? and suddenly now that its about palestine we are worried about "wrong infographics"???? where was this energy during blm or me too or other stuff?? celebs have more time on their hands since they're rich and have literal managers to inform them of whats the right thing to say. if they wanted to they could find a reliable source to use the infographic of.
its so insidious to be like this when palestinians have asked us that all they want is that we keep spreading the cause.
@@lunali7209 @luna li First of all, if you're gonna pretend hash tags can't be controversial and get people in trouble because they were confused you're just being willfully ignorant.
And secondly the vast majority of the people that are expected to comment aren't big celebrities with managers and social media teams, most of those are big enough that they can afford to ignore it. But many smaller creators get hounded and dragged through the mud for not immediately publicly declaring their position and when they do they get slammed for doing it wrong even if they clearly had the right intentions and were agreeing that bad stuff is bad.
And to call this insidious is insane, the Palestinian people have been suffering for decades so can we not pretend that an ASMR channel or beauty RUclips is responsible for it? At the end of the day the only people that can do anything are World governments and seeing as they've been doing a pretty good job up till now of ignoring it, random Internet personalities aren't gonna change anything.
I'm not saying they can't comment if they want, they are more than entitled to. But a ridiculous number of people have been accused of every ism under the sun just because they didn't think it was their place to stick their uneducated nose in.
As you said it's not that hard to Google it, so why would you go to a non expert for info on social issues? It just confuses shit.
YAS KHADJA OKAY SO THERE'S A THING I'VE NOTICED.
When I used to work at a book store, the thing I noticed about aesthetic appeal of books was that the liberal (in the colloquial American sense) book covers were clean, uncluttered, and often did not portray the author's photo. Exceptions to this being when a politician released a book (like Buttiteig or Al Franken's biographies). Theory books almost never had people on the covers.
However, the right wing books (again, in the American colloquial sense) were much more cluttered, loud, and more often than not, had a photo of the author or a Fox News anchor OR, a bad photo of a political enemy. There are obvious exceptions to this, but if the book had a "clean" cover, they more often had a provocative title. For example, Ben Shapiro's "The Right Side of History" had a fairly clean cover, but it was a VIRTUE SIGNAL of a title.
The most clear cut example of the difference between liberal and conservative aesthetics is the covers of "A people's history of the United States," and "A Patriot's history of the United States." The first one has a white cover with red lettering, the second has a blue cover with white lettering and an American Flag to top it off. I don't know what it means, exactly, that aesthetics seem to differentiate along the lines of political identity, but it is interesting. It has to he a virtue signal, or in group recognition of some kind. I hadn't thought to apply this to infographics, so I will pay attention to this more from now on. Thank you!
hey! cool observation. i kind of want to add that it might be a trend within the right wing visual identity even beyond the us, or maybe this influences other countries that for one reason or another like to suck up to americans. this was very noticeable in what kind of aesthetic the promotional material for the current awful president in brazil used all throughout 2016 and once more now for the upcoming elections: very tacky. very amateurish looking. very 12 year old graphic designer cousin. just cluttered and unpolished. guns, sexy ladies, the president in question being put in the bodies of cool superheroes and fighting soldiers. fair share of american flags in there too, because imperialism. 4chan meme stuff. and in general putting the political figure in a position to be stanned as part of the voter's identity.
the idea around it, to many, is that this amateurish look brings the content down and closer to the 'average voter's. just your friendly neighborhood rich, rich military man! he understands your needs, of course he does, you all hate politicians now and he's an anti-politician! see how he's not like the other parties and their stuck-up branding! this guy we photoshopped to captain america's body is clearly epic and making the country great again! share these pictures and links of totally real, not fake news to your whatsapp family group, they're indistinguishable from a aunt-made meme and good morning gif.
so i guess, at least in some part, its their way of appealing to a specific demographic that doesn't feel represented by a clean aesthetic. and the general appeal to personalities like oh fox news guy, i know this guy, i'm gonna read what he says because i already stan. something like that.
The right-wing corporate media, including online grifters who are paid directly or indirectly by multimillion-dollar or multibillion-dollar corporations, operate as a cult of personality. Each pundit, anchor, host, et cetera has their own aesthetic and gimmicks which make them as easy to identify as professional wrestlers-for exactly the same reason.
@@lola9148 that's so interesting. I wonder what we'd find if it we compared this to facist/authoritarian propaganda of yesteryear. Because I feel like much of that centered the people/common man doing the superhuman feats, while the leaders were depicted as falsely humble/noble. This shift feels like it indicates an increased tendency of the public to identify with the actions of leaders as their own behavior. The amateurish production just heightens the perception. Thank you for adding this!
@Duke Solitary By "left wing", are you referring to center-right neoliberals?
@Duke Solitary Can you define your usage of "far left" or at least provide some examples? Regarding Black Lives Matter, to what are you referring?
"Everyone is trying to out-woke each other." I feel this way a lot. it reminds me of a Portlandia skit called "have you read".
Great info. Happy to see you back. Love love love the long video content.
Great commentary on slacktivism and starting with the Kony 2012 piece. Hilarious and insightful that it was a 30 minute long viral video.
Thanks for introducing me to the Behind the Bastards podcast. I'm listening to the episodes you mentioned about the School of the Americas and the one about the Holocaust. Very insightful. Thanks.
As for people having anxiety about where to donate, I read a blog post years ago about donating $10/day to different organizations = $3,650/year. You can adjust the amount or timeframe as necessary, but it allowed me to destress about where to donate by spreading the wealth. Every dollar counts.
I was 11 years old when all my peers started writing Kony 2012 on their hands and I had zero clue what the fuck was going on 😂
I was 12 or 13 and I just remember being like how does this do anything along with it looking like he was running for office.
same i've been meaning to look it up for a few years cause when i was young i had no idea what was going on lol but now i know X'D
@@ayajade6683 same, I still don’t understand why the poster looked like a political poster???
ppl also seem to be under the impression we're all operating with the same context. im a southeast asian whos only been actively online for 10 years. the amount of people places and events that ppl say literally everyone knows, but i have never heard even a whisper of before, could fill an entire library.
there also seems to be growing assumption that the only reason ppl dont know of things is privilege or deliberate ignorance. but i could never understand this mindset, because the ppl who spout it probably wouldnt even recognize my country on the map, nor spell its name correctly.
I was just thinking “damn, I miss Khadija” and here you are 😭😭❤️
She's fascinating.
@@anarcho-communist11 Khadijah uses they them pronouns 👍
Same!!!
Right 😭😭
Me toooo
I AM ALSO A SLOW PROCESSOR. And it took me the longest time to realize this was very different from the way that many other people experience and process their emotions. Like it took me being in a long-term intimate relationship to realize that other people weren't just more emotive than me, but actually experiencing their emotions more quickly than I do, and maybe more strongly. It still kind of baffles me that for a lot of people, a thing happens and they immediately know how they feel about it. I mean, sometimes I experience that too, but only for very... basic things. Like if my pc breaks down, I experience dismay, and that usually doesn't take me that long to process. But anything more complicated than stubbing my toe on the way to the bathroom? Gonna have to give me time to think about it because I just do not even know how I feel.
Not related, but I love your pfp! I adore Dragon Age, it's one of my hyperfixations
Look up alexithymia
Wait what timestamp was this mentioned?
@@annia3685 I looked it up just now and I am fascinated, thank you
I understand Khadija, but also ur not required to tell everyone what's going on in the world, they have their search engines and they can research for themselves. please don't lose yourself trying to teach others, don't let them exhaust you. Stay Magical.
Hey Khadija! Those numbers come from the KONY 2012 Wikipedia page with citations from two 2012 articles covering the low turnout. Just went and checked and thought I'd let you/anyone else interested know!
Love this! Its still good to recognize that people who get mad at others for "only" doing online activism is incredibly ableist. And as you say, everyone is different and has different capability levels for handling traumatic news, researching that and sharing what they've learned, I'm not saying this as a way to excuse people but it's important to recognize some people are fighting battles they don't have enough spoons to dedicate to every atrocity occurring. I still like to share resources via IG in stories though, with links for people to donate, who to write to, what actions govts are doing etc as those are handy resources and sharing that can be very helpful for people, including those who are wanting to be willfully ignorant for selfish reasons, so there's not just a vapid space on social media, it can be used for more, you know?
there's also the fact that not everyone wants to put themself in danger, and irl activism does that, especially if you're a poc
@@mammoneymelon I know a few people that refrained from going to protests specifically bc they don't have papers and were worried about getting deported. I don't hear people talk about that much but I think a lot of people have that same concern
honestly khadija you're a lot nicer than me... I've gotten to the point where I dont look for people I don't at least mutual with to speak out about certain things, especially celebrities and ESPECIALLY the white ones. like, if they don't know about something and aren't doing something, that's a them problem; I just don't have the energy to care about that anymore.
that said, something I heard once that's stuck with me for a long time is, "not everybody is going to be as woke as you" i don't remember who said it or where i heard it (i think twitter or tumblr???), but its something I keep in mind when I see other people talking about things and just kind of... not getting it. its so hard to remember this and i think if people kept it in mind when they're interacting with others re: these topics it would save a lot of time. some people just haven't gotten to the place we are yet but it doesn't mean they never will. it also doesn't mean you have to get them there. sometimes you just can't engage those people yet b/c they won't know what you're saying, but hopefully they will someday.
"not everybody is going to be as woke as you" is so useful for me! I've seen people get eviscerated online simply for admitting they didn't know a lot about a topic yet, but they were willing to learn about it. Apparently now you can't even admit what you don't know without some ~woke warrior~ proclaiming you're bad, stupid, and should already know what you don't know. I mean the internet has all the info you could ever need now, but the energy it takes to consume all of it... that's limited.
I've decided I'm gonna come from the perspective of "not everybody has gotten the chance to have the same experiences as me". E.g., there are plenty of things about my experiences as a Black woman in America that are just dead obvious to ME, but I can't possibly expect everybody else to be on the same level of awareness as I am, I'll just be perpetually disappointed if I do. Likewise, there are aspects of other identities that I'm probably still in the dark about, and it's not because I'm a bad person that doesn't care- I just haven't gotten there yet, and it's no one else's responsibility to get me there but mine.
Invisible Children came to my school and we had an assembly. I donated like 20 dollars and hung posters bc I ~ trusted my school~ and that makes me uncomfortable because that assembly was the most my school ever did for humanitarian efforts/
Girl, me too. I remember the assembly we had for it and they really put a lot of pressure on us as children to donate too
I really appreciate how well-thought and researched your videos are! And your "there's good and bad in everything" approach is very refreshing during such reactionary era.
Part of my leaving Twitter was to actually help my self-education and advocacy. As I'm going into my MSW program, I'm hoping to find my niche in activism as well. I am often daunted in my quest to be a good white ally, knowing what my responsibilities are, but not always how to do carry them out.
my favorite aunty: "i mean, print media has been dying for a long time, and if it isn't already --"
me, a zine creator, desperately trying to get folks to purchase my work: 😅
Oh noooo lol
I’ve purchased digital & physical zines a few times 😌 and if I find a digital zine that means a lot to me or if I want to physically have it on hand, I’ll buy a physical copy. Don’t give up hope!! I think magazines and newspapers are obviously going down, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s also a rise in independent creators getting their stuff out there, physically and digitally!!
I got a zine once and I'm not entirely sure what a zine is but it was really neat!! My friend did the art. Where do people go find and purchase zines?? Also how would you define zine I know that sounds dumb but...help 😂
Spider-man, 2001:
"Everyone loves to hero. But what do they love more? To see them fall, to see them fail."
I am gonna rewatch this video multiple times and have physical pen and paper to take notes. It’s so researched but also thoughtful and vulnerable.
Showing our personal vulnerability is so scary but it’s a good way to reach people and change minds, so thank you. ❤️
❤️
They told us to watch before we assume what they're talking about so as soon as this premieres I'm grabbing my notebook!!
Their pronouns are they/them 😊
@@jayanthis947 thank you for the correction 🙏🏽
I should have had my notebook, I will have it on the rewatch!!
@@jayanthis947 oh shit! i didn't know that either, thank you!
@Fatimaxn Barry yep
As someone living the Israeli - Palestinian conflict day to day since I was born, I just feel that people never acknowledge their western privilege regarding this issue. Not knowing what bombs feel like on your own land. Drives me crazy. Also why are people saying that quick reactions are the most important? I would MUCH rather have someone taking a few days to research rather than blurbing out something unresearched to the point of disrespectful.
Furthermore I don’t believe public personas should react just because of that, if they feel they are biased or unsure about the situation they are not obligated to constantly share their political opinion constantly and flawlessly.
I have to say, as always, I respect deeply everything you said in this video. You are so self aware and insightful it’s incredible. Thank you. Please take your time and speak from a place of knowledge.
Okay, I feel this, especially the last part. I've started to realize that my time online made me waaay more reactionary and confrontational than I used/needed to be without actually making me more productive, just more burned out. I deleted my FB scorched earth style (deleted every post off my wall and left every group) so I wouldn't go back. It was cathartic to "yell" at people online about causes I felt I was on the morally superior side about, but I was forgetting there was a person on the other side that has feelings.
I'm still not a hand-holding type person, but I'm learning not to immediately flame when I see people being ignorant because in the end it helps neither of us.
Thank you for the video! I don''t think everyone should be obligated to speak out or have the energy to immediately research and address every national or global issue. It simply isn't fair to assume everyone is in the state of mind to focus on certain things and in some ways, yes that is a privilege, but I don't think we have to punish or attack people for it.
Yes please to Mbowe Merch !! 😍💯🇨🇦
I love the point you make about giving people grace and letting them make mistakes and own up to them. I also really liked that you brought up that not everyone processes the same, or is in the same circumstance to do the same activism. I think part of this issue is that, in many social media spaces, the baseline expectation for being a "good person" has weirdly become about engaging in some kind of activism; that if you aren't doing activism, then you don't care. But the reality is that a lot of activism requires a specific mentality and requires a specific set of skills. It's not something that just anyone can do, nor is it something that everyone needs to be doing.
Activism isn't the only way that people can better the world around them and be allies. It's just as important to have people who in the world who- while not engaging in activism- are willing to unlearn their own biases and have difficult conversations with their friends and family. It's just as valuable to have people who don't engage in activism, but are there to listen to and emotionally support those who do. It's valuable to have people who are willing to go along with boycotts. It's valuable to have people who- as you say- merely pass along information, because then it can reach people who are suited to activist work to take up particular causes.
Furthermore, as you brought up, watching human suffering constantly is just not good for mental health. It's mentally damaging to repeatedly expose yourself to all the trauma occurring around the world, especially if there isn't really anything you can do about much of that trauma other than raise awareness about it. There are plenty of people who are just NOT in the mental space to be thinking in or engaging with certain issues.
And as you said- what people post alone doesn't tell you everything about their lives, what they support, what they think, or what they are doing. Many people go to social media just to have fun or decompress, but an expectation has slowly creeped in that if you are on social media, you are obligated to talk about certain causes or share your opinion, because if you don't that means you just don't care. And THAT, as you say, I think leads to a lot of people just virtue signaling their support and passing around misinformation simply because they don't want to be seen as not caring about people. It's perfectly normal and natural to not want to be perceived as uncaring, especially when you DO genuinely care about other people. That can create enormous pressure to just be seen as caring about something, even when you don't have the mental energy (or toolkit to productively process all the information that's necessary to understanding a situation) to really look into what you feel pressured to talk about.
I'm so late to this - but ahh you articulated everything I've been thinking about for a while now! Amazing video :)
Not to put you on a pedestal but you're amazing. I love how nuanced and compassionate and well thought out your takes are
This video is just... fire.
Agreeddd
I am so glad you addressed disability! I have CP, and it makes protesting tiring and painful. And, even in the most accepting movements, not all of the in-person actions are able to meet my needs. I try my best to donate and research, but I have a lot of mental health issues that make it hard to focus on long, scholarly articles. They also make it hard to process emotions on certain subjects, so social media is probably my most-used avenue of activism.
I 100% understand being quiet when angry. I think it's important to recognize that you can hurt people when angry
Amanda Seales just talked about people trying to tell her what she should be talking about. Which I actually respect people who don't talk about situations that they don't know about. But there is a lot of pressure to post about popular movements. I learned in college to listen and learn rather than post. I didn't know squat diddly about Syria until I met someone with family from there. I didn't know much about islamaphobia until I had a friend that was Muslim. I guess I'm saying social media and the internet is great to learn, but getting to know the people who are oppressed can help you learn much more. Also thanks Khadija for another well thought out video! You are doing the Lord's work 😂❤️
Being Autistic makes it hard to read the room sometimes (I'm working on it) but I find that I usually do better formulating my own words on an issue rather that repeating others that I may not fully understand how and when to use them.
You are the definition of compassion and respect
Khadija coming at us AGAIN with the self awareness, empathy, and kindness again!! Thank you for doing your best and trying to make the world a safer space to learn 💙💙💙
Well said Auntie Khadija! You captured my feelings about this so well. I'll admit, I got caught up in posting infographics and such over the summer when the BLM protests were happening (of course I went to protests and donated as well) and judging people who didn't do the same, but in hindsight I think going so hard on social media like that wasn't really.... doing anything? I think I partly felt like my posts would be reaching people whose minds I hoped to change, but I also think I felt like I HAD to post those things or people would judge me for not doing so. Especially when all my friends were doing it, and so many people were saying things like "There's no excuse not to post about this! If you aren't talking about this just know I see you!!!" At that point, what am I spending my energy on? I just think it's a bit performative. Again, I did more than just post but I think the energy I spent posting the same infographics everyone else was posting and making sure people knew what side i'm on could be better spent reflecting on my own priviledge, the ways I have contributed to racism, how to be a better person and a better ally. Yes I think these posts can be helpful but I think we need to make sure we're doing more than that. Doing the uncomfortable shit where you look at yourself and realize what needs to change. And I definitely don't think we need to be making assumptions about people who aren't posting on issues.
happy belated birthday!
omg I'm so guilty of virtue signalling. I think it started on tumblr when ever political post had a guilt trippy comment being like "you're a horrible person if you don't share this". and I was going through a lot of gaslighting and abuse and thinking I was a horrible person so sharing those posts without really understanding them was my coping mechanism. now I'm working on that knee-jerk reaction of sharing every political infographic I see and taking the time to actually understand and process things.
Khadija is ICONIC their look is amazing
I totally agree with everything you said, and you've articulated it a lot better than I ever could. Just because someone doesn't share some kind of infographic about whatever big issue is trending right now doesn't necessarily mean that they don't care about it, and I really hate that that is the conclusion a lot of performative activists jump to. I'd rather pay attention to content creators who know what they're talking about and genuinely feel passionate about a certain topic than have the conversation diluted by average cabbages who are throwing in their (usually totally uninformed) two cents because that's the "in thing" right now.
Loved this essay!!
On a side note, would you do a piece on “growing up Muslim”
I no longer identify with the faith but would love to hear your experiences growing up and how it maybe gives you bias but also perspective on specific topics you speak about eg LGBTQI, the arts, the civil rights movement/black power! It would be fascinating to hear 💙
khadija your section on individual processes really resonated, thank you for spelling that out because i think so many can relate to the overwhelming nature of self-educating on topics where there is so much to unpack and often it comes with a lot of triggering content. that's why i love your videos because i feel like i'm learning but at the same time i feel calm and it stops me feeling overwhelmed and distressed by the state of the world. your work is so important and we all appreciate it so much
This video is very relevant today and it really helped me understand some of my opinions and feelings.
That part about needing time to process and not speaking when feeling anger or any strong emotion is so relatable for me. Whenever I get really emotional, I'm so in the emotion that all my speech centers and processing is completely engrossed by my emotion so I'm not good at talking or thinking properly during that time. Idk if any else relates to that at all. I have ADHD, so I already have issues with processing information but its even worse when I'm emotional too. I'm fairly even tempered most of the time but when my emotional regulation goes to shit...oh boy, I can't do anything else until I fully feel the emotion and let it wear itself out
That part with reacting and being a victim of emotions. GOT ME. I STRUH GLE with this. Oh my. I thought something was wrong with me, because I don't know how to articulate it. UGH. Loved this video. I looked at myself in this and found myself guilty a lil bit too. Thank you so much. Glad you're back. I freaking love your channel. Still can't believe I found you by accident and now I'm hungry for uploads. :) - A Nibling
Khadija bringing us the facts and making me question everything I thought to be true 🙌🏾 😂
Your videos are like a catch up with your favourite cousin at the family reunion
A lot of us don’t know how to deal with vulnerability cause our parents-
Ouchie. 😅
Off topic but...Khadija, I am reading The Body is Not an Apology and...*chef's kiss* THANK YOU FOR THIS RECOMMENDATION!❤️❤️❤️
There's such a double standard for this kind of thing. Either you post about issues and then get told that you're doing it for clout of virtue signalling (obviously this does happen but it's unfair to assume the same for everyone), or you take the time to step back and take in information (especially if you don't usually comment on political struggles) the you will be attacked for simply not caring. Some issues do require more of social media presence because of censorship etc, but that shouldn't be a way of hating on people that simply don't know about certain issues. Nevermind the fact that some people do work more behind the scenes. It's a difficult balance for those with followings, since you have the ability to have a bigger impact but you also want to give accurate information, which takes time. There is no pleasing everyone when it comes to this.
Setting boundaries is so important!!! People can get really entitled in parasocial relationships - I'm sorry that people have been coming at you for not speaking on this sooner. Please take your time to listen and process, and I'm sure you'll start speaking on this when you're prepared!
I am glad you addressed the aestheticization of activism, as that is something I've been thinking about lately with the rise of infographics. While I recognize that it isn't a new phenomenon, as pamphlets, posters, and other mediums in the past used certain aesthetics to appeal to a wider audience, I do have concerns that it could lead to the value placed on certain information, whether that information is accurate or inaccurate, will be dependent on how aesthetically pleasing the packaging is to a viewer.
As a former evangelical with good intentions and harmful results (mostly to myself being deeply manipulated, but certainly to others), it is very hard for me to be confident in getting behind a point, sharing it, engaging with actual activism without months or years of consideration beforehand. In many cases, I feel like I miss the window of opportunity to act because of this; it's hard to know if I can trust my interpretation or have the foresight you mention in the last part of the video. All this to say, I think you lay out a practical framework for analysis of time-sensitive activism situations as well as in establishing personal boundaries on when it's time to speak up, share, or act.
so ready for this 🥲 because did anyone ever find kony?
he was the friends we met along the way
@@stoodmuffinpersonal3144 😭😭😭😭
@@lola.odetola Yeah. I was both 🤣😭 as I was typing it 😅
Damn, I was so excited until I realized it was a premier, but now I'm even more excited
As someone who does irl community organizing AND helps run its social media page, I’m excited for this video.
Khadija, your section on virtue-signaling really hit home for me!! I have witnessed this phenomenon over and over again in a lot of the different groups of people I interact with at my university. I don't want to act like I am perfect here but I see so so so many of my peers posting selfies with themselves and then captioning the photo with a diatribe about x,y, or z political issue or the current human rights crisis. I am involved in political work at my university and I consider myself to be a pretty intellectual person. However, I feel so quility about not posting infographics or creating Instagram posts about these really important issues. I never feel qualified enough to speak on most things. When I try to explain this to my peers, I feel like nobody understands where I am coming from. I will definitely be sharing this video.
these premieres tease me in such a way that i anticipate them with such jealousy for my future self 🥲
*I’ve never heard of what’s in the title but I’m excited to learnnnn*
infographics remind me so much of bad powerpoints i made in high school i have trouble taking them seriously
You're in Montréal! So happy to have you as a fellow local!❤️❤️❤️
I think people who message online creators online demanding a perfect performance of activism need to put more of that energy into holding *themselves* accountable and being the kind of person they want to see in the world.
People project so much of their feelings of powerlessness in the face of systemic violence and cruelty onto online creators (mostly creators with marginalized identities) when they could be taking the time to process their emotions and then redirect themselves towards finding real opportunities for praxis that they can personally engage in.
I know that's way easier said than done (and more so the more directly someone is affected by an issue) but it's something to aspire towards.
On a different note I really appreciate the way that Khadija holds space in this video for those of us who have learning disabilities and consequently take longer to find accessible resources to educate ourselves.
A lot of the same leftists who performatively attempt to show solidarity with us still judge anyone who doesn't have the spoons to read ridiculously long dry theory books (*cough*Kapital*cough*) and need to get our information some other way.
Khadija thank you for being so vulnerable and real with us all. I learn so much from your channel, and I’m so thankful for the space you’ve created that allows for patience with learning so that we can utilize this (continuous) learning and knowledge to make sustainable changes. Love you auntie. ♥️
my history major brain is absolutely VIBRATING with excitement for next week's video on dog-whistle politics! can't wait and thank you for this one!!
I have ADHD and I totally relate to everything you're saying about processing and having to repeat things and emotional regulation.
Sometimes I feel shame because I'm still learning things about marginalized communities that everyone around me seems to already know.
And to be fair, my brain does work differently and I was sheltered in a restrictive home environment until I was about 16/17ish. But I'm 21 now and it feels like I should be fully caught up but I keep finding out there are things I still don't know and I want to be a good ally to people around me.
I find myself getting easily overstimulated by basic social interactions and overwhelmed by social topics. So I'm torn between feeling like I'm not doing enough or learning fast enough but also find myself avoiding engaging with serious topics.
Hearing you share your experience about processing was really validating for me so I appreciate it. Thank you for reminding me that we all learn and understand things in our own way. I needed to hear this.
In general, I find videos like yours help me a lot. Your "over-explaining" helps me understand the full breadth of topics and I'm able to leave with a better understanding of them. I appreciate all the time and effort you go to to provide this interesting and educational content.
I can't even begin to explain how much I love your videos. It always feels like I'm learning a lot, but in a way which feels like a discussion with a friend. Thank you for the amazing content, I can't wait to see what you have in store for the future!
As a Ugandan, who went to high school in Europe during Kony 2012, walking into school after was WIIILD! People thinking your callous because I was like Kony wasnt even IN Uganda.
I’m glad you made this video and I totally agree I wish more people would stand up to the fact that they don’t know enough about something to speak on it and for us as a whole to stop expecting people to speak on things that they don’t know about And/or immediately, at that♥️
Awesome video as always! It's definitely a problem, especially on Twitter, where people are just expecting you to know everything about any given topic immediately from the get-go, and it can be a lot sometimes. Criticism tends to be harsh on social media too. It's understandable to an extent, but everyone is so quick to attack without stopping to think that not everyone is the same. A bit off topic, but I have definitely noticed younger people, mostly white people, start to act like white saviors and try to speak up over everyone to look like they are on the "high ground". The most recent trend I've noticed is people attacking random people for having Asian names in their display names, automatically assuming it's a white person faking being Asian, and not realizing that Asian people do in fact exist and have these names. Again, it's mostly white people doing this, probably trying to be "allies" but becoming so absorbed in performativism that they start attacking the minorities they are trying to "help". But I have noticed a lot of these people tend to be way younger and are probably trying to overcompensate for not being able to donate or go out to protests, since well, they are usually 14-17. It all ties back to the fact that everyone is just trying to one-up each other and become the most "woke", and it feels like a battle to seem like the most morally sound person or whatever, and it really is just a lot to deal with. But yes, I definitely agree with you, and social media is good for a lot of things, but can also be bad in some ways as well.
I was in my late 20s when this Kony thing happened. I knew absolutely nothing about, but I did live in San Diego at the time and remember the news story about the naked mental breakdown
I love you... The thing you said in the last segment of that video about taking the time to process or not responding when you're upset... I can relate...
My high school allowed Invisible Children to come and speak at schoolwide assembly in 2006 or 2007. I donated my own birthday money to the cause after the assembly. Lol. Where were the adults when we needed them?
Idk what this is going to be about but I'm looking forward to it.💜
Happy belated birthday! And I appreciate you acknowledging the mental health aspect. Having anxiety is a delicate balance of trying to help out where you can but not getting dragged down by your own empathy. People need to understand that it’s ok for creators not to speak on something if it’s pushing them into a bad place. You deserve peace too.
I found your channel a few months ago, and really appreciate how careful, compassionate, and thorough you are in talking about so many important and sensitive topics. Coming from a very different background, I've learned a lot by watching your videos and looking at the sources you link to. Thank you for all the effort you put into spreading knowledge!
When you were talking about how most humans just aren't equipped to handle doing violence to others without breaking down, it reminded me of David Grossman's book "On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society." He talks a lot about the social/technological mechanisms we've developed to get around the psychological barrier against killing people, and what happens when we do.
WE EATING GOOD 😌
damn straight
Behind the Bastards is one of my favorite podcats
This is a truly excellent video but not gonna lie, I got inordinately excited by the fact Khadija listens to Behind the Bastards too XD
Same, excited but not surprised!
It's frustrating as people will do things like a blackout on social media when it does absolutely nothing about the problem of the week, demand/strongarm creators into talking about issues when it doesn't align with their platform or they don't feel educated enough to speak, or expect you to have an opinion with less than 1/2 the facts. For me I hate jumping the gun on issues as biases exist, it's draining to engage with people who only use emotion and their opinion on the topic instead of being emotional/passionate but using facts, I can't make an informed judgement with less than 1/2 the information, and I know things aren't black and white. I remember creators getting death threats recently for not partaking part in a social media blackout instead they we're doing things like here's some creators with more knowledge on the topic or here's some my favorite POC creators on the platform.
Responding instead of reacting. I should try that more often.
I think in terms of assuming good faith, it's important to note that people who share infographics or posts may not be doing it for clout or even to preach at all. When I've shared posts on certain topics it's sometimes simply to share an opinion I agree with or to be like "Hey, this resonated with me, maybe it will for you too" (especially if it relates to personal topics such mental health/wellbeing). People sharing a point of view isn't always preaching.
Honestly, as long as you aren't taking a holier than thou attitude, you do you. Like, share that tweet/post, just don't imagine you're a Saint for doing so, or that other people should venerate, accept or even validate you for it.
Roland Barthes' quote: "le fascisme, ce n'est pas d'empêcher de dire, c'est d'obliger à dire"
"for fascism does not prevent speech, it compels speech.”
My thoughts on trying to get the word out on various social and political issues: I'd rather someone who earnestly wants to help say something, fuck up, and correct themselves than people just seemingly do nothing about it to avoid looking bad. Of course it's better to listen and amplify voices who it affects more personally instead of trying to insert yourself which is something I had to learn more than once. I just don't like the idea of "don't say/do anything" because it doesn't afford people to learn.
Your videos are so educational!
I watched all the way to the end woohooo! Beautiful work Khadija, thank you. I love how compassionate you are in all your videos and 100% agree with what you've said, especially about giving people space and grace. I had a friend on instagram share a post the other day that someone else had written where they said something like "Think sharing posts doesn't help? Yes it does, you idiot. Here is how." and I remember being like wtffffff. Calling people idiots is sooo unkind and sooo counter-productive. Anyway I've deleted all my social media because it's become so unpleasant to be in that space. I am really looking forward to the extra time it will give me to keep learning but in a deeper way.
The illustrator of the image of part one is Antoinette Thomas (the @ you mentioned tagged the artist), and I’m just mentioning it because she does great work around the experience of being black Latine and dealing with racism within the Latine community, I suggest checking it out!! I would love to see a video about this topic and maybe this illustrator could be a good person to interview (also Dash Harris from Radio Cana Negra) about the current situation in Colombia and white Latinidad/mestizaje politics.
i love this video!!! i think it all also speaks to the huge cultural system of shame & punishment in how we "deal" with each other both inter-personally & structurally. and i think a lot of other neurodiverse ppl have observed this and talked about this, how this system fundamentally does not work. and you can see this especially online, that this ends up just harming marginalized ppl the most (like your fav white guy on the internet can say #blm and it's "omg he's learning" but a woman of color is heavily scrutinized and harassed for doing the same thing or more). i've noticed it really is just another way of policing and reinforcing existing power structures and it's always particularly weird when i see self-proclaimed abolitionists engaging in this b/c all it looks like is they're practicing the same systems of punishment on each other. and again, marginalized ppl are always the ones most harmed by this at the end of the day. which isn't to say, like, "be nice to ur oppressors!!! #peaceandluv" (also b/c white ppl are the bulk of ppl doing this shit) but we also don't want to punch sideways or down. i've definitely stepped away from instagram & twitter a lot more and i've found that i feel a lot lighter and i'm actually learning on the day-to-day much better.