Senate Safety pins, FaceBook profile pictures, and whatnot

One of my safety pin wearing friends organized and held an outdoor community protest for Standing Rock last night. Clearly there are pin wearers who take their actions beyond mere symbols. The idea that someone who doesn't know her might see her safety pin and dismiss her as "one of those people" is frustrating. That someone who maybe went a step further than a pin and signed an on-line petition while she stood outside in 40 degree weather (not cold for up here, but also not comfortable after an hour or so) is aggravating. Maybe I'm biased because I work in community action, where people do act on social causes while also using symbols to publicly demonstrate their support.

My problem with the HuffPo article is that it makes a sweeping generalization that reeks of PC elitism. The tone of the article was incredibly condescending and judgmental. Are we really in a place where we can risk turning off anyone who might at least be making some effort to show support, or should we be thanking them, embracing them and gently guiding them to more active roles?

 

Even if wearing a pin is mere symbolism, isn't that still better than standing by and remaining silent? At the very least it sends the message that "no, I am not okay with this" as opposed to conveying tacit consent or apathy to what's going on.

 

I was involved (cough) in the original conversation that the OP posted about, and I already said my piece there, but to sum it up..

This is not my first rodeo. Ten years ago I was involved in a pretty large citizen movement, the movement that spawned Occupy. Social media was originally used to organize protests, but soon it became the focus of the protests themselves. The message got diluted, lost inside echo chambers, and soon became nothing but a piece of flair: some colors that people would wear to show solidarity. And what had started as a very promising movement ended up being nothing but a forum where people could talk about themselves, get a modicum of social identity, and avoid doing anything that could directly affect the source of our troubles. The second I saw people selling patches with our colors in Etsy I knew we were done.

I don't think I need to tell you how that movement ended.

So yes, I have a very rational loathing of ribbons and buttons and whatnot (bite me). Most people are not used to protesting and, when given the choice of "doing the right thing" via either changing their Facebook profiles (you can do it automatically now!) and wearing a safety pin or organizing a political campaign and risking ending up in jail... well, they tend to take the path of least resistance. And I don't think it's a luxury we can afford right now.

 

Where was the protest?

 

Virginia, Minnesota. Nothing large - this is a very rural area. Mesabi Daily News had an article on it.

 

A friend of mine posted this on her FB page . . .



As Dave says, this could easily just become a piece of flair too, but I like it rather better than the safety pin. Presuming it's a decent size, it's noticeable, and unlike a safety pin, its meaning is unambiguous. If you wear this, you've slapped a clear promise on yourself, and you'll look like an ass if you break it.

Of course, before you swear to such a thing, you might want to seriously sit down and think about what a promise like this means to you. Are you willing to risk a physical confrontation? Face arrest, injury, or even death? Were you thinking more along the lines of crossing to the other side of the street and filming an encounter on your phone to upload to social media? What exactly would you be promising, and to whom?

 

There is nothing wrong with people forming little protection squads to protect other people. I mean, people should protect other people against violence anyway but this is understandable.

 

ophelia, it's basically the latest haute couture must have for the progressives from Emporio Radicale. Be the envy of your white friends with this aggressive statement of How Not Racist™ you are.

Forget safety pins or the even more visibly useless option of safety pin forum avatars! With this badge, you can tell your tale, your uniquely you tale - full of sound, and fury, and signifying nothing but the end of racism (without leaving the comfort of your middle class bubble).

Let us at Emporio Radicale finish with a quote from a man who imprisoned homosexuals in labour camps for being deviant a true progressive hero so you know we're totes on your side: "At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality." Ernesto "Cliché" Guevara.

 

I didn't say it was great. I said it was better than a plain safety pin.

And I got a quadruple post, and then two of the posts disappeared. 0.o I don't want to say aliens, but . . . aliens.

 

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Yes Shane. We understood the point ophelia was making when ophelia made it.

 

I agree with the sentiment but the UMAP camps were opened way after Guevara had left for Congo.

 

Erm, you sure? It's been a long time since I read either Castaneda's "Companero" or the Jon Lee Anderson bio - appropriately, when I was the sort of clueless undergrad for whom this stuff is still "edgy" - but I recall he was instrumental in it.

Note - I know the Ns in companero and Castaneda need the squiggly thing, but I'm too lazy to add it and plus, your face.

 

JoinTheSchwarz - I checked Wikipedia and can't see anything except the extra-judicial killings/revolutionary justice campaign. I'll see what more I can find.

 

Yeah, it's a pretty controversial topic, but the dates don't really work. He was in Congo when the UMAP were built and was killed before they were closed. A friend of mine did some research for an article on political "reeducation" and there's no real proof that he was involved or even aware, like the Castros undoubtedly were (despite the official Cuban story of how it happened, that I don't know if you know but it's epically hilarious.)

 

at the risk of just popping in here and responding to the OP instead of trying to just organically get into the flow of the thread conversation, i'm gonna pop in here and respond to OP without trying to just organically get into the current conversation.

the internet is an AMAZING thing. i believe that one of the most effective ways to combat racism and oppression is to encourage and empower people from those marginalized groups to tell their own stories and allow their voices to be heard. the internet is UNIQUELY an amazing tool for this. likewise, it can be powerful/meaningful/helpful for those marginalized people to know that they aren't alone and that they are supported. THEORETICALLY, the safety pin profile pic changing can do this. additionally, the internet in general has a habit of 'devils advocating' and 'well, actuallying' **** TO DEATH. this isn't ALWAYS bad, but sometimes it can get in the way of real, meaningful changes or displays of solidarity or whatever. there's always somebody who's gonna get pissed about everything, and we should work to not be that kind of person. we should try to be people of substance.

THAT SAID. my pretty diverse facebook feed is full of white people posting about safety pins and people of color posting about protests. wear a safety pin if you want, but don't get pissed if people call you on it because, in reality, it's not going to solve the problem it's trying to. your energy is better used informing people, organizing, or doing something to actually help the people who are in danger now.

 

Would explain why Anderson and Castañeda (I spoke foreign for you!) got it wrong.

Personally, knowing what Batista did to the island (and the Yanquis too) I'm not that fussed by the killings at (and I apologise if I got it wrong, it's from memory...) La Cabaña. In that, yes they were without due process but there's evidence of widespread public support for them.

Though I'm sure we have photos of Guevara at labour camps for dissidents?

(I'm glad we can discuss leftist history with substance, but just so you know there were no safety pins at work so I have a paperclip on my desk.)