anarchist_nomad (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
anarchist_nomad) wrote2010-04-05 08:43 pm
anarchist_nomad) wrote2010-04-05 08:43 pmEntry tags:
Recent Recurring Thought
I miss being an activist...
anarchist_nomad) wrote2010-04-05 08:43 pm
no subject
Not all social events are activism, I don't think, but if they have as one of their aims raising political & social awareness, particularly of discrimination, then I think they can be.
no subject
Here I have to disagree with you, as it sounds like you're just saying that anything you are actively doing makes you an "activist" for that thing. Which devalues the word to meaningless.
Should I also count myself as a "physics activist", given all the time I spend on research and on speaking? How about a "bell ringing activist"? After all, I spend a lot of my time on that and there are many people who now know about change ringing who would never have been the wiser without me. Heck, depending on how I look at it, I might also qualify as a "swimming activist", a "board gaming activist", a "comic book activist", a "figure skating activist" (currently lapsed), a "skydiving activist", a "fire walking activist", a "SCUBA diving activist", a "bowling activist", a "hiking activist", a "theatre activist", a "history activist", and more... :-D
no subject
No, I'm not, and I don't get on with that attitude.
If your speaking on physics involved a significant element of, say, outreach to non-scientists, attempts to counter public misconceptions about science, trying to involve more eg women, people from poorer backgrounds, etc etc to get involved with science careers...then I'd say it was OK to call yourself a 'physics activist'. Or maybe a 'teaching activist', whatever suited best.
To be more specific, I'd say if you spend time doing something in which you are, on some level, advocating legal, political or social *change*, then it could be activism.
no subject
Similarly, I don't see organising Oxford BiFest as being activism. I wanted to give back to the UK Bisexual community in some way, which I feel that I did. And I wanted to create a social event that would bring in new people in addition to the usual crowd. Again, I feel that I succeeded in this. But was it activism? Not in my book...
P.S. Replying to something you wrote in an earlier comment: Although mass demonstrations are certainly not the only form of activism out there, I would not discount them or the people who choose to engage in them. They do have a place and can accomplish a lot! Plus, I have much respect for people who are brave enough to stand -- unarmed -- face to face with the riot police. I've been there and done that, myself. It is scary and I don't particularly like the threat of their bullets, chemical weapons, et cetera... but it would be wrong of me to let others accept those risks whilst I sat safely out of harm's way.
[*] Just last week I presented a masterclass lecture to a group of high school kids on one day, then spoke to an amateur astronomy organisation on Wednesday.
[**] Large Hadron Collider, anyone?
no subject
no subject
no subject
Have you met? She's
no subject
And, yes, I most certainly know the lovely
no subject
no subject
i think BiFests etc do count as more than "just" a social event (not that i'm dissing the existence of social events - they may not be activism but making them happen is still work and worthwhile) because creating bi space in a still largely biphobic world is important. People come out for the first time at bifests (i know at least one person did at Oxford) and that's really precious.
Providing safer sex information and supplies is activism.
Encouraging people to question mainstream relationship/lifestyle options and finding what works best for them is activism.
And besides in my more cynical moment i wouldn't put so much work into just social events - i'm not that social!
no subject
Also, if I am going to putting in my precious time and energy, I want things to go well and be meaningful to people, of course! So I was thrilled to see so many new people at Oxford BiFest... and I am utterly delighted to learn that there was at least one coming-out there, too!
I absolutely value these sorts of events... which is why we are already discussing ideas for Oxford BiFest 2011! *grin* I just don't particularly count them as activism. Probably because they are attended overwhelmingly by such a privileged set of people.
When I say that I miss activism, what I am really saying is that I feel I am not doing my share right now to make the world a better place. One and a half billion people do not have easy access to clean water. Forty thousand people die daily of poverty (i.e., hunger and curable diseases). The children of Jerusalem are persecuted and slaughtered and have their houses bulldozed. Sweatshop workers toil in obscene conditions for inhumanly long hours to earn a pittance. Union leaders are assassinated for attempting to organise collective bargaining. Back home, millions of my fellow US citizens rot in jail -- many for victimless crimes -- in the service of the prison-industrial complex. Without fear of consequence, police savagely beat or shoot people for the crime of being non-white. Around the world, bombs fall regularly on civilian populations; old landmines lay uncleared until the moment that they destroy the life of a hapless child.
These stories -- and many more like them -- bring tears to my eyes and passion into my heart. And it is working to bring about a better world -- a world without these horrors -- that truly fuels my desire to be an activist. Does that make sense?
I have been an activist in times past. I have worked to bring about significant change. Right now, however, I am not. And as wonderful and spectacular as Oxford BiFest was, I do not think that organising it gives me the right to call myself one.
P.S. Please excuse if this is less than eloquent. It is just about bedtime... so I may not be at my best when it comes to words right now. Many apologies if that is the case!
no subject
it's what motivated me to do a Peace Studies degree.
but i'm very limited in what i can manage
when i was younger doing sexuality stuff was probably more radical - thinking about the LOGIC group (Lesbian or Gay in Chelmsford
no subject
I'd like it if we could find time at some point to sit and just chat and get to know each other better. We've done this in fits and starts in the two years that I have known you... and each time I find the conversation to be quite interesting. You are obviously good people... and very important to several folks close to me. So I would just like to know more about you. *smile*
As for what you can manage? Well, have you read Marge Piercy's novel Woman on the Edge of Time? If so, you may understand why the thought that pops into my head is: "Person must not do what person cannot do." I know that you have your limitations... but you also manage to accomplish a lot! You have my respect and admiration on that front!
*big hugs*
no subject
and thankyou :)
no subject
...and you're welcome! :-D