What Is "Activism" to You?
Protesting/Marching: Does It Really Make a Difference?
What about posting stuff online and sharing ideas?
Yesterday I shared a Facebook comment as a Steemit post, and I really enjoyed the discussion. I think this could be a great way to market Steemit to our friends who are already on social media discussing interesting topics. If we can shift the conversations to Steemit (where I think they are more valuable all around), we might grow the platform a bit.
A few hours ago, a Facebook friend of mine left me this comment on a mutual friend's wall. I thought it was a great conversation and wanted to share it with you as well to see what your thoughts are on activism and actions which facilitate positive change.
Here was my friend's comment:
Luke Stokes - this might be too big a conversation for someone else's facebook wall, but what kind of activism do you do? I'm so frustrated, but I don't see how engaging in the kind of activism that my very liberal friends are advocating will affect change of the kind I want to see (less effing government LOL).I'm supposed to go to the march on saturday and, while I am sure that it's good to feel to connected to my community, I'm not sure that it's the best way to spend my time. I feel like it's all 2 sides of the same nasty coin. What do you do?
And my reply:
I don't see "activism" as others do. Often (IMO) it's just about making people feel better or about asking their rulers to beat them less (metaphorically speaking, of course). I recognize the true problem as a mental one. A problem of belief. People believe in authority. They believe in the results of authoritarian thinking, and that it's proper for human beings to rule over others (doesn't matter if someone calls it "government" or not).
For my part, I try to spread ideas and memes. Ultimately, the problem lies in the thinking of the majority of human beings. If that thinking changes, many of the problems we see around us go away and many new solutions become possible. So I write, chat, respond. I try to get people thinking critically and improving their epistemology. Frustration is understandable, but venting that towards the same old same old isn't very helpful, IMO.
This image reflects my views well. I talked about it here in terms of voting and revolutions, but I would include activism (as many understand it today) within that same realm: https://steemit.com/politics/@lukestokes/the-loop-why-voting-and-revolutions-don-t-work
What we can do is hold our friends and family accountable through relationalism (follow people like Sterlin Luxan for more on that). We can also educate ourselves on the very real evil that is the State which comes from our authoritarian thinking (follow people like Larken Rose for more on that). We can also learn and practice non-violent communication (one of my first posts on Steemit is all about that here: https://steemit.com/peace/@lukestokes/nvc-violence-is-a-tragic-expression-of-an-unmet-need )
If we can change ourselves, positively impact our families, our friends, and our communities, that will bring a powerful, lasting change to the world. Many argue that's not "doing anything" but those same people often don't recognize the problem is in the minds of people. And minds only change when they want to. It can't be forced.
Thanks for asking. It's a great question.
Oh, also, I promote technology ideas like Bitcoin and blockchains. I think those things could fundamentally reshape society for the better and more people should get onboard.
Her reply was great:
HAHAHA well, there's nothing more satisfying than when someone tells you what you want to hear.Every time I think about "traditional" activism, I get a little squeamish (same as when I think about volunteering - the kind that I was encouraged to do when I was a kid/teen) - because it has this sort of intellectual stink of being worthless, or at least a relative waste of my time... whereas what you're talking about - self-education, nonviolent communication, spreading memes & ideas through sharing my own personal experiences or others' - those actually feel good. I've had a few moments in my life where just sharing my experiences and philosophy has actually changed someone's life for the better... they've come to me and told me so... and I never felt that way about the big visible gestures that are being promoted right now. Post-election, there's been so much noise, it's been hard to hold on to my center. <3
Here's my reply back:
I've really enjoyed seeing people in person, getting text messages randomly, or getting direct messages via FB from people who have changed their thinking for the better via thoughts I've shared. That's super fun. I do think it works. It may not be flashy or sexy, but over the long term, it's our thinking that determines our actions.
She gave me permission to post this conversation here which is fitting because these are the exact conversations we believe can improve the world!
In Conclusion:
Conversations can change the world. Changing our thinking is the key to long-lasting positive change. Good ideas don't require force, and the world needs a lot more good ideas.
What do you think of "Activism"? What types of activism do you do? Is it helpful and if so, how?
Conversations absolutely CAN change the world!
What is activism to me? Active LISTENING. Active THINKING. Active DECISION-MAKING. To make sure one's actions do no harm but rather help and empower others. It's about implementing our free will to make informed decisions and to speak up when we see something wrong.
I believe this starts with educating and empowering one's self and then to reach out to positively affect or influence our nearest and dearest in a ripple effect.
I usually steer clear of crowds and marches because good intentions may turn into mob mentality, which can turn from good to bad with one loud dissenting voice. Just my opinion.
Very well said! I like describing it as listening, thinking, and decision making.
Cooperative Agorism (Steemit, blockchains, income unions) is a perfectly valid form of activism in my opinion and probably does the most good.
Taking the time to vote in an election could be considered another form of "activism" and could do good as well.
Personally, I do both to varying degrees. The way I see it, the key idea with any type of activism would ultimatley (in the long run) be to enact positive lasting change in the world; Directly or indirectly.
I love the concept of agorism, but I also think it comes with a very real risk for those with a business or family which could be harmed for not following the laws created by the human farmers. I'm still working my way through that to figure out what level of risk I'm willing to take for the things I believe in. I do think taxation is theft and would prefer not to financially support the war machine, but I also recognize I'm being threatened by force if I don't comply, so my moral choices are already compromised.
Agorism would be great if the consequences of avoiding the State were less and there were easier ways to contribute to competing voluntary service providers to make government (and their monopoly use of force) more irrelevant.
As to voting... well, I linked to my thoughts on that above. :)
Exactly. We are actually in agreement here. This was what Rothbard and some others said, which is part of what I'm now echoing.
Cooperative Agorism differs from Konkins Agorism on many levels; It isn't actually just a small variation on "Agorism". For one thing it's been made clear with technologies such as bitcoin, that sometimes getting rid of the State and it's institutions is best done by legal means. None of what Satoshi Nakamoto did was really illegal in most parts of the world at the time of inception, so it was not Agorism in the sense that Konkin would often propagate for, yet it gave rise to a huge black market and lots of upside for Konkin style "Agorism".
Cooperative Agorism is also more focused establishing the sort of syndication that Konkin thought would come about at a later stage in developement, today rather than later.
In short, I would say Cooperative Agorism is the idea of "outbuilding" the State. Of, rather than fighting the existing system or making ourselves into targets that can be shut down (see Napster), creating entire new paradigms (torrent, blockchains) that are much harder to stop and will eventually render the old solutions provided to us by a benevolent dictatorship entirely obsolete.
If you want to, you can be a Cooperative Agorist - Co.Agorist for short - today. No need to break the law what so ever.
That's beautiful! Thanks for clarifying.
You're welcome. I will be writing full posts on this topic in the near future. Anyone that considers himself an artist or designer is welcome to leave me a message on Steemit.chat or Discord so we can get the message out to more people.
And please, for what it's worth; You, whoever is reading this, don't need my or anyone elses approval to spread this simple message and potentially help someone out there achieve more freedom in their life!
I think activism is a waste of time or rather has been made into a waste of time. In the same vain as volunteering or donating to a cause (which to me is a hidden tax). The entity one acts against needs to experience loss (i.e industrial action), although the days of pitchforks and torches are over, no one cares anymore. However if everyone stops using FB and communicates here, someone will feel the effect of it (adversely). Liberal activism seems to be acting for more government not less. I see people marching in the streets asking to be governed. Take what little freedom I have and make me safe. I can't understand it.
Very well said! I completely agree.
Man there is a lot I could say on this.
I have done a lot of it -- online and in person. There is a ton of it on my one YT channel if you get bored. Evidence of the police harassing me as an informed resident since 2009 and standing up to city hall.
Speeches, protests, standing up to them quite loudly to try and lead and show people they are getting screwed and DOING stuff not just talking ABOUT it.
I have tried to lead by example and once I had learned enough, of what is going on, for me it was time to act and the gov't and police have leaned on me and harassed me ever since I told them I had enough of their garbage and theft of our liberties.
https://www.youtube.com/user/BarryDuttonHomes
Of the activism you've done, what would you say was your biggest victory? I.e. what action brought about the most positive changes and what shape didn't that change take?
I had a reply half typed here and one of the glitches here is if you hit a key ykour draft is not saved and vanishes.
As I said/agreed in a reply to this post -- different forms are required for different things.
If you consider spreading awareness by whatever means, that is a victory.
So to answer you -- it is sort of subjective. I've had mainstream (LOL, we know what kind of bias and lies they tend to support LOL) -- media coverage on several things and that does get the word out. So that is victory when you can raise awareness like that.
I have leaned hard on politicians when warranted with others and backed them off position that were wrong - so that is victory.
Embarrassing the odd politician publicly is victory to let them know the people are watching - since they generally only care about votes and don't want to lose their base of support - so that is victory.
Saving the 2-pad ice rink for the kids when city hall and the region I live in wanted it closed and no rink for miles for those kids was a good victory and combined a lot of the elements above.
There are just a lot of ways you can measure that. And without awareness raised, you can rarely shift public opinion on things. There really is a lot you can say on this topic.
Good question Luke.
I like the sound of that. :)
My hesitancy with playing the game of asking for permission from politicians is it legitimizes their rulership, to some degree. Larken Rose has done quite a few videos and written a lot of commentary on this. I'm not sure it fully applies on the local level, but even then, if funds are being taken involuntarily via taxation, should we get involved in determining how those funds are spent or should we advocate for a voluntary approach to meeting the needs and desires of a community?
When you are addressing the stand alone/ prior existing issues of Voluntaryism or the Freeman on the Land type stuff, that is an issue on its own and the fact is -- 95% of the masses don't get it and the Cognitive Dissonance is strong as is the media towards this.
In my province, (like a state in the US) we have one person overseeing a lot of the Municipal sector for certain things, they are usually a lawyer. They are called an Ombudsman.
Here is our Ombudsman Andre who knows me -- and also knows the issues in my town and has investigated complaints about politicians -- here is the Ombudsman admitting to me that my town's leaders politically are a real problem:
here is me standing my ground with the police after (see the video that precedes this one) -- the gutless mayor of my town called them to city hall after I openly challenged them naming names and policy and files and issues and embarrassed them all on public property after MONTHS of them knowing the corruption many of us pointed out with public boards ----
You don't have to post your whole YouTube channel here. :)
Often those who are the most into activism do it for the attention. They want to matter to the world and be seen and heard (such as using bull horns to shout over others). Maybe they are insecure? I don't know. Their actions seem to support my opinion that's it not so much about effectiveness as it is about "feeling" like we matter and we did something valuable.
I hope you don't take offense at what I'm saying, but I do have a slightly different perspective on this than you do. I'm not an activist in the sense you are, so we're taking different approaches.
For me, it's hard to watch your videos to the end because they are a bit exhausting. To me, they seem to be complaining about the system as if it was a legitimate system which could be improved. It's like playing their game according to their rules and then being surprised at the result. I prefer education and I guess, to the extent theses videos spread education, they are great! :)
Gutless mayor calls the police into city hall AGAIN after I challenge them a few mins earlier on public record wasting our tax dollars and harassing residents OUTSIDE city hall, on public lands -- naming names and file numbers. That video is just before this one.
I stood my ground.
Different forms of change and activism are required at different times. I've got nothing against this form of activism as well.
You are 100% right.
There are three broad types of activism: The kind that does nothing but give the participants the warm fuzzies, the kind that is dangerous to the activist but effective, and the kind that is counterproductive. The first and third are by far the most popular.
Must it be dangerous to be effective? What types of danger do you mean?
I think people underestimate the power of non-violent communication and the influence ideas have on real change.
But yeah, much of it does seem to be about "the feelz."
Effective activism is usually "illegal." The danger is that government agents will rob, kidnap, or murder you if you get careless.
Truth, see below
Good post very interesting resteemed
Thanks!