May 6, 2012

  • occupy expage

    At the top of this blog, I have a conceited little blurb of ass-hattery proclaiming how I'm never getting a tumblr. (Side note - spell check doesn't tell me "tumblr" is misspelled. That's not ok). Look, I'll be honest; most of that is just rubbing in the cheap satisfaction and novelty points I like to take from being the last man standing on this bastian of middle school thoughts. Don't get me wrong - I love this site and everything it stands for; simplicity, functionality, privacy, and user respect. If any of the Xanga folk I've spoken with happen to read this, you're awesome. Keep doing what you're doing. But the reality of my personal experience is that this site hit peak popularity among my social circle somewhere close to summer of 2005. Since then, people have slowly abandoned their poorly punctuated musings in favor of newer and sexier offerings, and I can understand why (to a degree). Why stay on a social network that may not have the newest quirk or gimmick when you're not looking for a meaningful experience? In a strange way, I can respect that accidental honesty. 

    The reality is that despite my best efforts, I've been to plenty of tumblr sites. Texts from Hillary was a masterpiece, and fuckyeahwestwing feels like visting an old friend. I'll occasionally poke around a close friend or casual acquaintance's site, curious for what their thoughts on life may be on that particular day or week. But see, there's the problem - I'll never find those things out. 

    I'm going to make an incredibly random transition here to make a comparison that you're going to laugh at, but trust me; it won't make any sense. That's why I feel inspired.

    Here's the simple truth: to our generation, re-blogging and awareness campaigns have become the same thing. 

    Look at Tumblr for a second. Let me preface this by saying that there's nothing wrong with Tumblr. If it's how you express yourself, than put your heart into it and be passionate and expressive. You're an individual, and you get to choose how that individualism is broadcast to the planet. But Tumblr is centered around regurgitating content. You find something that you like and you let the rest of the world know that you like it. There are so many original artists on Tumblr, letting their creativity out in different ways, but for the average user, the site isn't about creation - it's about awareness.

    That word has become so synonymous with our generation, and it makes me furious. I wish I had words for how much I hate the word awareness. Awareness is what our generation says so we can sit on our asses and tell other people we deserve their respect because we're doing our best to help out. Hard truth here - if you participated in Kony 2012, you literally did nothing. You actually made a negative contribution, because you took energy and enthusiasm and a passion to help (which is fantastic and amazing) and you wasted it on awareness. You refused to get original. You refused to use your hands and your voice for real work and real action, because we've convinced ourselves as a generation and as a group of young adults that we can't bring real change without sexy presentations and videos.

    I've heard a lot of opinions, both positive and negative, about the Occupy Wall Street movements, and both sides have valid points. I think in some ways the protests were brave and in other ways they were comically inept. But you want to know why I got excited when I saw those protests? I got excited because it is the first example of our generation standing up with the proud tradition of American civil disobedience and screaming that the status quo is unacceptable. Look, if you think the status quo right now is respectable and strong, you're a blind fool. I support our current President, but don't think I've got rose-colored glasses glued to my face. (It would be illegal to drive anyways). Our generation has limited time right now to get our voice together.

    That right there is why awareness is foolish. Yes, you often hear about awareness for breast cancer, and that's important. Awareness of something has its purpose, if you understand that awareness is to change what a week of being clean is to an alcoholic. It's a step, and it's barely past the first one. Awareness has to lead to unity, which must lead to commonality and purpose and drive and action. It is absolutely, without a doubt, unacceptable to claim that awareness is what makes a difference. We have been coddled and caressed and told that our voices matter, and they do. But they matter most when we use them not to defend our feeble attempts at movement, no matter how pure-hearted they may have begun; our voices matter when we let them speak for themselves. 

    That's why I still write here, after all these years. My voice comes through on this site, from my immature thoughts back in October of 2004 to my angry rantings during numerous breakups to my struggles with self-worth and all the way through today - it's all me. It's who I am, and I'm damn proud of it. Every word, even the ones I don't agree with any more, is a word I embrace because it meant I was letting myself out. 

    I'm nowhere close to the perfect example of someone who uses their voice, but I think this domain is a reasonably decent metaphor for a larger comparison that, as I promised, makes no sense. Let me close by trying to summarize in a simple way: good intention does not automatically beget good action. But action, of whatever kind, begets education. Education allows for change, and another attempt at action. It's a process that freed the slaves, ended Jim Crow, and god-willing, will bring about equality for all kinds of love in this country. 

    We just had "May the 4th" and the world flipped a shit about Star Wars day. I found it obnoxious and overplayed, but there was a hidden treasure amongst the stupidity. (Side note: "Hidden Treasure amongst Stupidity" is now my autobiography title). I saw people frequently quote the classic Yoda line, "do or do not; there is no try." How perfect is that? Awareness is trying - by itself, it's useless. If you don't do something, you did nothing.

    There it is right there, so I'll repeat myself to conclude: if you don't do something, you did nothing.