Hmmm. A cause that I care about.
There are so many. Right now, I guess I’ll talk about feminism. This is something that probably a lot
of people will choose but that’s because it’s important. This is something that I’ve been aware
of for quite some time and it really impacted me at a leadership seminar this
past summer. I was a counselor for a group of 120 high school juniors and we
did a program called Rachel’s Challenge. After this heart wrenching 2 hours, we
did a game called “Cross the Line.” It’s when a moderator will say a statement
and if that statement applies to you, then you cross the line. One of the
statements posed was “I identify as a feminist” and in my small group of about
25-30 students, I was one of the four people that crossed the line. And of
those 4, only 3 were women.
Feminism, in all simplicity, means
that women should have equal opportunity and rights to men. That’s it. Yet it
has a negative connotation, so people do not want to identify with the term.
This is slowly changing thanks to iconic figures like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and
even Benedict Cumberbatch.
I recently saw this photo of
Benedict Cumberbatch and when I think of this cause I think of something
similar to this.
I mostly want to raise awareness of what feminism is. Because
once someone knows what the term actually means, the equality will follow
suite. I don’t like protests. I
don’t think they’re very effective. However, if I had to do one, I would do a
small, noninvasive type of rally. I would gather people that are also
passionate about this cause and maybe have them wear similar t-shirts to the
one pictured above. I would have signs that just explain what the definition
is. I wouldn’t get my team to approach anyone unless they were approached. Just
sparking that light in someone’s head about what the word really means can go a
long way. You can ask anyone if they believe women should have equal rights to
men and a majority of the time they will say “of course” and that’s what
feminism is.
The media could absolutely help
this protest. It would help spread the definition and reach a larger audience.
I don’t know when the protest would
be complete. That is actually a really good question. I honestly think it would
just fizzle out. For example, if this were to take place in Free Speech Alley,
there’s a moment in the day where people just aren’t in the area anymore. Fewer
people approach you so you just kind of call it a day. That’s probably not the
answer that Colt was looking for, but I think that’s how it would pan out.
I understand that you don't care for protests, and you don't want people to get up in the faces of others. But, there might be a more effective way for you to draw in people. If you could be set up in a very public, frequented area, you could have people on a stage or just in a microphone/bullhorn talking about feminism. Talking about their experiences, injustices they have faced, what it means to them, etc. And those who you've already rallied would be the audience. Hopefully, people would become interested in this spectacle and come over. Possibly sit down and listen to what the speaker is saying. Ask questions. This is when you could talk to them, hand out pamphlets, and whatever else you might have up your sleeve. But you need to have a way to lure in the people.
ReplyDelete