The assistance of infographics in modern activism
The last few years have been chaotic, exhausting, and generally challenging. Between the Trump presidency, the pandemic, followed by the murder of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Elijah Mcclain, Breonna Taylor, and sadly countless other individuals throughout both recent and historic times condoned by authoritarian figures, tensions have (rightfully) been very high. Recently a mass-murdering spree was committed by a domestic terrorist, it was very clearly racially motivated, again all but dismissed by authorities excluding arresting him. Throughout these nightmarish scenarios that never seem to end, the upside is that people now more than ever have been both speaking out and showing up in protest of these issues. Disclaimer, I think social media is an echo chamber and very quickly becomes a Ferris wheel of information. But despite that, this year a lot of efforts have been made surrounding these issues to consolidate info surrounding them in concise and organized ways, and that’s what I mainly want to speak on.
The best way to stand against oppressive entities is to show up, be present, attend protests, donate money, read and listen in an effort to understand rather than aimlessly speak or make it about one’s self. These things absolutely trump the bare minimum effort that is an individual sharing an infographic post to respective social media accounts. It’s important to make that clear because, despite the pandemic hindering people’s confidence in safely being able to show up and protest, there’s something to be said for being legitimately vested in these issues in alternative ways. But say you want to get involved, or even more so don’t understand the issues at hand, the mass spread of infographic posts has been amazing throughout the last few years.
These posts change the game because they give well-organized explanations of what is happening, how and why, and additional resources for more information or how to help. These initial posts are often coming from vested activists or non-profits trying to spread the word, rather than major news sources dismissing the perspective of impacted parties. It’s harder to help if you don’t know where to begin. I myself have noticed from the black lives matter protests on, a much larger portion of my social network feed sharing information and attempting to be involved than ever before. These posts can be localized, like protest information or bail funds, as well as general info on the causes in question at a grand scale.
I am typically a somewhat pessimistic individual. And when the news feed turns into an echo chamber of infographics sometimes it's hard to tell if someone’s intentions are genuine, or if they’re just trying to keep pace with the moral tides around them. Regardless, those contemplations aside the information being spread is overall a good thing. Maybe that info changes someone’s perspective on the issue in a positive way, maybe it informs or inspires people who otherwise would be checked out? It’s hard to say with certainty, but it's been very interesting watching the landscape of these movements change with the assistance of these platforms and info.
Core subject matter aside, I encourage my classmates to stay informed on what’s happening in America right now both regarding the Black Lives Matter movement as well as the increase in target violence towards Asian Americans in the last year +, and to help where and if you can in whatever ways you can.
