Whewwwww! Do I even have words today?! Social media SHOWED UP in all kinds of ways today and it truly underscored the need to do research, to not take everything you see at face value and assume it’s come from a trustworthy source, and to think critically about what you share and how you share it.
It doesn’t really matter the back story on all of it, but the short story is that a social media campaign intended for one group of people was co-opted and changed, ultimately silencing the very folks who are meant to be uplifted and amplified. For me, this round didn’t sit right (you’ll find out how I f’d up later), but for so many, they dove all in.
Whoops.
The point here is also not to cast blame if anybody got caught up in it - any of it. Instead, let’s talk about social media. This is something I can easily talk about and something I have to do daily work on myself - even though I am aware of how it is used for the reasons.
For instance, there’s a campaign discussing amplifying “melanated” voices begun by Black women. Another Black activist came against it, saying that “melanated” is just another word for “Black” and can we just knock that ish off.
So, what do we the consumers of this information do? Who are we supposed to follow? We want to be better, we want to do better, we want to be anti-racist, we want to obtain these amazing resources that have been curated, and there are some massively mixed signals in the very place (social media) where we are trying to get the most up-to-date information, ideas, and inspiration from the very folks we’re told to follow when they’re not always prepared to be followed, much less by an audience that may not be their intended one.
The point here? It’s one unholy clusterf**k sometimes on social media and all of it must be taken with a grain of salt, with reflection on our own complicity in white privilege, white supremacy, continuing violent racism.
Maybe social media isn’t the first place to begin. It’s easy for us, because it’s where we always are. And maybe that’s the problem.
Let me backtrack a little. I decided to go all in with amplifying those voices. There are some deep dive posts that have made me THINK and I shared those, along with the reflection questions from the originators of the campaign, not sharing my thoughts (as that would center me), but hoping others would also click through, think/reflect, and… what? What did I hope would happen? All I’ve done is shared these people’s spaces, their online presence, without having truly thought about my end goal of sharing that piece to begin with.
And now back to my point about social media not being the first place to begin.
I bought the books - they will be read. You know me. I read everything and its mother. I bought a course, for when I can devote 2.5 uninterrupted hours, plus awareness of my emotional equity (which, to be clear, I am incredibly privileged to be able to make the choice of when.) But, I hit social media first. Because it’s easy. Because it’s where I am.
And I realized today, with the whole situation referenced up front, that I’m not the only one. Not by a long shot.
Y’all. If there is one thing I am picking up from these folks that I follow… it is not supposed to be easy. Exploring our own complicity in a broken and abusive system is not supposed to be easy. Hitting social media before doing the deep dive into the work utilizing other resources? These people, these men and women, they become resources and lose their humanity. We strip them of that humanity and, thereby, play right back into the very system that we claim we want to help break.
Whatever your prejudice, whatever your complicity in whatever issue, whether or not you agree with their platform, who you follow is human. They have poured sweat equity, emotional equity, and time equity into their pages and we are a vacuum.
So. I changed course, as suggested by one of these very activists. Now? I’ll still uplift and amplify the message, taking a break from my own goofy pics and workout whatevers, but instead of sharing the people and messages that my audience may not be ready for, I’ll instead share the actual resources and actionable items to help guide. I’ll work on having these conversations one-on-one with friends and share my process here.
Again, like noted in my last post, I am afraid that going through this sharing with you centers me, meaning I become the focus versus the struggle of fighting oppression. My hope is that by sharing the process, by highlighting my internal work, it helps others take on the work, knowing it will be uncomfortable and knowing that it is actually meant to be so. Ultimately, highlighting the potential ways to engage with the work being offered to us.
So, with that, I’ll end with an action step that may help. It may not. Do what you feel is right for you.
Take a step back from following folks on Insta or other social media just to diversify your feed and definitely don’t engage by asking questions of how you can do better or what you should do. There is so so so much out there, which you do have to sift through.
Read. Read. Read. Listen to podcasts. Watch movies or documentaries. I’ve shared my June reading list - although I did add a book about Stonewall to that because it is Pride Month after all. I’lll try to get up another list that I found on one of these feeds that has a variety of sources that you can read/listen to in order to begin learning more.
Also, have a journal nearby. Take notes as you read. I started reading today, after having my little Come to Jesus with myself. I’ll share what I’m doing, in case you’re unsure of how to take notes or how to engage in journaling while reading - not that I know best and I’m sure there have been suggestions somewhere out there, but I haven’t stumbled on the HOW to journal yet, just to do so, so I’m pulling on my history of being an English teacher and having always been self-reflective.
When I run into something that makes me uncomfortable, or that makes me cringe, or offends me, I take a wide step back and write it down. Why? Chances are that something that makes me feel like that needs to be unpacked. Why do I feel so uncomfortable or offended? What is it about what’s being said? Then, journal about those reactions and why I’m having them… leading, most likely, to a lightbulb moment.
But, that’s not all. As I’m reading, what about what inspires me? What said jacks me up, gets me going, makes me want to jump up and cheer? That should also be written down and unpacked! Why do I feel so positive about it? What is it about this statement that gets me fired up, or so connects me to the text/source? How can I use this positive force, in combination of my skills and talents, to serve others, specifically to help break down these structures, even though it seems overwhelming and daunting?
These are two steps you can take to journal. It may seem overly simplistic, but journaling itself is not meant to be hard, the unpacking of your reactions to the text is what is meant to be hard.
How do you apply these steps to sources/texts?
Obviously, anytime you run into something, deal with it :P.
But, to keep it more straight forward, I recommend not trying to do it all at once. One podcast at a time, unpack alllllll the ish - positive and negative - that comes up. One chapter at a time. One short essay at a time. Break up a long essay if it feels overwhelming, same with a documentary. One social media post at a time, before moving onto the next one.
Yup, you just read that right. When you go back to doing social media, specifically for the purpose of learning from these amazing (human) activists, do so with the new lessons of how to reflect and engage WITH YOURSELF. Social media is much too easy to read and pass by.
The point? Find what works for you, so that you consume information about learning and unlearning in valuable and strengthening ways. (Again, I am not the end-all, be-all. If you find yourself reading me because you’d rather not read others - that’s not good enough. I’m a stop-gap, a step on the road, a square on the Monopoly board. This is not about me, but about the work I am doing and how I am doing it, in hopes that you find tips for how to engage with the learning/unlearning for yourself, so we can battle these systemic issues TOGETHER.)