Today's blog is a little more serious than my previous ones; however, I think the current state of our world calls for it.
This unpopular opinion comes from my very own head as I have observed social media in the past 20-ish days. Let me give you a little background on where I am currently at. Today is June 12, 2020. The past three months I have lived at home finishing school because of coronavirus. All United State's colleges and universities were shut down and asked all students to go home and finish school online. I currently am working as a marketing intern at a wealth management firm in my hometown.
As most people can agree with, 2020 has been year no one saw coming. Yet, during the quarantine, I was actually so impressed with how our world was handling it. People were supporting local businesses the best they could, positivity was spreading (thanks John Krasinski), and people were adjusting together, the best they could. I truly thought it was a time of growth for our country.
Then, George Floyd happened. I'm not gonna talk about the incident, because most people know and that's not what this article is about. However, if you need a recap, here's an article. (note: it was hard to find a non-bias article, this one gives some simple details. However, this isn't the full story. Many details are left out, so I urge you to educate yourself on the story with all the details. Be mindful of bias in the media on both extremes.)
This has caused protests (some peaceful, some turning into riots) and a huge social media campaign following the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. I went to Grand Rapids, Michigan a weekend ago to celebrate my birthday with my family. Saturday night, we watched live news as a peaceful protest turned into a riot and lots of damage to the downtown. It was sad to watch & made me really think about what was happening.
I want to support this movement because racism should never be tolerated and I stand by that wholeheartedly. However, I find it hard to support a movement that is also associated with hate towards the police, riots, damage to businesses, and overall hurtful talk towards authority. This movement isn't unified and that makes it really confusing for me, a white female in her 20's that wants to support the black community in America.
This lead to my silence on social media, yet it did not lead to overall silence. I engaged in conversation with friends and family. I kept up on current events and news articles to gain knowledge on the movement and overall subject. I read the bible and read Jen Wilkin's book In His Image, specifically the chapter titled "God Most Just". It helped me to understand more about God's justice. Through all of this, I learned more and grew so much on the subject. However, this is also not what this blog is about & even if you disagree with me, this isn't the subject I'm here to debate.
It would be hard for someone to argue against the idea that the media is biased. Media, since its arrival into our world, has never told the full story; it'll always have an agenda, no matter what side they're on. Social media doesn't help the problem, it adds to it. We are in an age where social media is high form of communication, no one can deny that. However, let me highlight this: social media is not the only form of communication.
I was disturbed when I ran across this Instagram post. I, someone who did not post on Instagram during the time of this movement, was categorized as most likely a permanent racist. I was almost brought to tears for a quick second, thinking about all the people who could think that I would house that characteristic. However, it didn't take long for logic to set in and for me to realize the discrepancies in these words. Here is why I disagree with this post:
- Refusal to post doesn't equal refusal to confront the problem. It doesn't equal comfort. The problem of racism and inequality exists, and that is discomforting at its core.
- Refusal to post on my part wasn't a pride issue (or a "refusal to give up my power as a privileged individual"). It was an uneducated issue, which is why I choose to sit back, listen, and learn (which is what a lot of these social media posts encouraged me to do anyway).
- My silence didn't cause harm, instead it let the voices that needed to be heard, be heard.
-The word "often" in this title is wrong and very insulting. People did not post on social media for many reasons, like I am expressing now, and to put the majority in that category of being racist is not okay.
There was lots of pressure to post on social media, because of posts like these and just because as humans, we feel the need to do what everyone else is doing. However, after reading some comments on a particular celebrity's #blackouttuesday post, it brought to light two things. First, the pressure on public figures must be hard and I can't imagine. Second, this movement is not united. You want people to post, yet then when someone does, it receives backlash for "doing nothing". This whole time I just keep asking myself, what is my responsibility?
Then, I found an answer. It was actually the caption on a friend's black out Tuesday post.
It was a bible verse: Micah 6:8. "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" My response to the injustice of racism is:
○ DO JUSTICE. I believe in equality; therefore, I stand up when it is challenged. This means supporting my black brothers and sisters in Christ, engaging in conversations, and knowing that despite the fact that justice is not always served in the court of man, it is always served in the court of the Lord.
○ LOVE KINDNESS. This is simple, be kind! I want to show kindness to everyone I interact with, in-person and online, even when I disagree.
○ WALK HUMBLY. I want to acknowledge my inability to fully understand what being black is like. I want to seek out and listen to strong voices that understand what this movement is about.
In conclusion, yes it is an unpopular opinion: however, it shouldn't be. Social media isn't everything and doesn't portray what people's lives are fully like. Just because I was silent on social media doesn't mean I was silent all together. I watched, I listened, I engaged in conversation, and my perspective on things changed. If we start to believe that social media portrays someone's life exactly how it is, our view of people and life in general is going to be all screwed up. Let's be better about understanding that social media isn't life, it's simply one small aspect of it.
Thanks for reading unpopular opinions; this one was a little different than previous posts, but it was something I wanted to get off my chest. Drop a comment below about what you think about this topic, and if you have an unpopular opinions that you feel would make a good topic of conversation, let me know!
As always, a fun fact! As of January 2020, there are about 3.8 billion people on social media. Since there are about 7 billion people in the world, almost half of everyone in the world uses some form of social media.
note: I will not be marketing this post. It is possible that not a single person could read this post for months or even years (not many people know that I have a blog). This post was more to document my feelings, rather than to "come after" people who might disagree.
EDIT 6/25/2020: I am posting this here to further my point. I stumbled across this tweet from KJ Apa and I couldn't agree more. Celebrities, along with everyone else, shouldn't have to post on social media to show support. Showing support looks different for everyone, and social media isn't a priority.
The really hard thing about social media in general is there is so much pressure to prove to others that your life is ______ (fill in the blank). This is for sure a future blog post, but I'll just say that social media (& the media in general) is a game, a really tricky and messy one. I've personally gotten way too caught up in it. Yes, it is great for marketing (both personally & professionally) but it comes to a point where it is misleading. Stay on the lookout for a future blog post, I could talk about this for hours!
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