2018 Waging Nonviolence. They did so with the help of notable friends: writers Arthur Conan Doyle and Joseph Conrad, and chocolate magnate William Cadbury. We need leaders who guide, facilitate, initiate, coordinate, listen, commit, clarify, and follow-through. He lives and works in San Jose, Costa Rica. I do not want to see us move into a way of relating which is defined by potential for harm. A stark example of this is provided in the new documentary, We Will Win Peace, which tracks the impact of Section 1502 of the USs Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. In an article for the World Peace Foundation, writer Alex de Waal says there are fundamental pillars of activism which should always be followed, most of all, the act of responding to and collaborating with local people, rather than imposing outside agendas. It was presented by the Enough Project as an essential precursor to preventing conflict and sexual violence in the DRC. In April, Emma Thompson flew in from America to attend the Extinction Rebellion protests that shut down London, despite the group insisting that flights only be used for emergencies. Should we question the motives of celebrities who hire expensive PR experts to sell their convictions? New Internationalist: Does Celebrity Activism Do More Harm Than Good? To find articles by the same author, please click on the name. Hacking the Syllabus; critical solidarities, How We Get Free Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective, Mariame Kaba: Everything Worthwhile is Done with Other People, Leaders Need to Build Peer Accountability. But what are the consequences, and is this something we necessarily want to promote? My new friends began to describe how there had been a massive gathering in the stadium for the screening of a video put together by a foreign NGO. The latest generation of American celebrity activists has most commonly knocked at the doors of western governments, demanding changes in policy towards their chosen cause clbre. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get the latest in people-powered news and analysis. Yet if the cycle of simplified celebrity messages leading to ineffective even harmful African policy is to be broken, genuine engagement with, and commitment to, the people they advocate on behalf of is critical. On the flip side, when we do choose to address harm, our response often results in simply banishing someone from movements and community spaces with no potential to transform and restore relationships or repair harm, which is rarely transformative or revolutionary. I have alluded to this throughout the piece, but when there is no space for care, there is no space for children, parents, illness, and disability. Mother Jones recently published an ironic map, violent and autocratic rule of the Congo Free State, suggests that the fascination for celebrities, USs Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Peace and justice organizations, as well as universities, publish their own independent content on Waging Nonviolence. If you do decide to take that leap, then start by listening rather than preaching, facilitating rather than commanding, cooperating rather than defeating, creating organically rather than planning mechanically, and seeking to unsettle the status quo rather than trying to control it in its entirety. Anthropological critics have argued that specific kinds of activism can do more harm than good by imagining people in the "wrong" kind of subject position. In the same moment, we also expand the potential for our leaders to experience harm and isolation themselves. Their writing focuses on topics including gender-based violence, environmental justice, and connections between grief (personal and collective) and our ever-expanding experiences of intimacy. My new friends began to describe how there had been a massive gathering in the stadium for the screening of a video put together by a foreign NGO. So in 2011, I cancelled my donations and subscriptions. It's hard to take those dire warnings seriously when they're immediately undercut by the actions of the speaker. But the new documentary, alongside other pieces of research, shows the very real and devastating effect of this simplified rendering of the facts. How, Expert Help. Climate change is a huge issue and everyone ought to take steps to fight it. I realized that, of course, they were talking about the launch of the first Kony 2012 video campaign by the U.S.-based organization Invisible Children. We struck up a conversation, and they said that it was a pity that I had not witnessed the event that had taken place not long before my arrival in town a few weeks earlier. These people are the Nicholas Kristofs and the Jeffry Sachses of the world who often find their self-assurance and sense of certainty in their Ivy League educations, in the power that their positions grant them or in the titles that they hold. Activism may go too far. Why Celebrity Activism Does More Harm Than Good 3. twitter I have no solution for this dilemma, but I do believe that most effective strategies that address this issue are highly context specific and are organically generated from the creative energy present within the local communities. This article includes content hosted on counter.theconversation.edu.au. Full confession I never used to buy into global warning and the need for environmental protection. Social media is a reflection of society, she says. 65 years ago, the Golden Rule ignited protests that led to a partial ban on nuclear weapons testing. The FBI Paid a Violent Felon to Infiltrate Denvers Racial Justice Movement. After a few years of working for non-profits that not only de-prioritized care or rest, but rewarded overwork and lack of boundaries, I crashed. Activism Pros. Whose interests are they serving? Celebrities actors, musicians tend to react emotionally and inexpertly to complex political and economic problems, drawing attention to . This is because they draw on the self-serving guilt trips that lead many people to believe that their privileged position has invested them with the burden and the responsibility to save those less fortunate from their plight. He lives and works in San Jose, Costa Rica. Perhaps we should also highlight some good examples of activist celebrities. It is not meant to focus on mainstream celebrities. A politically skewed or blatantly inaccurate post may urge viewers to formulate misinformed opinions. DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. The fans who look up to them may change their own approach towards their mental health.. Suggested reading for all should be Garry Leechs Capitalism: a structural genocide, it could shake some to our do-gooder core and hopefully change some habits too. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. The Instagram freeze is part of a week of action organized by the coalition, which includes clear objectives like educating people about election disinformation and asking people to register to vote. TV personality Kim Kardashian and model Naomi Campbell take a selfie in 2016. It pushes non-profits to compromise on their goals and ability to remain genuinely accountable to the communities they are working with, and present themselves as independent, innovative, and visionary while also presenting as measurable and palatable. Rather, it explores how we, as social justice movements, recreate value systems and dynamics of celebrity culture in the ways we idolize leaders in our movements. If there is a systematic and predictable problem - e.g. Star power - but does the intervention of George Clooney etc.do more harm than good? Ask yourself why you even care about this conflict in the first place? How Can the Peace Movement Be More Effective? This often leaves us as followers believing that we somehow have to find a way to become, reinvent, or evolve ourselves into the movement leaders we admire all on our own; No frameworks, no guidance, no rest, and no mistakes. It makes an impact, but not in the ways . Im sharing this from my personal perspective, but this train of thought is something I see in many social and progressive movements today. When the main outcome we are looking for in our leaders a social justice version of the same entertainment, inspiration, and endorphin rush we find by following mainstream celebrities and their lives, we are limiting everyone involved while increasing avenues for potential harm. The original version would have done more harm than good for the causes being showcased, two scholars argue. Here are some powerful examples of the complexities of intervening in international conflicts which might help you better understand the point I tried to make in the article: http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/whats-wrong-with-the-bill-gates-bono-approach-to-saving-the-world.html, http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/10/is_george_clooney_helping. The crowd ended up having to be dispersed by police and tear gas. 23m ago. Hi Ho! While nothing . One way I see us doing this is by placing leaders and individuals in our movements on pedestals, ascribing excessive weight and value to their opinions, disproportionately rewarding one persons efforts in a collaborative project or process, and applying unobtainable expectations to them and their work. Its hard to take those dire warnings seriously when theyre immediately undercut by the actions of the speaker. Thank you to the Michigan Student Power Network for giving me a space to unfold and explore these thoughts. They also model tenderness, fierceness, and tenacity to achieve healing for their communities and realize solutions that will bring us to a liberatory future. Allowing space for the potential of certain leaders to cause harm left me feeling vulnerable, conflicted, and defensive. The belief of the problem from others. The level of fame where a celebrity is likely to be considered an activist opens doors to the most influential and well-informed. And while I support leadership that is accountable and structured according to collective need, I question if and how successfully our current leadership culture fosters this, when we are more readily willing to follow someone based on their charisma, rather than their relationship to the movement and critical analysis. The big issues are: Greed, Corruption, Impunity, Hypocrisy, the military-industrial complex, cruelty Question: Why all those Tax Havens in the world led by the American State of Delaware! Sadly, this approach does not fit well in a five-minute YouTube video or an inspirational TED Talk. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the GO TO ORIGINAL links. From George Clooneys Enough Project, rapper Akons newly launched Lighting Africa to the viral Kony 2012 campaign, theres no doubt celebrity activism has gone mainstream. As recent research has shown, the problem with celebrity causes is that they tend to de-politicise activism. Some (I cant think of any, but im sure there are some) may approach a campaign with a genuine solidarity and interpersonal skills to work effectively with diverse people, and others not. Through the current pandemic, many grassroots efforts are already redirecting their attention and actions, placing the focus on mutual aid and building spaces and practices that facilitate connection and trust; We are developing stronger clarity of collective values, and an unwillingness to bend in our practices or leave any of our comrades behind. All Rights Reserved. Though Im sure there are many more, next steps I am envisioning right now begin with investing in relationships with our peers, in deepening our personal visions for what liberation might look like, in studying the organizational and collective contexts under which many of our most dynamic movement leaders developed their thought and action, in joining and actively participating in local organizations and community groups, and learning how to be in conflict with each other, to disagree with one another without expanding violence towards each other, to learn how to respond to harm with compassionate accountability.
