We Should All Be Activists

SustainabilityInclusivityActivism
Written By Jen Wright

Last month I started a new event in The Aligned Community called Collective Action. The idea was to give us all monthly accountability and focus to pull our heads out of the sand, take action and make changes, in a safe and non-judgemental space.

I asked a couple of individuals about the plan and had some feedback that individuals might prefer doing this in the chat room rather than as a live call because they may be more private about their activism, may feel they are not doing enough, feel guilty, get "comparisonitis", or just feel that it's not for them because they don't consider themselves an activist.

So I thought I'd start by asking my community just that - do you consider yourself an activist? What does activism mean to you?

And now I’m asking you. Do you consider yourself an activist?

For me, the word still conjures up images of swathes of people marching, being fierce and loud and not backing down.

What is Activism, really?

I watched an interview a while back with Yazzie Min (@standforhumanity on IG) who does incredible work on and offline who said, 

“I didn't even know what an activist was until people started calling me one - and when I looked up the definition I was like, ‘oh so just people who do things then?!’”

- Yazzie Min

I also listened to a fantastic podcast episode, “What if we could end the climate crisis in one generation?”. One of the interviewees, Clover Hogan spoke beautifully on the ecosystem of activism:

“There is no right way to do activism. We really need to embrace collaboration, in lifting one another up, in recognising great solutions, and thinking about how we fulfil a niche within an ecosystem, but in the nature of an ecosystem, ensuring that we have a reciprocal relationship with those around us.”

- Clover Hogan

Not all that long ago people would shy away from calling themselves feminists because of the absurd image of man-hating, angry women. We all know now that being a feminist is simply the fight for equal and fair rights for all. That anyone and everyone should be a feminist (you may have noticed the title of this post was inspired by We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (you can buy the book here, and watch the Ted Talk here), but it was not unusual in the past for people to distance themselves from the term for fear of being mocked or challenged.

The word “activist” has so many negative connotations due to the way protest and activism is portrayed by the media and political parties both right and left, just like feminism before it. It feels awkward to call ourselves one, because we feel we don’t possibly do enough to earn the title. We’ve never chained ourselves to a building, or stormed a TV station, or marched through the city with a huge homemade banner. Almost everyone that I asked, “do you consider yourself an activist?” said no.

I loved this whole thread on Instagram by writer, organiser and Bad Activist Tori Tsui on the meaning of activism:

“The word activist has become such a term of contention. I see squabbles breaking out over who gets to be an activist and who deserves the term. … I’ve seen how the far right has described it as a woeful and sanctimonious signal for wokeness. … I’ve witnessed people distance themselves from the term for fear of being imposters even though what they do by definition constitutes activism.”

- Tori Tsui

If you care about, talk about and move towards positive change, you are an activist.

“We don’t need a handful of people taking perfect action, we need millions of people taking imperfect action every single day.”

- Pattie Gonia

Activism isn't just big, loud acts. It is the small things we do, the small changes we make - from letting your grass grow longer to support more insect life, to writing to your MP. From creating art, to boycotting a company. From litter picking, to volunteering in a local community project.

But these small acts mean more when we share them. 

We need to spend less time shying away from terminology and more time working together for change. Come. Forward.

When we tell people what we're doing and get that conversation going we create much needed ripples. It is not about competition, it is about collaboration and inspiration.

Some wonderful, inclusive activists and organisations showing different forms of activism in inspiring ways (a non-exhaustive list):

And I'll end with one of my favourite songs (it's Clem's favourite too and I love hearing her sing it around the house, my mini activist, though she sings it as “it’s a good day to fight the Tories”!) - It's a Good Day to Fight The System - Shungudzo on YouTube.

Jen Wright
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