"Slacktivism"

I was in a discussion today (well, when I say "in", I more mean that I was with the two people who were having said discussion) with a couple of people who were talking about some activity that had recently splurted across every corner of Facebook. If you happen to have one, you'll probably know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, one of them called a lot of the action "slacktivism"; that is, people were making a lot of noise about something they didn't really know that much about, and it wouldn't really get them very far. One post they did like was yet another variant on the Boromir meme: "One does not simply do XYZ by liking a Facebook status/page." I believe a friend of mine raised a similar question when people were changing their display pictures to cartoon characters for some cause that I can't remember.

The point was then raised that people can try and try to make a difference, but the reality is, unless they're the US government or something, they won't. Australia can't really do anything. We'd like to think we can, but we can't really.

This type of thinking....gets me annoyed. Because basically, it's saying, "We can't do anything, so we won't do anything. Why bother?" And even if it's not, it's creating an environment where that's very easy to say. An environment of apathy. Sure, we're not the US government, and yeah, I know, Australia is a bit of a drop in the bucket. But, as the saying goes, "Every raindrop raises the sea."

It always does something. It might not do much, but it can do something. Empathy is always better than apathy, even though it's harder.