Why is everyone so dead set against spreading messages from Global Citizen?? I hate to see that the entire point of this is being completely lost on so many people.
Lol I had originally answered you this in the whats on your mind thread but I think it's more appropriate here.
I get what you're saying and I tend to agree with you in base - a lot of the bitching about the inconvenience of the process just glosses overcompletely disregards the issues that GC is trying to bring to light. I want to say, though, that personally the 'spammy' nature of the GC Festival and the 'Social Media Activism' makes me a little bit ethically itchy. I don't have concrete opinions formed here I thought better of starting a thread in AMT about it - I take this shit too seriously, remember I was originally going for a degree in Int'l Studies with a concentration in Development (which is basically for international level NGO/charity work/shit GC supports/promotes) but there is a discomfort factor with the way they do things. eh. icky.
But the ONE really great thing about social media is that it truly works to spread the word about causes, and have a real role in social movements. This is a great thing, not a negative. I know change isn't easy, but I hope you try to embrace what can actually be GREAT for the world when it comes to social media and not focus on only the negatives or the stigma surrounding it.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
How do we know if the Global Citizen Festival really makes a difference?
Totally fair question. This year, global citizens will once again have the opportunity to earn tickets to the festival at no cost to them, simply by completing a series of actions in an “action journey”. What’s important to understand is that these aren’t random actions being taken in exchange for a festival ticket; Global Citizen has a team of policy experts who are constantly meeting with politicians, attending key conferences, feeding back information from the front line of the fight to end extreme poverty, and amplifying the actions of global citizens just like you.
Global Citizen’s policy team strategically determines which actions will be the most impactful at specific moments leading up to the Festival. The team then leverages the actions to convince world leaders to make major commitments on the road to ending poverty, some of which will be revealed to the public at the Global Citizen Festival.
Part of my 'ooky' feeling is sort of in response to this. The common question of 'okay but what good is it doing?' is a very political one - and that's fine. There's always a use for political pressure and just generally the political approach to addressing injustice and inequality through activism. Part of me still kind of thinks that anything is better than nothing. But a slightly more educated part of me thinks that there is a danger in doing things in a self congratulatory way or in this way that tries to say that Norway is giving a billion dollars toward vaccines because 60 thousand people showed up to a free concert.
Again, I understand that this is political advocacy and I do not have an issue with that - I think there is a place for it and I (perhaps foolishly) think that knowledge is a positive thing and that there's an awful lot of ignorance in the world and that the solution to that is knowledge - you can't solve a problem you don't know exists right? So I'm not complaining that they want you to tweet instead of raise money. Not at all. I get that. But I feel like it's a little too white hat - rode in on a white horse and fixed all the problems in Africa now I'm going to back to my middle class suburb in Iowa - you get me? Even the photos make me uncomfortable in their presentation of "those people" you know, "over there" with "those problems" and just this "otherness" that gets under my skin and makes me feel itchy. And I know that they work as like lobbyist for a bunch of other organizations and I've scrolled through the list but I don't know each and every one of them. Most of them are US or UK based/owned/operated/i dont know the right phrase here and I really, truly, genuinely believe that the modern/current needs to be careful of itself and be wary of potentially falling into a new type/version of colonialism.Yes I realize how ridiculous that sounds but give it a bit of thought. We've all heard the stories of these well meaning western charities going in to "poor Africa" and building schools which are then left without sufficient teachers or building maintenance or even supplies for the students, or unsafe roads leading to it...
Point is I am a big fan of empowerment, but I am wary of the idea that empowerment is something that has to be given by "us" to "them" and I think that GC sort of perpetuates that idea. Because those videos and articles and stuff are great as a starting point for learning about issues but I do get that icky feeling about people reading about some white guys who moved to rural ecuador for a month or whatever and lived on less than $1.50 per day and made a video documentary thing to upload to youtube to raise awareness so now that you've seen that sign this petition and boom you've helped! Good job! Gold Star!
Meh. Again, not concrete opinions. Rambling for sure. but. It's an instinctive feeling. Discomfort. I know I know I take it too seriously/read too much into it. Can't help myself.
But the ONE really great thing about social media is that it truly works to spread the word about causes, and have a real role in social movements. This is a great thing, not a negative. I know change isn't easy, but I hope you try to embrace what can actually be GREAT for the world when it comes to social media and not focus on only the negatives or the stigma surrounding it.
Or it can spread lies and misinformation in a New York minute. Not saying that Global Citizen is doing it but talking more about social media as a whole. Good and bad.
0
Options
WhatYouTaughtMe
I have no idea what's going on right now! Posts: 4,957
But the ONE really great thing about social media is that it truly works to spread the word about causes, and have a real role in social movements. This is a great thing, not a negative. I know change isn't easy, but I hope you try to embrace what can actually be GREAT for the world when it comes to social media and not focus on only the negatives or the stigma surrounding it.
I was thinking about this earlier as well. I think if all this hype gets people spreading the word and "trending", it might reach a lot of people who don't give a shit about these musicians but are looking to get involved in charitable work. So I guess the people who only care about the tickets are still spreading the word in some way. That's a good thing.
Comments
I get what you're saying and I tend to agree with you in base - a lot of the bitching about the inconvenience of the process just
glosses overcompletely disregards the issues that GC is trying to bring to light. I want to say, though, that personally the 'spammy' nature of the GC Festival and the 'Social Media Activism' makes me a little bit ethically itchy. I don't have concrete opinions formed here I thought better of starting a thread in AMT about it - I take this shit too seriously, remember I was originally going for a degree in Int'l Studies with a concentration in Development (which is basically for international level NGO/charity work/shit GC supports/promotes) but there is a discomfort factor with the way they do things. eh. icky.LIVEFOOTSTEPS.ORG/USER/?USR=435
Again, I understand that this is political advocacy and I do not have an issue with that - I think there is a place for it and I (perhaps foolishly) think that knowledge is a positive thing and that there's an awful lot of ignorance in the world and that the solution to that is knowledge - you can't solve a problem you don't know exists right? So I'm not complaining that they want you to tweet instead of raise money. Not at all. I get that. But I feel like it's a little too white hat - rode in on a white horse and fixed all the problems in Africa now I'm going to back to my middle class suburb in Iowa - you get me? Even the photos make me uncomfortable in their presentation of "those people" you know, "over there" with "those problems" and just this "otherness" that gets under my skin and makes me feel itchy. And I know that they work as like lobbyist for a bunch of other organizations and I've scrolled through the list but I don't know each and every one of them. Most of them are US or UK based/owned/operated/i dont know the right phrase here and I really, truly, genuinely believe that the modern/current needs to be careful of itself and be wary of potentially falling into a new type/version of colonialism.Yes I realize how ridiculous that sounds but give it a bit of thought. We've all heard the stories of these well meaning western charities going in to "poor Africa" and building schools which are then left without sufficient teachers or building maintenance or even supplies for the students, or unsafe roads leading to it...
Point is I am a big fan of empowerment, but I am wary of the idea that empowerment is something that has to be given by "us" to "them" and I think that GC sort of perpetuates that idea. Because those videos and articles and stuff are great as a starting point for learning about issues but I do get that icky feeling about people reading about some white guys who moved to rural ecuador for a month or whatever and lived on less than $1.50 per day and made a video documentary thing to upload to youtube to raise awareness so now that you've seen that sign this petition and boom you've helped! Good job! Gold Star!
Meh. Again, not concrete opinions. Rambling for sure. but. It's an instinctive feeling. Discomfort.
I know I know I take it too seriously/read too much into it. Can't help myself.
LIVEFOOTSTEPS.ORG/USER/?USR=435