F@#$ Slacktivism

DOMA is in the news lots.  And FB has gone nuts posting the pink equality sign and its many counter parts and parodies.

this is my favorite parody by the way

My beef with this is not with the showing of support to the LGBTMD community, but thinking it accomplishes...well anything.

See, this is slactivism.  Signing an online petition or liking something on Facebook has absolutely zero influence on policy makers.  But it makes you feel like you did something.  It's the same sort of enablement that I hate in Conspiracy Theorists.  See a conspiracy buff blames everything on hidden sinister forces, but won't get off the couch to help because "what can you do, its the CIA".  Slactivism participants also fail to get off the couch but act like they did something substantive.  Real change takes effort, not a mouse click.

More over, a Facebook like is a commodity.   Release a funny picture, or some point-counter point thoughts in a graphic and start sharing.  Once your FB page gets about 50k likes, it has a cash value.  Don't believe me?  here's a screen shot off searching for Facebook Likes

So yeah, I am pretty cynical about the motives of these pages circulating these graphics.

Now here's an excerpt from an e-friend on why he changed his profile picture.

I didn't change my profile picture because I thought it would make any difference to the Supreme Court. And since all of my FB friends are in support of marriage equality, it's not like my advocation is going to change any minds there.

Here's why I did it: because I have friends who are gay, and some of those are married, or want to one day be married, and I want *them* to know that I support their marriage. Whatever the Supreme Court decides: I believe in you, and your relationship, and the life-changing choice you made. Whether you were married in Canada or Massachusetts or Seattle, in a church or city hall or under the stars with only the moon as your witness -- your marriage is yours to define. Those far-away seniors won't change my mind any more than they will change Rush Limbaugh's.

Hear hear.    I'm just not going to put it on FB, because its Slactivism.