I've been thinking about opening this blog for a couple of weeks and now I did it. It feels weirdly empowering I must say. I don't have a plan for it, no theme or important ideas I must share. I decided I'm keeping this blog to myself for now. I might even never show it to anyone, only keeping a note somewhere for people to find it if I die in an accident or in another tragic, premature way. Writing like this, in the belly of the internet, feels freeing somehow. I kind of thought it would. On social media I feel quite reluctant to share my thoughts, always apprehending a negative, or worse, no reaction. And I'm too afraid to seem self-important, self-righteous or straight up wrong. I feel anxiety thinking of having to retract an opinion I shared because someone pointed out it was racist, homophobic or just generally ignorant. And I feel like you can never protect yourself from it, since you'll always be ignorant about most things happening in the world outside of your small bubble. Basically, I would feel incredibly vulnerable and exposed if I actually put original thoughts of mine out there that I hadn't fact-checked and verified with people who seem to be just 'right about things'. Even in person, I often feel reluctant to share some thoughts I had, especially if I feel like they may be perceived as vaguely 'controversial'. The more I value the person's opinion OR if I think they are a particularly judgmental species, the more I avoid these topics. It feels empty sometimes, not real. I just can't bear for people to think I was easily influenced or drifting towards conspiracy theories or extreme opinions.
Today I'm thinking about activism. What I can do, what I have done, what I still need and want to do! I was very inspired by two interviews that I listened to on my drives to work and back. They were from the Pioneers of Change summit 2023, which I sort of dismissed initially because I believed it's probably just a bunch of whitewashed opinions. But I have actually heard quite some different people. Yes, the majority is white (which still makes sense in the Austrian/German sphere) but there were also a few people of colour and the topics and types of people were quite varied I must say. I am definitely guilty of dismissing activism movements if they don't seem perfect enough and I know it's not helpful. We all need to start from somewhere (which is always our perspective and lived experience) and then expand from there! And have empathy for everyone who is on the path of changemaking. About what I heard. One interview by Ronja von Wurm-Seibl was about the effect negativ...
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