So, is it just me, or do activist groups need to just have, like, a thing thatâs like âIâm new and eager to help but I need my hand heldâ?
I think about this a lot, obviously, because the thing that most often gets identified as a support need for me is needing help doing something the first time.
Iâm usually fine after that, as long as it doesnât change much, but I canât do something for the first time without just a tiny bit of hand-holding.
And I mean that literally. I get overwhelmed and I have a meltdown. This isnât something that I can power through - Iâve tried - itâs a debilitating part of my disability.
And I get so fucking frustrated. Like, I did door-knocking during the last election. Literally all I needed was a five minute phone-call like âhereâs exactly where the building is and hereâs what you can expect when you arrive.â
And I got that because they were desparate enough to need to ring people who might be up for volunteering.
But before that, Iâd spent several weeks in an anxiety spiral, blaming myself for not being able to participate.
And tbh, the more I pay attention to most of my local activist groups, the more obvious the reason why this is becomes.
The fact that itâs difficult for nervous people like me to get involved versus people who have no problem throwing themselves into the unknown, means that the people at the top are all the kind of people happy with throwing themselves into the unknown who are then like âWhatâs wrong? Why would an email for a meet-up with nothing but an address and time be a problem? Whatâs wrong with having nothing but âemail X if you want to get involvedâ on our website for potential volunteers?â
Because even âemail Xâ is a problem for people who arenât comfortable with email!
Like, âleave your email and weâll email you a welcome packâ would be much easier, and if you inculded stuff like âhereâs our regular meet-up space, and here are the people involved, and donât worry, we have someone in charge of greeting new members, just look for the person with the [x] badge and tell them youâre newâ I can absolutely guarantee that the number of people attending would sky-rocket.
Idk, I think Iâm so annoyed because of the whole âslacktivisim doesnât countâ attitude.
Like, this isnât even just a disability issue, though thatâs the perspective I come to it from.
This is really common marketing knowledge. Do you want people to do a thing? Then lower resistance to doing the thing!
Make it as easy as possible! Get people involved in tiny ways that help them get comfortable, then start ramping up to getting them more involved.
Stop getting pissy at people for not getting involved and instead ask how can I help them get involved?
And yes, that includes posts on Tumblr that are like âitâs super easy to get involved!â and then link to groups that have these exact problems. The fact that something was easy for you does not mean that itâs easy for everyone.
(And obviously, this is based on my experience local to me, Iâm not saying that no group has ever done this. And actually, if you do know of a group that is more accessible, please link it in a reblog so that I can share it.)
