Activism and Protest
Activism and protest is something that has been around for hundreds of years. When growing up I can remember watching cartoons of men on horses, armies charging down the castle in protest to the evil leader. These fairytale type shows made it seem possible for the little man to stand up and fight, even if they were physically no match for the evil leader…. In a funny type of way, this is how social media is used to protest. The small person with no important social standing is able to have their say, organise a rebellion, or just voice their views. New media has created a whole new way of protesting. From my point of view, the biggest factor is the ability to create communities. Geographical location is now no longer an issue when it comes to protesting. People can sit in front of computer screens on opposite sides of the globe and create headlines over the Twittersphere. Again I want to use the idea of horses and armies storming a castle…. The initial protest is like the breaking down of barriers, the walls of the castle. The difference now is that after the first group (community) has been accessed, there are now millions and millions of people all around the globe who are able to have the same affect on humanity. Each online presence essentially carries the same weight. By sharing and linking these comments over the Internet to one another, it means that there is more ‘cavalry’ waiting in the ranks if needed. Social media is utilized well through political protest (Lafi Youmans & York 2012). It is important to note that this is a major issue across the world, therefore one that large majorities of the population will have an opinion on. As mentioned in the reading, The Middle East is a great example, as social media attempts to break the states power and give alternative points of view (Lafi Youmans & York 2012). Now I know that the example I am about to give is trivial compared to other protest examples, but I like to try and link these ideas to sport as much as I can!! The tribunal within the AFL is a system that is very flawed and there has been conjecture on its outcomes for as long as the game has been around. Social media has been used in the past few years to protest decisions, penalties and interpretations of incidents from the weekend’s games. Whilst this protest in not able to change the outcome of the original decision, rule changes have occurred due to the large amounts of public backlash via social media. By airing an opinion, it is becoming increasingly likely that others will both share this opinion, and help in the protest towards a greater good..,,, The Internet means that individuals are never fighting a battle on their own. By having an opinion and protesting online, it is easy to build communities or find people with the same beliefs on key issues. Once the initial wave of people have had their say, the next lot will come up take their place, just like in the cartoons… Lafi Youmans, W. & York, J. (2012) ‘Social Media and Activists Toolkit’, Journal of Communication, pp 315-329.