How to fight for net neutrality if you are shy, have social anxiety, or just don’t know where to begin
Does the thought calling up elected officials make you slightly nauseous? Do you like the concept of protests, but hate the idea of being surrounded by swarms of people? Don’t worry; you can still make a difference in the fight for net neutrality! Here’s how:
1. Call your representatives: Okay, okay, I know I said you don’t have to make calls, but there are resources out there that can help you if your main concern is getting intimidated or tongue-tied. Sites like these have scripts you can follow. And this article offers some great general tips on what to say, how to sound, and who to talk to. But if phone calls still seem too overwhelming, don’t worry about it; there are still plenty of other things you can do!
2. Email your representatives: There is still the possibility that Congress can keep net neutrality in place with the Congressional Review Act, but we need to put pressure on them. Click here for a template of an email to send to your rep.
3. Tweet to your representatives: Search your state here and you’ll get the usernames of your congressmen and senators who are either against net neutrality or haven’t said they support it yet. When you click on the official’s picture, the site will take you to Twitter and generate a tweet to that rep from you. Feel free to use that or add your own personal message, but please be polite and respectful; it builds credibility.
4. Sign Petitions: like this. Keep your eyes open; there will probably be a lot more popping up soon.
5. Educate your friends, relatives, followers, etc.: there are a lot of people out there who still don’t even know what net neutrality is, and a lot of people who would want to fight/speak up too if they knew more about it. Help people get informed. Share articles, videos, blog posts, and graphics that will get people to understand the issue, and persuade them to actually care/take action. John Oliver did a great job of explaining everything in a way that’s both hilarious and informative on “Last Week Tonight” (here is part 1, here is part 2). There are tons of other great sources out there as well. This video is shorter and gives a simple explanation on how the FCC decision could impact you personally. And so does this one. Check out my account for more, I’ll be posting anything else I find as I continue researching.
6. Join “online” protests: If you have a website, you can display an alert on it that shows the world what the web will look like without net neutrality, and asks your visitors to call Congress. This also works on Tumblr; you can find instructions for that here. Also, you can go here and scroll down for banners and profile pictures to add to your Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. There are a bunch of other great ideas on this page as well!
7. Stay informed: keep doing research and following the news. Don’t give up, this isn’t over yet!
