The Incredible Reason You Might Start Seeing Safety Pins Everywhere

[moonshaz]

OP NOTE: Since posting this, my enthusiasm for this "movement" has cooled considerably. If I could turn back the clock, I wouldn't post it, but since it's too late for that, I hereby add the following disclaimer: Due to what I've learned from some of the comments to this post, I no longer feel comfortable advocating the safety pin thing, or even

Comments

[golden_bastet]

Pins are fine (and they help people stay engaged) - but fer gawd's sake, please don't let this be the *only* thing you do.

It will take getting out and getting politically active, in addition to the internet and symbols, to address all this.

[moonshaz]

I hope you're not assuming I'm not going to do anything else! I'm already politically active, for one thing. If I had a ton of money, I would glad pour buckets full into the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center, NARAL, etc., but my meager financial resources mean that my contributions are meager  well, and I sometimes wonder if it really does any good.

Tbqh, I feel incredibly useless right now, useless and helpless. Also, my sister hates me because I've made no secret of the fact that I think Drumpf is the scum of the earth. Yay, life.

[jeeelim5]

I think the OC means people in general? There are some people who will wear the safety pin, post it on social media to show "Hey look, I'm an ally!" but when it actually comes time to do something, they don't take action. The act of wearing the pin becomes more of a self-serving pat on the back. People need to be fully aware of the fact that by putting the pin on, they are making a commitment to get involved, even if that means endangering oneself. If a person feels like they can't do that, then they should rethink wearing the pin.

Also, major kudos to you for all the work you do! :) (Edit to add: Any kind of help, no matter how small, is better than no help at all. I'm sure that the people who receive your help are very appreciative of the help you give.)

[moonshaz]

Thanks for this. I can't tell you ho much I appreciate this reply.

I think what I really need right now is to find something to do that's more CONCRE TE and IMMEDIATE than just sending off money or waiting for something bad to happen so I can intervene. (Not that I won't continue to do those things, of course.) I have no idea yet what that will be, but I need to find it stat.

[lightframes]

I respect your feelings but if a stranger's words on the Internet mean anything I don't think you're useless. For one thing, talking to people in this community and in real life inspired me to get more involved. Like I was always going to vote for HRC after Sanders lost the primary, but talking to my mom and grandma and reading the stuff you guys posted about her/how she influenced you made me a LOT more enthusiastic so I ended up volunteering for the campaign. So you can count one more person who's going to keep volunteering in the future. :)

[moonshaz]

Wow, really? You are seriously making my whole night here. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

[golden_bastet]

This was really meant as a generic "you" (coming from the viewpoint that someone else wrote the article); sorry, didn't realize you would take it as directed specifically towards you as the OP.

But I don't think people realize that there is no easy fix to all the overall problems. Pins need to be the frosting on the cake. Dealing with what the conservatives have done over the past 50-odd years, starting with Barry Goldwater's path after his loss in '64, is going to take a LOT of time and effort, and isn't just relegated to who runs for president in four years - or even to federal-level offices.

There are way too many people who don't get that, and will fasten a pin, or retweet a tweet, or click a like button, and feel they've done their part.