The more appropriate version of your profile pic.
Slacktivism (slaktəˌvizəm)
noun
Actions performed via the Internet in support of a political or social cause but regarded as requiring little time or involvement
–
If your profile picture on Facebook or Twitter is a red/pink equals sign, you are a slacktivist.
Slacker+activist=you
(Note that the equation is weighed extraordinarily heavily on the slacker side, hence the bolding).
For the record, I’m a massive supporter of marriage equality, gay rights, lgbt rights or whatever the hell you want to call it, I like it. There’s not a cogent or remotely persausive argument against it.
That said, aside from the incessant cat photos and instagram, slacktivism has to be one of the most ludicrous byproduct the internet begat.
It’s far and away the most annoying thing Generation Y, Millenials or whatever the hell we’re called has come up with, save for hipsterdom.
What’s accomplished by taking this digital placebo?
Sure, you, the courageous changer of a profile photo, feels dandy. It is, after all, a lovely gesture that shows solidarity and warms the heart. An empty gesture, but lovely nonetheless.
I mean, you care and now all your digital friends know it and caring combined with social media is exactly how democracy and change works, or something like that, because like Egypt and Spring in Arab-land and stuff. And Kony too*. PBR. Mustaches.
Side note, my fridge is empty so I’ll actually be changing my profile picture to a steak, I’d appreciate if you all could do the same. Once enough people change their photos, I assume a steak will magically appear.
Anyways, the irony in this particular case is two fold;
1) The Supreme Court is in no way bound by public opinion. Wasn’t designed that way. They’re an unelected body of 9 people who are appointed for life and are charged with essentially being stewards of the law.
When interracial marriage came before them in 1967, for example, only ~20% of Americans approved of it. Still the Court voted in favor of it, in direct contradiction to sweeping public sentiment.
Cool profile pic though. I’m sure the Justices will tally all those up before issuing a decision.
2) If you really, truly cared, you’d have tried to fight Proposition 8 when it was on the ballot in California. It turns out, in democracies, the voting both is where public opinion is exercised and then subsequently enacted into law.
Back in 2008, you could’ve been an actual activist(!) and tried to change the hearts and minds of California voters so this didn’t have to come before the Supreme Court. That would’ve required more than mouse clicks though.
Didn’t have the time or ability to give up in order to fight that battle? Well fair enough, you could’ve donated a few dollars to gay rights groups, ya know actual activists, fighting that battle.
You get a pass for DOMA if you were born in late 70’s/80’s, you couldn’t have done much activism or known you even cared about gay rights back in the mid 90’s when infallible Democratic superstar Bill Clinton signed the awful Defense of Marriage Act into law.
But seriously, sweet profile pic. Magnifique.
Full disclosure, I actually changed my profile pic too. To a radical, colloquially known as the square root symbol (it was the most clever mathematical symbol I could think of). My math symbol holds equal weight. I’ve done just as little as you now.
Honestly though, it probably took me longer to mock up that and the slacktivist equal sign than it did for the cool kids to hit up the Human Rights Campaign page and deliver themselves utter euphoria by then clickity clicking a few times to change their profile pics.
I guess I care more?
Anywho, if you’re looking to change your slacktivism into some minute semblance of activism, you can buy an equal sign shirt from the Human Rights Campaign. That money goes to fighting for the LGBT rights you’re too lazy to actually do anything for.
And, if you’re feeling generous, here’s a long list of gay rights groups, both in the US and abroad.
More at International Business Times, Global Post, UPI, PC Mag and Vice
*Here’s a long winded piece on why I hated the Kony thing too