Bandwagon activism: Why you should not believe every activist

TODAY, it is common, especially on social media, to see people calling themselves advocates and jumping on diverse causes without adequate information or knowledge about the subject of the cause especially when it comes to gender issues like rape, gender equality, harassment, intimate relationships and boss-employee relationship, among other issues.

There are a lot of emergency advocates online and many refer to themselves as feminists, yet, they know nothing about the concept of feminism. The tragedy of the situation is that they usually have large number of followers, making it easy to carry a lot of people along in their confusion.

They act as judges in matters they know nothing about and are quick to talk of female rights while they have no scruples trampling on other peoples’ rights. They forget that where an individual’s right ends may be the beginning of another person’s fundamental rights.

These set have verbally abused people hiding behind their keypads and have caused emotional, psychological and mental breakdown for many. Some have as a result of emergency advocates gone into depression while some have committed suicide. Yet, they never own up to their mistakes. They simply keep a low profile for a while, then, move on to the next victim or jump on to the next cause.

They prowl social media and quickly turn every issue into a cause to advance. Indeed, some even ask people to donate to fight causes which they know will get nowhere and to lend credibility and make the case believable, they use social media to attack anyone they have decided is a perpetrator without giving such people a chance to defend themselves or have their voice heard.

Is this what activism is? No, I do not believe so. And nothing that is logical and constitutional aligns with this method. Activism simply is advocacy aimed at creating pressure to effect changes about a situation or get justice for someone, and it doesn’t involve destroying others for this to be achieved.

An activist is not a judge or necessarily a lawyer but a voice calling attention to perceived ills in an unbiased and factual manner. The words to note here are unbiased and factual. An activist does not cook up stories, nor do they attack others unnecessarily. They only call attention to a situation and if need be, protect the victim of a crime.

Before you take up a case as an activist, you must have investigated the matter to get the facts and not rely on hearsays, embellished facts and half-truths. As an activist, you can force change for better or for worse, depending on how you approach matters. We need to remember that activists are not always right though they always get needed attention which they use to achieve their desires either negatively or positively.

Often, some activists act in their own interests for pecuniary gains or to promote their beliefs which may be biased and not necessarily fight for the interest of the victim. They look out for themselves and convince the public to buy into their agenda which may have no positive impact on the lives of the people they claim they are fighting for.

Another thing about emergency activists is that they can be fickle bunch; they hold on to a cause and when attention is waning, they jump on to another one and another victim. It is all about attention and publicity. Many are by large clout chasers who make noise and sometimes deviate from facts. It’s important to note that activists may have a different agenda when they take on a cause before you join their bandwagon of clout chasing.

Feedback: Thank you Manulu Sylvanus from the Ministry of Education for the kind words and feedback.

To be continued

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE