[ed. Sorry to go on and on about worthless signalling efforts, but if you really want to change government why not just flash the peace sign? It's cheaper and you can't argue with success! (plus, you might need the pins later to keep your rags together). Seriously, if you really want change, support unions, support strikes and walkouts (private and government), support boycotts against corporations and banks, and vote! Do something tangible like Solidarity in Poland and there might be, possibly, hopefully, some reasonable chance of a real populist revolution. See also: Mark Zuckerberg is in Denial.]
Eggplant. Cilantro. Theater kids. The world is full of polarizing things that humanity will never agree on. Some of those emotions are irrational, while others are based in fact (eggplant, theater kids).
And the most divisive object in post-election United States right now might be a safety pin.
In the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential victory, the safety pin has emerged as a symbol of unity: a way for people — regardless of their politics — to show they are allies and do not stand for the kind of violence and abuse that has emerged and been reported on since Trump was elected last week.
Wearing a safety pin began as a gesture of kindness. But some people also see it as a performative, bullshit type of "slacktivism," arguing that it allows people to pat themselves on the back without actually trying to fix the problems they say are important.
The safety pin is now at the center of a national conversation about hate crimes, prompting the discussion about the facile shallowness of white men and women and what good comes out of the backlash against such gestures of solidarity.
by Alex Abad-Santos, Vox | Read more:
Image: Christine Pedretti via Shutterstock
Eggplant. Cilantro. Theater kids. The world is full of polarizing things that humanity will never agree on. Some of those emotions are irrational, while others are based in fact (eggplant, theater kids).
And the most divisive object in post-election United States right now might be a safety pin.In the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential victory, the safety pin has emerged as a symbol of unity: a way for people — regardless of their politics — to show they are allies and do not stand for the kind of violence and abuse that has emerged and been reported on since Trump was elected last week.
Wearing a safety pin began as a gesture of kindness. But some people also see it as a performative, bullshit type of "slacktivism," arguing that it allows people to pat themselves on the back without actually trying to fix the problems they say are important.
The safety pin is now at the center of a national conversation about hate crimes, prompting the discussion about the facile shallowness of white men and women and what good comes out of the backlash against such gestures of solidarity.
by Alex Abad-Santos, Vox | Read more:
Image: Christine Pedretti via Shutterstock
