I think that a good activist must really believe and have faith in what they are fighting for. There can be a time in someone life when something happens that turns them into an activist. For Naomi Klein this happened when she was a witness to the Montreal Massacre. A man thought that he was a victim of affirmative action and one day he separated the men from women at a college and shot 14 women in a row, screaming “you are a bunch of fucking femininists.” Klein immediately turned into an activist and many followed her.
As a great activist one must be able to have a strong steady voice and be able to communicate his/her thoughts or feelings in a powerful manner. It is also important that along with having a strong voice an activist can pay attention and listen to others voices. “Understanding how privilege and oppression operate and how you participate is where working for change begins.” (612) It is also important to “stand up and make noise, while withdrawing support from oppressing systems, starting with yourself.” (613) If you make simple steps daily by stopping from being an oppressor your followers will do the same. It is important to be the best activist possible and be proud and loud while doing so. My most admired activist would be John F. Kennedy. He was president during the 1960’s civil rights movement and helped pass laws to make sure all blacks could vote and helped end segregation in schools. I find him an early activist that many could look up to.
Great Blog. I really liked your point about having a strong steady voice and being able to communicate a strong voice. Not only are you stating that people need to express their opinions but they need to be strong in order to get anywhere.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog. I really like the point you made that a good activist must have faith and really believe in what they are fighting for. I too watched the video on Naomi Klein in regards to the Montreal Massacre and it made me realize that events as strong as that have to affect you in some way and it doesn't suprise that the Monetreal Massacre is the event that turned Naomi Klein into an activist.
ReplyDeleteI also thinkg that John F. Kennedy is an activist that one could look up to. Whenever I hear about J.F.K. I am always inspired and filled with hope that the world can be a better place because of the early actions he took to make it be.
I agree with you that an activist must really believe in what they are fighting for. Otherwise they may not be as compassionate about the cause, and they wont really strive to accomplish the change they want to see happen.
ReplyDeleteI really like your post. I agree that things happen and change your life. I do not consider myself an activist yet after watching Naomi Klein's video I can tell that if something happened that jarred me, that switch could be turned on in me. I never thought you could "turn" into an activist by one action. I know it sounds odd but it always seemed to ne that you had to be born with the spirit of change.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was great the way you said to be a great activist you also need to be a good listener. I think that is an association to an effective change agent that most people forget about. You need to listen to others and hear how they feel to build upon your argument. I agree that you also need to have good communication skills and be able to have your voice heard.
ReplyDeleteI think when listening to other's beliefs it is also very important to have confidence in your own. Like you said, being loud and proud is important, but the challenging aspect of this all is that others can be loud and proud as well. I think the real challenge is letting your voice be heard about others.
ReplyDeleteIt’s funny, I read a lot of Malcolm X for a project of mine. While I have a respect for JFK and the movements he stood for as a president, I can’t deny some of the harsh points that Malcolm made. It made me question the government’s ambition to end slavery or just give it lip service.
ReplyDeleteI also like your point of raising voice strongly about the issue one believe in and being able to listen to other people around.
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