Being an “-ist”

Are you an -ist? You know what I mean. One of those pesky -ists, hanging around capitol hill, bugging all our government leaders. One of those crazy -ists, pulling nutty stunts just to get media attention. Or maybe one of those -ists, making outrageous Super Bowl commercials just so you can get banned and get some free publicity.

No?

Well I’m talking about them all. Feminist. Environmentalist. Capitalist. Socialist. Communist. Social media-ist. Name-your-own-issue-ist. What about activist, you say? Well does activist fit in with the rest of those?

We had an interesting discussion today in one of my honors colloquia classes, “Media for the American Mind.” In our conversation, we began talking about feminism and what it means to be a feminist. Does it mean you were a supporter of equal rights for women? Or do you have to be an outgoing, let’s-start-a-movement kind of activist to be considered a feminist?

That got me thinking. Why can’t we all be feminists? Why do we have to start a movement–or even participate in a rally–to be considered a supporter? There are so many causes out there, it’s impossible to be an everything-ist, you’ve got to make some hard decisions. I mean, does being a feminist mean I can’t also be an environmentalist? What about a capitalist? And maybe I want to be an activist, but not in any of those areas of -ists.

This is a lot of -ists, but you get the idea. My point is that I don’t think you have to an integral part of a social movement just to consider yourself a feminist, environmentalist, or whatnot.

I do believe there’s such a thing as a slacktivist–those that join a Facebook group or subscribe to a newsletter but then never participate. Even if you aren’t leading rallies, you should be a thought leader. You should be talking about these issues every day. You should invite debate, evolve your positions, learn as much as you can. You should write about them, if you can–maybe like I’m doing right here. You don’t necessarily have to be out on the front lines, but you do have to show support, you can’t just give yourself a label.

I guess I look at it like a tiered system. On the bottom rung is, naturally, the racists, egoists, and sexists of the world. A step above that (a large step) are the slacktivists, described above. Above them are the passive but thoughtful supporters, those that contribute thoughts, ideas and mental energy, even if they aren’t on the front lines beating down the doors of the Capitol. And finally on top are the real activists, people who really do fit that description. They devote their lives to a cause. People like William Lloyd Garrison, Margaret Sanger, and Robin Morgan in the past. People like Bill McKibben, Al Gore, Andy Carvin, and the folks at MoveOn.org, today.

Right now, I fit in that second to top rung. Who knows where I’ll end up, but I certainly hope it’s one of the top two. Where do you fit in? Any causes in particular you’re involve in? How do you classify the -ists? Let me know in the comments, on Twitter, on Facebook, or even shoot me an e-mail. I want to talk.